White Rock UMC

In this week's sermon Rev. Mitchell Boone took us out of the Gospel of Luke, to the Gospel of John, specifically John 8:2-11. Through this story Mitchell approached our human nature, or what it means to be human, through the lens of scapegoating our tendency of denial, projecting onto and/or blaming others. 

The scripture is another difficult one. One that once again reminds who we are far too often guilting of putting ourselves at the center of our own stories. This has been a difficult journey through Lent. One that has forced us to hold a mirror to ourselves and acknowledge the shadow side of our human nature.

What has stood out most to you in this chapter?

Find more of our Unfold resources at www.wrumc.org/unfold.

In this week's episode Rebecca and Phil reflect on the many pivots that took place for Sunday morning's worship. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it has taught us to be flexible and have a backup plan, and a backup for the backup. Beyond the pivoting, they also discuss week 5 of Lent and the ongoing conversation around sin and what it means to be human. This chapter is the longest in our year long series, partially because it spans the entirety of Lent, but also because it is really important content and conversations. 

Some of the specifics discussions they shared regarding Sunday's worship was the heaviness of the content. The reality of the ongoing nature of scapegoating is a lot to process. The music was beautiful, but almost hauntingly beautiful given the topic. Next week we kickoff Holy Week with Palm Sunday. Easter is just around the corner!

As always, we'd love to hear you questions about the "Why behind the worship." You can email us at [email protected].

Find all our Lent and Holy Week info at www.wrumc.org/lent

As we continue through this season of Lent and Chapter 2 "We Are Who We Are," Mitchell turned to Luke 18:9-14. The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector provided us the opportunity to examine our own self-righteousness and yet again another example of how we put ourselves at the center of our stories. 

Mitchell used the work of Brene Brown to highlight the benefits of vulnerability in combating this form of sin. Truth telling, even to ourselves, is an important first step to overcoming this sort of sin.

This journey through Lent has been really enlightening. Keep up with all that is happening in Unfold at www.wrumc.org/unfold

Dexter Evans joins Rebecca and Phil for this week's episode of The Day After Sunday. In the episode they reflect on the 4th Sunday of Lent, including what does "the 4th Sunday of Lent" mean. They discuss the broad depth of music that was displayed in worship this Sunday, which leads to a conversation on the ideas behind contemporary vs traditional worship, high vs low church, and progressive vs conservative theology. They discuss Mitchell's sermon on Luke 18:9-14, and how we often are guilty of self-righteousness, and how the Enneagram can really help with this. Finally they discuss the work of Brene Brown, specifically on shame and vulnerability. They reference Brene Brown's TedTalk which can be found here.

We'd love to hear your questions and/or thoughts about the "why behind the worship." As always you can email us at [email protected].

We're still talking about sin? Indeed we are, and this week's text is a difficult one. Beyond the sexual assault present in the text, David's relationship to power is one that Rev. Mitchell Boone wrestles with, and invites us to consider our own role and relationship to power. 

2 Samuel 11:1-5 is the first text Mitchell reads, he then continues by reading 2 Samuel 12:1-8, which includes Nathan's prophetic parable to King David. Let us know your thoughts on this text and the relationship between sin and power.

Find more resources for our Unfold series at www.wrumc.org/unfold.

This week Rebecca and Phil reflect on the heaviness that was worship this Sunday. Heaviness that came mainly from the scripture of Mitchell's sermon, 2 Samuel 11:1-5 and 2 Samuel 12:1-8. Rebecca shared her difficulty dealing with texts such as this, and her gratitude for Mitchell's addressing the difficulties in his sermon. They also discuss the value of kids' voices in worship and how we use our power to empower others, or allow other to "take the mic," during worship. If you are ever interested in helping to lead worship, email us at [email protected] so we can get you scheduled!

In this episode they discuss the lyrics of the anthem "God Has Work for Us to Do," which you can find here. 

Finally, the three questions Mitchell posed at the end of his sermon were:

Also, peekaboo :)

To get us all on the same page, Rev. Mitchell Boone gave us a working definition of sin as "anything that puts us at the center of our own story." He acknowledged this is an incomplete definition, but one that will ground us for Chapter 2, and generally for our year long series, Unfold. As he discussed sin, Mitchell spoke not just of person sin and personal piety, but also of the communal/corporate sin and the necessity for social holiness. 

How do you understand corporate sin and what role does "mob mentality" play into this understanding? 

How do you understand our individual, and collective, capacity as human beings?

Find more of our Unfold resources here.

Rebecca and Phil reflect on the second week of our Unfold series Chapter 2, "We Are Who We Are." They discuss Day Light Savings Time and the impact it played in worship this week. They also discuss Mitchell's sermon, specifically being an Old Testament prophet, the working definition of sin, and our human capacity. 

In this episode they refer to Phil's blog "Is Vladimir Putin Evil?", the lyrics for Hymn #292 "What Wondrous Love is This," and Kate Bowler's new book "Good Enough." They also discuss joining a Covenant Group, also known as the "How is it with your soul" groups. If you are interested in joining one, you can register here. 

Finally, share your worship questions with us by emailing us at [email protected].

What does it mean to be human? This is one of the questions we'll address in Chapter 2, "We are Who We Are." Mitchell kicked off this chapter using Genesis 3:1-13, often referred to as "The Fall," narrative. In his sermon, Mitchell addressed many of the preconceived notions we bring to this text. Interpretations that are often used to subject and oppress people, specifically women. As Mitchell re-interpreted the passage, he invited us to consider the role vulnerability and power play not only in this text, but also in human nature. 

So what does it mean to be human? 

Let us know your thoughts and find our other resources for Chapter 2 here. 

In this week’s episode, Rebecca and Mitchell discuss the amazing high-energy anthem (and why they sang “hallelujah” the week after Rebecca gave a long explanation about not singing “hallelujah” during Lent!), Mitchell’s sermon metaphor of sanding down a rusty metal fence, and how amazing it was to invite people forward for Communion for the first time in almost exactly 2 years.

Find all of our Chapter 2 resources here.