Zao MKE Church

True love waits, right? Ummmm... It's complicated. ​​​​​​​​ Those of us who grew up in the church ended up with some pretty messed up ideas about sex, sin, and intimacy. Whether you grew up in the era of  #TrueLoveWaits , had a purity ring, or even just experienced the purity-culture-light version of general sex negativity, you may have some unlearning to do when it comes to the Bible, faith, and...

Sometimes being transgressive is an act of holiness.   This pride weekend, come hear about the time King David (notoriously fluid in his sexuality and gender expression) danced nearly naked through the streets as both a celebration and a protest, and how modern pride paraders and queer activists are inheritors of that that courageous Bibilical demonstration of turning mourning into dancing.

Ever feel like the best party would be just a nice, long, nap?   When party culture is tied to hustle culture, we think every party should be a banger. But in God’s economy, rest is a critical part of a celebratory life. Come learn how taking it slow, creating space for rest, and collaborating to do nothing at all can dismantle systems of oppression.

What happens when someone is late to the party?   Liberation for all is the theme of the kingdom party, so when someone shows up late, it usually means they have a history of participating in harm. Are we ready to receive folks who truly repent of supremacy culture and oppression? Or are we unwilling to throw them the party that scripture says they (and we) deserve?

Party planning: stressful nightmare or gratifying project?   For some of us, the fun is in the prep work - planning everything just so, imagining how it all will go, and providing the perfect environment for the people we love. For others, all the pressure and details become awful distractions, keeping us from truly enjoying the celebration.   What does any of this have to do with Jesus? No matter...

Why is gathering to eat so important to following Jesus, and what can we do to add more love (and more feasting!) to our faith lives?   The Bible contains instructions for all kinds of feasts and festivals, but one stands out for followers of Jesus - the communion meal. In the early days of the church, this was not just wafers and a sip of wine, but a lavish meal called a Love Feast.   Come learn...

Jesus once turned water into wine just to keep the party going - was this just a neat trick or is there something holy going on? Let's dig into the wedding that Jesus didn't want to end and talk about how joy is creative, communal, and exponentially grown.

Faith can seem serious and somber sometimes, but following Jesus leads us to eat, drink, and party hard more than you would think. This spring, embrace your inner party animal as we discover why the good news is worth celebrating!

After harm, the ultimate goal is not reconciliation. God is actually doing a New Thing in us - not just restoring the status quo, but transforming systems and relationships into something more holy, more just, and more whole.

Which is harder - to give forgiveness or receive it?

When we hear the word "repent" do we think of love? Or do we think of judgment, rejection, or even hate? Let's take a deeper look at the idea of repentance and see if there is Good News here for us as we seek love, healing, and justice.

Some sins seem to take on a life of their own as individual choices add up to systems and structures of evil. There comes a tipping point where these structures take on a life of their own, newly replicating themselves beyond the control of any one person. We call this corporate sin - the sins of collective or communal harm.   Corporate sin is a major emphasis of the scriptures, in which the proph...

Why are some sins - the seven deadly sins, the ten commandments, sins related to sex - highlighted above all others? Are all sins the same or are some worse? And if some are worse, are they the ones we hear most about?

What is "sin" and why do some of us feel terrible at the mere mention of the word?   This Lent, the season leading up to Easter, we'll break down the B.S. around sin (hint: it's way less about sex, drugs, & rock n roll than you might have heard), discover why talking about sin can actually give us a stronger faith, a more inclusive community, and more accountability from systems of injustice.

What happens to the message of Jesus when it is interpreted throughout different cultures and across different times? It becomes more rich with meaning! Though there are many gatekeepers in religious community, we are called to trust that the heart of Jesus's message thrives among cultural difference - and to beware conflating Jesus with western culture or whiteness, which has caused immeasurable...

Reading the book of Jude can feel rather head-spinning to modern readers: the angel Michael arguing with the devil over Moses dead body, clouds without rain and crashing waves turning to foam, innumerable references to scriptures both within and outside of the Old Testament. And honestly, it actually gets *weirder* when you know more what the author is talking about - for instance, when you realiz...

Philemon, one of the shortest books of the Bible, was written to urge a rich slave owner to free an enslaved man in his household as a matter of Christian duty, and to receive him home as a beloved family member - entitled to all the rights of a brother, not a slave. So how did this become a favorite text of defenders of American slavery in the 18th & 19th centuries?   Read it for yourself and dec...

The Bible can sometimes feel overwhelming, so you might be surprised to know that some of the books of the Bible were originally written in less than 300 words.   In the next sermon series that starts this Sunday, we’re going to take a look at some of the shortest books of the Bible to see that those short, yet potent, messages are.   What was so important to get across that these writers only use...

Every new parent thinks their newborn baby is perfect, right? Well God thought that about you at the moment of your creation, and unlike human parents, the shine never wore off. Sometimes we talk about God as the "perfect Father" - but what if God thinks of you as the perfect child?

What does it mean to trust in God? Do we trust God with the vulnerability of a newborn baby? Should we?   In faith spaces, we often take for granted the idea that trusting in God is important, but in this episode we'll unpack what we mean by trust and whether trust, even in God, must be built in relationship.

We come into this world through irresistible forces of movement and change. Through our lives, we learn to resist change. What if we released our resistance and surrendered to the flow of creation?

Try as we may, we cannot avoid suffering - for ourselves or for our loved ones. What does the suffering of the innocent tell us about humanity, creation, and the nature of God?

“The joy of the lord is your strength” - Nehemiah 8:10   When we arrive on this earth, everything we take in everything with wide-eyed wonder. What if that’s a feature we aren’t supposed to age out of? Though many of us wear cynicism like an armor, the call of God is to earnest joy and delight wherever we can find it. An attitude of delight us vulnerable, but also gives us strength for the beautif...

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there" - Job 1:21   We are born naked into this world - unashamed, vulnerable, and ready to be loved. Through the worries and wounds of our lives, we acquire shame, emotional armor, and a fear that we are unlovable. The love of Jesus calls us to return, naked and unashamed, into the embrace of our loving God. Join us this Sunday as our...

Guest sermon by Rev. Hannah Kardon We aren't the first people to, in fits and starts, begin to return to old ways of life after a long and traumatic disruption. A few thousand years ago, the Israelites under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and The Temple after seventy years of exile. From them, we can learn a bit about what is needed to make a new life out of rubble, to r...