Pod Be With You

Once again, Mark packs a whole lot into very few verses. What looks like a simple call to give sacrificially is actually a  pointed critique of the abuses of religious institutions, and a call to thoughtful, intentional, daily stewardship. With Mark, it's never simple. Join us this week for a deep dive into the story of the Widow's Mite.

What a time! This weekend mixes the sacred, the secular, the Christian, the pagan, life and death in one glorious, slightly anarchic festival. In church, we are holding together endings and beginnings, and everywhere, we are playing with identity, power, humor, and fear. All of this brings us out of our individual routines into the blessed mess of community, in search of what is real and right - or at least a lot of fun!

This week it's a simple story, with a whole lot going on...the tale of the healing of Bartimaeus. It calls back to the stories that have preceded it in the last month, while at the same time looks forward to what happens next in the Gospel of Mark, the Triumphal Entry. The story is about faith, about vision, about Self, about the Kingdom of God, about having the courage to speak up. Join us for an exploration of all these things, and more, as we dive into Mark 10:46-52.

We are in the book of Job this week, and the Gospel of Mark, respectively. Both passages, although quite different, speak to the cultural moment we are in. Job, although one of the oldest texts in the bible, engages directly with the grief and pain that seem to be so prominent in our world and in our personal lives right now. And Jesus in Mark speaks directly to the systems of domination that surround us, and call us into new and different ways of being. God is still speaking in both of these texts as we investigate what happens when worlds collide.

It's a seemingly simple question the man has for Jesus..."What must I do to inherit eternal life?" But Jesus' answer is anything but simple. It is rich, and complex, and in many ways, decidedly uncomfortable. Join us as we discuss camels, the eyes of needles, and what it might take to live a whole, abundant life.

It's all about courage this week...whether we're exploring the story of Esther and her defense of the Jewish people against an existential threat, or diving into Jesus' prophetic sayings in Mark 9 about boundaries and defending the vulnerable, the courage to risk is at the heart of this week's lectionary. Join us for two wildly different, yet profoundly intersecting passages about standing for what's right and good where you are, as who you are.

There's a whole lot of everything happening here in Mark 9:30 - 37...another prediction of Christ's passion and resurrection, another time the disciples don't get it, another teaching moment about the Kingdom of God. It may sound like "We've been there, we've done that," but put all together, these short eight verses upend the whole transactional system of power that the world tells us we have to participate in. Here, Jesus shows us another way, God's way. 

Part three of our mini-series on salvation explores six more ways Christians have answered the question, "What are we saved from?" Maybe you've only heard one version of this story in your life, but whatever that one was, it isn't the only way. There is no one way - just many ways of expressing who we believe God is to us. All of them right, all of them limited, all of them true, all of them incomplete. So, if you ever wanted to listen to two pastors talk for nearly an hour, only to conclude that this is all beyond us, this just might be the episode for you!

This is the last week in our respective summer series, and we've got some big ideas to discuss. The last book at FCC Dundee, by David Zahl, is called, "Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion And What To Do About It." (Whew!) Its a fascinating book about how religious we can be about "non-religious" things - and how we are searching for meaning, purpose, identity, belonging, and a sense of our own "enoughness" everywhere.  And for Pastor Paige's last stop "on the road," there isn't an arrival, but another sending-out: Jesus' Great Commission. All of this challenges us with some great questions: what are we looking for? Can we get there from here? Where is the good news in all of this? 

Taking a break from our short series on salvation, we tackle some uncomfortable things this week. Pastor Aaron explores Psalm 10, and righteous lament, while Pastor Paige travels with Saul to Damascus, and talks about what we do when everything is upside down, and an answer isn't apparent. Both places that are difficult to be in, but are part of the spiritual journey.