Listening to the Women

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. Megan Collins

August 2, 2026

Genesis 30 & 34

Excerpt:

"We know women are often still silenced today. Stories of trauma and assault are swept under the rug out of an insistence for polite conversation or to protect powerful people at their expense. And not just about assault. Women’s voices are ignored in businesses, in doctor’s offices, in the pulpit, in their own homes. How can we hear the stories of assault if we aren't listening to their stories in general?
If we take a closer look at Genesis, the ancient writers in Genesis are actually doing better than we are. They record the women's names and their stories. So we can insist on the bare minimum of what we see in Genesis: that the stories of these women are told, that the stories of others with a story like theirs, is told. 

But we have to look to Jesus. And the bare minimum was never where Jesus stopped. Jesus went looking for the women no one else was listening to. 

These women speak. And Jesus listens to them."

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Heel-GrabberThe Untitled, Open-Ended Study BiblePreacher: The Rev. David CollinsJuly 26, 2026Genesis 28–33Summary:Jacob's story runs from a womb-grab to a wrestling match by a river — Bethel on the way out, Peniel on the way back, with twenty years of scheming, marrying, and running in between. Rev. David Collins traces how the very trait that made Jacob a "heel-grabber" (never letting go) is the same trait that finally gets him truly blessed.Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.maitlandpres.org/blog/categories/sermons

Esau (and Jacob)The Untitled, Open-Ended Study BiblePreacher: The Rev. Megan CollinsJuly 19, 2026Genesis 25-32; Romans 9:13; Malachi 1: 2-3; Numbers 20:14-21; Obadiah 1:10; Ezekiel 25:14; Hebrews 12:1-2, 16

Summary:Rebecca's twins wrestle before they're even born, and by the time Esau trades his birthright for a bowl of stew, it's clear this family history is more complicated than the Sunday school version.

Rev. Megan Collins follows Esau's name through Malachi, Romans, and Hebrews to sit with the Bible's harshest language about him, and asks what it means for those of us who married into this story rather than being born into it.

The sermon lands in Hebrews' call to hold onto what matters and keep showing up for each other, even when the world makes that feel impossible.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.maitlandpres.org/blog/categories/sermons

The Abraham Paradox

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. David Collins

July 12, 2026

Genesis 22:1-13

Summary

Genesis 22 is one of the hardest stories in the Bible. God gives Abraham a son, and then commands him to sacrifice that son on a mountain. For centuries, Christians have tried to explain the story away, or to hold it up as a model of faithful obedience. Neither move does the story justice.

Rev. David Collins works through the standard readings and their real damage, then turns to the paradox underneath the whole chapter: God gave Abraham the promise, and then God commanded him to sacrifice the fulfillment of that promise. That same paradox sits at the heart of the Christian life. God has promised the Kingdom. Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies, refuse the sword, and live like lambs in a world of wolves. The promise and the command are opposed. And most of us cheat by dropping one to keep the other.

But the people who have known God the deepest have been the ones who stayed inside the tension.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Which Abimelech?

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. Megan Collins

July 5, 2026

Genesis 20 & Judges 9

Summary

Two leaders. Same name. Completely different legacies. On this July 4th weekend, we dig into Genesis 20 and Judges 8–9 to meet two men named Abimelech — one who leads with integrity even outside the covenant, and one who buys his throne with temple money and murders his way to power. What do we do when the leaders in our lives don't earn our trust? And what does it look like to find — or become — a tower of refuge for the people who need one? A sermon on leadership, power, and the one true King who sees it all.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Outgrowing the Oldest Theology

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. David Collins

June 28, 2026

Genesis 18 & 19 (Sodom & Gomorrah)

Summary

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the most misread texts in the Bible — and the Bible itself knows it. In this sermon from the Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible, Pastor David Collins looks at what the story actually says, why Genesis 18 was placed in front of Genesis 19 on purpose, and what it means that Abraham stood in God's way and argued.

For people who have been told this story was about them. For people who have a list of who deserves the fire. For anyone who has ever looked at the way the world works and thought: that can't be right.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Hagar in the Wilderness

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. Megan Collins

June 21, 2026

Genesis 16 & 21

Summary

What do you do when you find yourself in a season that makes you want to run, hide, or give up? In this message, Pastor Megan Collins explores the wilderness — not just as a place, but as an experience every one of us knows.

Drawing on the story of Hagar in Genesis 16 and 21, we encounter one of the Bible's most overlooked characters: an enslaved woman who is used, abused, and ultimately cast out — not once, but twice. Through the lens of womanist theologian Delores S. Williams and her landmark work Sisters in the Wilderness, we discover that Hagar's story is one of remarkable courage, survival, and an extraordinary encounter with God.

Hagar becomes the only person in the Old Testament to name God directly — El-roi, the God who sees — and her experience speaks across the centuries to anyone who has ever felt unseen, alone, or without a way forward.

It doesn't matter how you got to the wilderness. What matters is this: God will meet you there.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Church Was Not Born to be Vague

Pentecost, truth-telling, and the kind of community the Spirit creates

Preacher: The Rev. David Collins

May 24, 2026

Acts 2

Summary

Pentecost is the birthday of the church, but Acts 2 is more than an origin story. It shows us what the church is supposed to become: a people shaped by the Spirit, where failure is not the end of the story, the truth is told clearly, real community is practiced, and love becomes visible.

In this sermon on Acts 2, Rev. David R. Collins reflects on Peter’s first sermon, the miracle of being understood, the courage to name what is actually broken, and the Spirit’s call to become a different kind of people in the middle of a corrupt generation.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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More Than the Sign

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. Megan Collins

May 17, 2026

Genesis 15 & 17; Deuteronomy 10 & 30; Galatians 5; Colossians 2

Summary

What is the difference between wearing the symbol of a relationship and actually living into that relationship?

In this sermon, Rev. Megan Collins begins with childhood friendship bracelets, then moves through the biblical story of circumcision as a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. But from Moses to Paul, Scripture keeps pushing deeper: God wants more than religious symbols and good intentions.

God wants to change our hearts.

Through Genesis, Deuteronomy, Galatians, and Colossians, this message explores the gap between who we want to be and how we actually live ... and the good news that God can cut away what keeps us from love, courage, repentance, and real life. 

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Pessimistic Hope

Genesis 13

The Untitled, Open-Ended Study Bible

Preacher: The Rev. David Collins

May 10, 2026

Summary

In Genesis 13, Abram and Lot stand in the boarding line of history: with too much fear, too little space, and everybody grasping for what they can get. Lot chooses the obvious opportunity. Abram chooses trust. In this sermon, Rev. David Collins explores the difference between optimism, pessimism, despair, and hope…and why biblical hope is not confidence that things will work out, but that God is faithful.

“Pessimistic Hope” wrestles with politics, scarcity, compromise, the promises of God, and what it means to walk toward a future we cannot yet prove. Because the future is not closed yet.

Learn more or read past sermons:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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