Sermons - Milagro Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

We all want to stay safe, but our place isn’t on the mountain. Our place is with people. And if they won’t go to the mountain, we’ll bring the mountain to them.

There is a kind of thinking thrives on scarcity. A belief that there just isn't gonna be enough, of whatever “it” might be. It’s the sort of thinking that makes us compete with each other, that turns us is to hoarders, that requires that we act out of fear.

This is a story about a radically welcoming God…who do we invite to participate in God’s kingdom? Who do we invite to walk along with us?

There are some in Corinth who think that some gifts are better than other gifts. There are some in Corinth who think that the more elite people get the better gifts. And they are starting to separate themselves and they are starting to use their gifts as a way to bring attention and favor to themselves.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been called a lot of different names in my life. What about you? What are some of the names that you’ve been known by? What are the names that you can still hear echo in your head? … God give us a new name. God says to us, “No, that’s not my name for you. My name for you is BELOVED. You don’t disappoint me. To the contrary, with you, I am well pleased.

That’s why it was so incredibly important that we walked through the process to become a church that is open and affirming. Not only because we recognize that God is calling the exiled home but so we can tell people that we are willing to walk with them on their journey.

No doubt there are a few of us that are gearing up to make some resolutions for the new year. I am, even though I know I’ll probably not keep them. Mostly likely I’ll wake up on January 2nd with the realization that I’ve already blown it.…Perhaps instead self improvement, maybe 2016 can be about community development – a year for Micah 6:8 and bringing about justice, being agents of mercy and walking humbly with God.

We, like Mary and Elizabeth, are probably the most unlikely people to bear witness to God’s love. Who would pick out a group such as us? If we were picking who would bear God to the world, would we pick us? Would we pick the lowly, the outcast, the marginalized, or would we assume that God must be born in elegance and in grace surrounded by noble and comfort? Does it seem possible that God would break into the world in this most outrageous fashion?”

Bob reminds us that even when it seems to be the darkest, God has promised us light.

These are tenacious and audacious women who fight for what they rightfully deserve; those people who would otherwise be trampled and taken advantage of by those who are more powerful, more connected, have more resources, have a larger voice.