Spark Cast

Vines are a symbol of God's blessing and provision. What happens when vines do not grow or bear fruit? What about when they do bear fruit? In it all, the vinedresser works to ensure that the vine remains connected. GROUP QUESTIONS: 1. What is the difference between being "cut off" versus being "lifted up?" 2. How does this understanding change our Christian identity and life? 3. Can we see this ki...

Spark celebrates 10 years. We host Rabbi Chaim Koritzinsky and his welcome, and Pastor Danielle shares reflections of the past and exhortations for the future. (Videos can be seen at www.spark.church/events)

Jesus promises to prepare a place for us, for in his "Father's house are many rooms," a phrase to describe the expansive inclusivity of Jesus' call and welcome. GROUP QUESTIONS: 1. "The way," "the truth" and "the life" are abstract concepts. What does it mean that Jesus points to himself, as a human person who IS those things? What radical shifts in thinking is Jesus calling us toward? 2. Could it...

Jesus is all about the love. Jesus loves us and calls us to love one another. GROUP QUESTIONS: 1. Pastor Danielle talked about "experiencing" vs. "knowing" love. What truly is the difference and does it matter? 2. In philosophy this is called a "phenomenology"; that is, an "experience." Do you think this kind of "experience" is central to being a Christian / Follower of Jesus or not? 3. Apply this...

We live in a world that seems to be full of hate, greed and jealousy. We see lies and betrayal and it hurts. Something is messed up and broken. In fact, in many cases it is shattered and reconciliation can seem impossible. We want to set it right, but we can’t seem to get it right. With God, there is a hope of reconciliation that is bigger than human wisdom. GROUP QUESTIONS: 1. Is reconciliation a...

We all have an innate impulse to assess and judge others. It is almost second nature. This may be part of the reason why the Way of Jesus is tremendously frustrating. Rather than accept any labeling, opinions, or condemnations, Jesus defers to observation, experience, and the “truth of the matter” as the judge, and focuses on what he (and we) can do, rather, to bring salvation, “rescue” to the cos...

As is often the case, our familiarity with these teachings of Jesus can blind us to the real challenge of His call to lay down our lives.

Mary's extravagant act of anointing Jesus with perfume is an ode to a much broader movement of Jesus and the Gospel elevating the presence and voices of women.

People were puzzled about Jesus’ identity in the Gospels and are still today. In John 10, people ask Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

In the thick of a debate with religious leaders about Jesus’ identity, he claims, “Before Abraham was, I am.” They disagreed (and tried to execute him on the spot for it). Was Jesus saying he was God? What person in their right mind could possibly believe that about themselves?

In John 9 Jesus heals a blind man. It's a miracle! Yet, not everyone who was there saw Jesus for who he is - The Messiah. They were blind. But there is more to this text for those who are willing to consider digging deeper into the biblical story, for people who are disabled, and how non-disabled people may be blind.

When we think of Jesus as the “light of the world”, we often think of the sharp contrast between light and dark, true and false, and whether we’re saved in the light or lost out in the darkness. Jesus’ claim that he is the light of the world is actually much bigger than that, and it tells us deep truths not just about who Jesus is, but about who we are and what our purpose on earth is.

The radical nature of Jesus' love protects a woman that was caught with a man who wasn't her husband. Some religious leaders want to stone her to death. This text raises many questions: What does this story mean? Why does Jesus help this woman? What was Jesus writing in the dust? What caused the religious leaders to walk away? We will learn that Jesus helps those that are having stones thrown at t...

Why is following Jesus and living out the law seem so contradictory to Christians, then, and now?

Many of his disciples said this is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it? This week we will attempt to unpack some of the tensions of trying to live the way of Jesus. Really, eat flesh? Literally drink blood? Living the way of Jesus isn't as cut and dry as it sounds (and was probably never meant to be cut and dry).

“I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Who talks like that? And how does that work? Jesus speaks a bold message, polarizing both his followers and foes. The ensuing questions that Jesus’ first hearers asked probably aren’t that far off from the questions we’d ask today.

John 5 tells the story of a man longing for healing in the pools of Bethesda. Jesus' encounter with this man brings about healing, questions and conflict.

Violet Wulf-Saena is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Resilient Communities (CRC),an environmental justice organization working hand-in-hand with the Peninsula's frontline communities to implement tangible climate change solutions, from nature-based infrastructures like rain gardens to community air quality monitoring and home upgrades. The impacts of climate change will be felt first...

Signs, wonders, and miracles all refer to a category of events in the biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry. But what role do they really play in the story? Why are they there? And how shall we think of them in a rationalistic world? Perhaps the miracle is not the point. Rather, the miracle points.

Much ink has been spilled, and many sermons preached, on Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Most often portrayed in our pulpits as a sinful woman of ill repute, the Samaritan woman becomes a one-dimensional lesson on morality. But what if there's more to the story than that? (Spoiler Alert ... there is!)

A prominent religious leader, Nicodemus, seeks out Jesus under the cover of night. Looking for answers, he instead gets more questions as Jesus takes him through a perplexing dialogue about water, spirit, flesh, rebirth, and the upside-down kingdom of God's love.

The fashioning of the whip and the driving out of the moneychangers is an act that happens at a temple. But the temple to which this event refers has a long, varied history and identity, all the way to modern expressions of Christianity. May we heed Jesus' words again, to not turn this house into an emporium.

Due to technical difficulties, the messages from May 1 and May 8 were not recorded. Here we provide an extremely brief summary of main points that we hope are helpful for our Spark community.

"In the beginning was the word." These words mark the opening of the Gospel According to John, a piece of writing that has incredible diversity and profundity in its depiction of Jesus and what the Christian story means as a result.