Claremont United Church of Christ

Join Pastors Jen and Jacob for a two-part sermon series exploring the afterlife. Discussions of the afterlife produce a lot of anxiety around the questions of who gets to heaven, how do we get there, and what will it look like. But should we be so anxious? Pastor Jacob starts with heaven and suggests that God's grace will cover us all.

Join Pastor Jen in examining the story of the Tower of Babel. Is it possible that diversity is not God's punishment for humanity, but rather God's divine design for us?

From picket fences and gated neighborhoods to office cubicles and prison cells, we live in a world of walls. We can end up a lonely people...stuck in the ghettos of poverty and the ghettos of affluence. But God is all about tearing down walls. We are not alone. Stories of compassion and reconciliation invite us into the promise that the gates will not prevail. Poverty and injustice become personal, as we gain the keys to see the suffering around us. The Gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable...but is good news to all of us.

In our last installment of 5 Greek Words Every Christian Should Know, we look at the word pistis, which means faith. What does it mean that we put our faith in something that we cannot see? Is our faith just wish fulfillment?

This week's Greek word is gnosis, knowledge, and it has made its way into English with words such as diagnosis, prognosis, and agnostic. Join Pastor Jacob as he explores the ancient sect known today as Gnosticism, and asks the question, "What do we need to know in order to be Christians."

Our word for today is doxa, and Pastor jen will be teaching us about the story of Jesus healing 10 lepers. But there is more to this story than simply healing a skin disease or giving thanks--the heart of this story lies in the identity of the leper who turns back to praise God. Who was he and what can he teach us today?

In the second installment of 5 Greek Words Every Christian Should Know, we turn to what may be the earliest written words of the New Testament. Philippians 2 contains what scholars think are lyrics to a hymn that the first Christians sang together. The song talks about Christ "emptying himself". The Greek word is kenosis, and Pastor Jacob takes us deeper into the concept of kenosis and how we can fill ourselves up by first emptying ourselves. Tune-in to hear more about this paradox.

Why is it important to live in commUNITY? Join Pastor Jen as she looks at Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and teaches about henotes, the Greek word for “unity.”

In this last installment of Tweetable Scriptures, Jesus gives this message in 140 characters or less to all those carrying the burdens of guilt, fear, self-contempt, regret, workaholism, and pride: “Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

We live in an ordinary world…and yet, God infuses it with extraordinary miracles! Join Pastor Jen as she examines the story of Moses and the burning bush and asks the question, “What if all ground is holy ground?"