(Natalia Terfa) It’s fall kick-off, and while the lectionary doesn’t follow the school year calendar, it feels like it today. In the Gospel today Jesus addresses some questions about what it means to be church - and how we can be church together, While a lot has changed since Jesus answered these questions, much of what he says can be applied to our own congregation today.  

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20

Song: Cleopatra by Ooyy

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(Chad Brekke) Peter had different ideas about what it means to call Jesus the Messiah. It’s not about power and control and ruling and victory. It’s more about serving, giving, blessing, and hospitality. So when it comes to Paul’s advice to the church, it’s always Opposite Day! 

Scripture: Matthew 16: 21-28, Romans 12:9-21

Song: Video Knights by Spring Gang

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(Natalia Terfa) Welcome to the Natalia Terfa lectionary. We’re in a text today that is never included, not once, in our three-year lectionary cycle. But, as I come back from three months away, I want to talk about Hagar today, and how significant she is, and how much it matters that she names God for all of us. 

Scripture: Genesis 16

Song: RGBA by Chill Cole

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(Chad Brekke) The woman we meet in the gospel today had no business believing that Jesus would bother to help her in her time of need. Remember that humiliated woman who snuck up behind Jesus just to reach out and touch the hem of his garment? Yeah, this is not that woman! The Canaanite woman we meet today demands a blessing. The disciples are so annoyed they ask Jesus to send her away. But Jesus sees something in this foreign woman in need, something he has been searching for. Something he wants you to have as well.

Scripture: Matthew 15:21-28

Song: Rullar Upp by Ikhana

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(Chad Brekke) Let’s say you think you see Jesus coming and are allowed to ask only one question to verify that it is the Lord. What question would you ask? Well, this scenario is just what we have in front of us today and you won’t believe the question chosen. It may have been the last question that would have come to my mind. That is before I saw what happened next!

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Song: Deep Sea Walk by Lama House

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(Angela Denker) In a culture that often shames those who are in need, Jesus calls to all of us who thirst and hunger - reminding us that as we acknowledge our own need, we’re offered in return abundance and community and opportunities to share.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21

Song: Jakarta by Bonsaye

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(Grace LaTourelle) Hear how the transformative experience in the Colorado mountains has left a lasting impression on our youth. Like a modern-day Transfiguration, their journey to the Colorado mountains has reshaped their perspectives, leaving them inspired.

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

Song: Mountain Air by Cody Francis

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(Angela Denker) We live in a society and economy that often assumes all that grows is blessed. But Jesus reminds us that the weeds grow alongside the wheat. What does this mean for the Church?

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Song: The Farmhouse by Silver Maple

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(Chad Brekke) The parable of the sower and the seed is so familiar, our minds tend to jump to the moral of the story before the lector is done reading. There may yet be something new this old story is trying to teach us. There may be truth hidden in the dry, cracked earth we walk on.

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9

Song: Wildlife Explorer by Marc Torch

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(Angela Denker & Chad Brekke) As we do from time to time, we put the usual preaching schedule on hold while we explore public theology together. We will again field questions from the congregation around the theme of things that cause us to doubt or question.

Song: Happy-Go-Lucky by Victor Lundberg

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