Awaken Community

In this discussion of what we want to be as a church, it has to include how we can serve the community around us. We don't want to be a community that's sole focus is inward and our own needs. To be a community that's trying to look more and more like Jesus, it must include serving those around us.

Every year, we come back to the basics of what we want Awaken to be. Obviously, this year has had a major impact on our community. It's changed a lot of what we do and what our new rhythms have become. Our goal is that it doesn't change who we are.

What are the quid pro quos you grew up hearing? Was one of them pulled from Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"? Maybe it means something different than what we were originally taught.

Psalm 139 says “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Which begs the question, does God get mail in both Heaven and in Hell? Micah talks through the history of heaven and hell, and what the psalmist is really saying here.

“Sex is really fun! And good!” Becky Patton and Micah continue the conversation talk-show-style from last week about Song of Solomon, sex, Christianity, and how we got here.

For the first time, Micah teaches from the book of Song of Songs. Known by many to be the Sexiest Chapter in the Bible, chapter 7 has been hotly debated across the spectrum of Christianity. From some saying it's an allegory to others saying it's a love letter, there's a lot to talk about. 

This week, Micah discusses Psalm 51 and the value of confession in community. The word confession can bring a lot of other words to mind, mixed feelings, and for some, memories. What does this Psalm show us about what biblical confession can look like?

Micah tackles the book of Ecclesiastes and this seemingly bizarre verse giving license to pursue food, money and wine. 

Some of us can really relate to Job right about now. As Pastor Jenna puts it, life can feel like grief on grief on grief. How can we read the story of Job seemingly being a pawn in a game between Jesus and Satan differently? Jenna brings a whole new perspective to the table.   The video sermon is not available this week but will be back next week!

This morning, we start with a question: "How can I trust the Bible when there are so many contradictions and discrepancies in it?" Maybe the answer is in how we read the bible and the fundamentalist Evangelical filter we've seen it through.

Have you ever seen those lists of names in the bible and proceeded to the next page to the "important stuff"? Been there, done that. Pastor Jenna brings another side to the lists that may make you want to go back and read them. Sometimes it can seem like a dry accounting of male figures in history. But there's much, much more to those seemingly endless lists.

Typically, our Lost in Translation series takes a difficult to understand or interpret passage and dissects is. This morning, we're doing it with an idea or concept - Justice. As a follower of Jesus, how should we define justice? It has often been misunderstood and construed. This morning, Micah takes a look at biblical justice, the Jewish definition of it, and the pledge of allegiance.

We're going back for more - round two on Psalm 137! There are more layers to this Psalm that we just couldn't fit into one teaching. This week, Micah looks at Psalm 137 from the view of the oppressed living under their oppressor. That filter reveals a completely different picture than what we talked about last week.

Psalm 137 pleads a case for honesty in our relationship with the Divine. It is a raw, unfiltered view into the lives of the oppressed. In exile, the empire did everything it could to strip the Israelites of their identities, everything that made them who they were; traditions, songs, language, religion, etc. In that context, the raw hatred is a lot easier to understand.

A time honored tradition at Awaken, we do our Lost in Translation series each summer to focus on parts of the Bible that may be confusing or difficult to understand. Our worship leader Melody kicks off this summer's series with Psalm 37. This Psalm somehow talks about justice and desire in one poem - how does that play out and in this case what do they have to say about each other? The answer adds...

How does bearing witness show up in the scriptures? It's a thread that winds its way through the people and parables of the Old Testament. And then Israel begins to worship idols and no longer bears witness of the love of God. Perhaps the stories of Acts is the way they find their way back to bearing witness to the good news of the love of God. 

This morning we take some time to lament the last week in the life of our city and also think about the prophet and the lament and the role they play in scripture and in our lives.

Our brains tend to want to put all of life into categories - good/bad, saved/unsaved, in/out. But God's heart pulls us beyond the categories into a world of inclusion and welcome through the particular and specific work of the life of Jesus.

Continuing in Acts, we read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in chapter 8 in a whole new light. It's as impactful now as it was then - a religious, ethnic, sexual outsider becomes the first named convert in the book of Acts. That's not by accident. 

In Acts chapters 6 and 7, Stephen speaks to those in power and show that God has moved beyond their temple and their law; that they've been holding God hostage in a box of their own creation. 

This week, Micah brings a new take on the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. After everything their community had gone through, they missed the point; they lied and withheld resources from each other. What do those actions mean for a community that was present for the death and resurrection of Jesus?

In Acts 4, Peter and John are being charged by the Sadduccees of mixing things up too much in the temple. Why are the Sadduccees going on the offensive? And what do they stand to lose if Peter and John and the gospel of the apostles, who were with Jesus, is heard in the temple? Like so much of the gospel, the way of Jesus is backwards and upside down from what is expected. He uses the unschooled a...

As we make our way out of the Easter season, we begin a new series to think about the implications of the resurrection. This week, Micah starts with a question from the first chapter of Acts: “Why do you stand here looking at the sky?”

On this very different Easter resurrection Sunday, Micah speaks a word of liberation and victory. And even though it is difficult to not be able to gather together this morning, it is a joy to see the fruit of these echoes - presence, love, and peace - showing up in our community and in our lives. Sign up for the Awaken Weekly to receive resources developed by the Awaken staff for you to use howev...

The Good Friday Tenebrae service includes the seven last words of Jesus, meditations on those words by our staff, music and Eucharist. To participate in the service, gather seven candles and the elements for communion.