Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor Sunday Sermons

In an era of backlash against the full equality of women, people of color, sexual minorities, and immigrants, we are called into the dignity of our original human destiny—to be allies. A fresh look at Genesis 2 and why being an ally is so much central to advance of God’s good realm.

Ken Wilson brings the second sermon in our membership renewal series, “Allies: The Way of Love From the Beginning.” You can learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service time, location, and what it means to become a member, at a2blue.org. 

In Bible times, people were labeled as sinful based on physical or mental conditions and excluded from religious practices. In today’s society, people are often labeled or excluded based on factors including being queer or poor. Emily Swan unpacks the Bible story told in Luke 5 and Mark 2 of the lame man lowered through the roof to be in the presence of Jesus. Her focus is on the courage, creativity, & hope of the friends, as well as Jesus’ redefinition of what it means to be in a “sinful state.”

This sermon, “Reclaiming Christianity for Jesus, Justice, & the Common Good,” serves as the introduction to Blue Ocean Connection Month, and our annual membership renewal drive. You can learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service time, location, and what it means to become a member, at a2blue.org. 

 Ken Wilson on navigating the problems we encounter when we pray for specific people and needs—like does prayer “work,” is it fair, and why do I sometimes feel so frustrated with all this? The final sermon in our series, “Navigating the Hard Questions: The Praying-for-Things Dilemma.” 

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

“Christianity hitched to power-seeking agendas is poisonous.”

This is just one of many thought-provoking statements Emily Swan makes in her sermon, “Navigating the Hard Questions: Interfaith Jesus.” She also offers three Jesus-shaped postures towards those of other faiths, and presents a “Holy Spirit-centered” view of the world. 

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

Reading the Bible can be especially challenging if you don’t subscribe to heteronormative gender roles. In this week’s sermon, “Navigating the Hard Questions: Patriarchy in the Bible,” Emily Swan suggests ways to approach this challenge by highlighting norm-breaking instances in the Bible—examples that act to break down oppressive power structures. Further, she explores the orthodox belief that God is beyond gender— displaying both traditionally male and female traits—and reminds us that we are ALL created in the image of God.

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

Guest speaker, and seminary student, Andy Deeb looks at the story of Esther from a transgender viewpoint, challenging us to use our power and privilege compassionately in support of LGBTQ individuals and others who are oppressed or less powerful.

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

In the final act of the saga of Esther, this dark comedy is revealed as a story of strength and hope for an oppressed people. A story that we, too, can look to for reassurance that we are beloved of God. Emily Swan presents the final sermon of the series, “Esther is Burlesque: Part 3.”

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

What traits or circumstance lead to corruption of the human spirit? What does it take to respond with integrity in the face of persecution? Emily Swan explores these questions, and more, in the second sermon of her series on the book of Esther, “Esther is Burlesque: Part 2.”

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and locations, at a2blue.org.

We go through cycles of scarcity and abundance. The scarcity phase always feels bleak. In this week’s sermon, “Surprising Abundance from a Meager Offering,” Ken Wilson looks at what it means to offer ourselves in our meagerness to the God of Abundance.

Learn more about Blue Ocean Faith, including service times and location, at a2blue.org.