Just in case you missed our in-person worship service on May 29th, we managed to sneak in a recording of the sermon. It may not be the best quality, but it is at least audible! 

This week's sermon is called "A Time for Fire," and is delivered by Rev. Don Van Antwerpen preaching from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and Mark 12:41-44. We're talking about some of the blind spots we all encounter when we're dealing with the rough questions about how to act as Christians out in the world. It's easy to think that the "peace" we're meant to stand for is something quiet, unimposing, and generally banal, but when we're presented with an image of Jesus angrily protesting the abuses of temple authorities, and a passage that tells us that yes, there is a time for things like hate and war, we have to question just what a truly Christian definition of peace really is. That's the direction we're going in this week's sermon, but if you'd like to know more you should give it a listen!

LINKS:

OT Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%203&version=NRSVUE;JLB

NT Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012%3A41-44&version=NRSVUE;JLB 

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Facebook: @UnfinishedKIPC

Instagram/Twitter: @PastorKuma

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Welcome to our "new" series, "Back to Basics!"  

(Well...by new, we mean...repurposed. This isn't the same as the previous series by the same name!)  

In this series, Pastor Don and Courtney Fraley are going to explore the Bible, one story at a time, starting at the beginning, and working our way forward until we either get bored or run out of Bible! Tune in every week for a brief exploration of the next chapter in that thrilling and oft-misunderstood story, the Bible!  

In today's episode, we dig into some of the interesting details surrounding Genesis 1, and the first story of creation. For example, did you know that there are more than one creation story in the Bible? Did you know that it's not a literal story of 24 exact hour days? Did you know that there are some words and conjugations that we still don't understand? Well, watch today's episode, and then you can know all that and more!

 __________________  

LINKS:   

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished 

Facebook: @UnfinishedKIPC 

Instagram/Twitter: @PastorKuma 

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Welcome to our "new" series, "Back to Basics!"  

(Well...by new, we mean...repurposed. This isn't the same as the previous series by the same name!)  

In this series, Pastor Don and Courtney Fraley are going to explore the Bible, one story at a time, starting at the beginning, and working our way forward until we either get bored or run out of Bible! Tune in every week for a brief exploration of the next chapter in that thrilling and oft-misunderstood story, the Bible!  

In today's episode, we spend a little time discussing the Bible itself as a warmup, and going over some of the basics about how to read and understand the text before we start the grand adventure. Tune in for a great conversation about how to understand the Bible authentically, how to understand the Bible from a Christian perspective, and just...generally how to understand the Bible!

  __________________  

LINKS:   

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished 

Facebook: @UnfinishedKIPC 

Instagram/Twitter: @PastorKuma 

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Welcome to the FINAL EPISODE of "Monday Musings," a series where Pastor Don (that's me!) comes to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode we're talking about the divine art of self-reflection. We spend a lot of time these days exploring the necessity of identifying corrupt leadership, rooting out evils among us, and dealing with injustice, oppression, and our own culpability in all these things. We love to explore this macro-level things, big things that we can change, build, or fight against to leave our mark on the world and leave it a better place than when we came into it. But, in doing that, we can often forget to look at the effect we're having on the people around us, rather than the issues that define us. But as Christians, it is those personal relationships that matter as much, and sometimes even more, than any larger issue we might tackle. That's where we start but, if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode we're talking about what it means to be a community without borders. That's the theme from this past Sunday's sermon at Unfinished Community, which is what we're bringing you today! Coming from Isaiah 66:1-4 and Acts 9:1-6, Pastor Don brings a message about understanding that human desire to isolate, other, and reject people, and how that's just an expression of our own insecurities, and our own desire not to be isolated ourselves. Building community is a constant struggle against that desire, and making the conscious decision to welcome without judgement, and to accept without fear. That's where we start but, if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

SCRIPTURE LINKS:

Isaiah 66:1-4: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+66%3A1-4&version=NRSV;JLB

Acts 9:1-6: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+9%3A1-6&version=NRSV;JLB

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode we're talking about doubt, but it's not...quite...what you might expect. The story of Thomas doubting is one we all know, but one we rarely look at the broader context for...which makes it a GREAT opportunity to explore how context affects our understanding of the Bible! Imagine, if you will, what it means to someone like Thomas when the leadership of his fractured and scattered religious movement - mourning the execution of their leader and hiding in fear, unsure of who to trust, and with no idea who to follow now that Jesus is gone - comes out of nowhere to claim, sans proof, that Jesus is totally alive again and wants the leadership to keep going on as before. Would it seem like a miracle you just happened to miss, or something much shadier, much more suspicious; something far more human? That's where we start but, if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode we're exploring what a lot of us dug into somewhat yesterday; Palm Sunday. We're looking at what one might call the hypocrisy of praise - a phenomenon where we'll often find ourselves praising and glorifying someone (even God) because of what we want from them, but get utterly, ruthlessly violently angry with them when it turns out that this person is, in fact, a real person with whom we are expected to have a relationship, rather than an object placed into our lives by God just to make us happy. It's the same hypocrisy that governs the crowds on Palm Sunday, and which often governs our own lives as well. That's what we're talking about today (and what I hope many of us talked about yesterday!) but...if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode we're doing something new and revisiting Sunday's sermon instead! During our fun, Spirit-filled first worship in our new space, we talked about what it means to be a kaizen Christian - someone who only attributes value in their spiritual life to those things which produce a measurably positive result. Like good capitalists, we're always thinking in terms of growth, improvement, and the constant upward momentum, but does the Christian experience actually look like that? Are we all heroes in waiting, or is our path a bit more...retrograde...than that? That's what we're talking about today (and what we were talking about yesterday!) but...if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode, we continue our lenten mini-devotional theme with an exploration of the washing of Jesus feet, and the surprising logic of Judas. As humans, we often use logical, even righteous-appearing reasoning as a guise to hide our fearful intentions; to push back against the scary things to which God often calls us, and back towards those things that we understand, and can control. This is especially terrifying among church leaders, who will often couch bigotry, hatred, or just selfish and incompetent leadership in justifications that sound good, even while they run contrary to the calling of God. So...is it justice, or justification? That's what we're talking about today but...if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC

Welcome to "Monday Musings," a new series where Pastor Don (that's me!) is going to (try to) come to you every week with a new/interesting topic for discussion about life in the Christian community. I'll try to explain it as best I can, and hope that you'll come on over to the Discord server to continue the conversation!

In today's episode, we continue our lenten mini-devotional theme with an exploration of the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree from Luke 13:6-9. We often think that this one is about a merciful delay from the judgement of God-as-vineyard owner but, in truth, it's the gardener who is the stand-in for God in this parable, and the vineyard owner eager to cut the tree down is a stand-in for life. 

Which means that having our roots dug up and being covered in crap is a good thing? 

That's what we're talking about today but...if you want to know more, listen to the episode!

____________

Website: pastorkuma.wixsite.com/unfinished

Discord: https://discord.gg/mJxWv6c

Instagram/Twitter: @pastorkuma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnfinishedKIPC