“If by ‘family values’ we mean valuing one kind of family over others, then we have misunderstood the radically welcoming teachings of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are called to build faith communities where our differences are embraced, where all families are valued.”

“From the perspective of the Beloved Community, our goal is not to determine who belongs or define the type of relationships in which sexual intimacy can occur, but to establish principles of justice within all our relationships, especially those that are the most private and intimate.”

"To follow Jesus and become a radically inclusive faith community, we must resist the temptation to judge others. Instead, we must be willingly be a radically repentant people, witnessing to the power and love and radical kindness of God."

"When we let the gospel of God’s radical welcome redefine for us who and what is sacred, we begin to declare our collective belovedness in our behavior, in our language, and in our attitude. We begin to practice it with such intensity that it becomes central to how we see ourselves, and it begins to influence how people in the world around us see themselves."

"A truly inclusive community is one that welcomes the excluded by affirming them as bearers of the image of God."

To be a community that faithfully follows Jesus, we must begin with the confession that all human beings are bearers of the image of God. This means that we cease being stone throwers and dedicate our lives to becoming faithful stone catchers.

July 22, 2018

Pentecost 9B

Psalm 51

Brookside Community Church/Stanley Congregational Church

8 East Main Street

Brookside, NJ 07926

For sermon notes and more, visit brooksidechurch.org/sermons

July 15, 2018

Pentecost 8B

Genesis 1:26-28

Brookside Community Church

8 East Main Street

Brookside, NJ 07926

For sermon notes and more, visit brooksidechurch.org/sermons

When the Bible is turned into a tool to justify violence, faithfulness to God requires us to reread it, contest it, or even resist portions of it.

Truly inclusive Christian communities have the audacity to wrestle with the Bible. That is what it looks like to act with faith in God. They do this by joining with the generations before them, and inspiring those who will come after them, in the struggle to become faithfully human.