Bethel Community Sermons

Guest preacher, Rev. Alicia T. Crosby, preaches us from 2 Corinthians 10 by reminding us that we each are the weapons God uses to tear down strongholds and to set people free. How might we- in the diversity of our bodies and our stories- model new possibilities and usher in a world where all people can walk in the fullness of who Creator made them to be?

Guest preacher, Rev. Remi Shores, reflects on Matthew 10:32-42 and the Jesus following-movement as a queer and disruptive presence to the peace of Rome. Through tender storytelling and insightful cultural and scriptural exposition, they remind us that the Jesus following-movement was a queer and disruptive presence to the peace of Rome, and that the peace of Jesus does not always make our life mor...

Guest preacher, Micah Melody Taberner, reflects on the story of Genesis 32:24-31 through the lens of trans identities and the power of new names. How might the wrestling experienced by trans Christians provide a model for all of us, on what it means to co-create our identities with God?

Pastor Erina kicks off our Pride Month summer series by queering the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, and affirming God's radical welcome for those who disrupt binaries and social conventions. How might we continue to hold onto the radical legacy of queer, trans, and nonbinary ancestors who sought God even when it seemed impossible?

Pastor Erina looks back at 7 years of revitalization, sharing some snapshots of God's growth and transformation, while also looking ahead at some of the vulnerabilities and opportunities our community is facing. How might the promise of the Spirit, poured out on all, guide us into a new season of co-creation and collaboration as a church? To see the slides she shared during her sermon, includi...

Guest Preacher Brandi Miller preaches for Pentecost Sunday, sharing about how the Spirit’s work at Pentecost points to both the ancient and the new movements of the Spirit in our midst, granting freedom, presence, and intimacy to us in the midst of our becoming. How might we heed the call to "look for the ruach" and notice the Spirit's movements all around us, as close to us as our b...

Pastor Erina preaches for Ascension Sunday on the ways that Christ’s ascension frees us from nationalistic desires and visions. How might Christ’s ascension lead us away from allegiances to human empires, borders, and kings and toward a life as witnesses, empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Michael continues our Eastertide sermon by preaching from John 14 about the community of love shared in the Triune God and among creation. How might we find encouragement from the perichoretic energy of our God as we remember that Jesus does not leave us as orphans, and all are welcomed in?

Pastor Erina continues our Eastertide series by preaching from John 14 and reflecting on Jesus’ encouragement to his disciples in the midst of disorientation and departures. She challenges some common misinterpretations of John 14:2 and John 14:6 and invites us to consider how to inhabit a faith of many dwelling places, built upon expansive communion rather than boundaried containers.

Pastor Michael continues our Eastertide sermon series by preaching on the men on the road to Emmaus, focusing specifically on the experiences of their hearts burning at the telling of God's story. How might we also continue to engage the story of God and find ourselves within it? How might we experience our hearts burning in these times, especially as we cling to the hope of resurrection?

We enter into the Eastertide season by hearing community testimonies about the ways we are experiencing, practicing, and bearing witness to resurrection.

Pastor Erina preaches on Easter Sunday on the earth-shaking moment of resurrection, and all that is changed by it. How might we be called- like the women- to go and proclaim resurrection, holding both fear and joy? How might be woven into a long legacy of those who’ve proclaimed resurrection before us? To see all of the historical quotes shared in our “cord of collective witness,” check out the im...

Pastor Michael preaches on Palm Sunday from Mark 11, on how Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem highlights the conflict between two different kinds of marches- one that embodies Divine love and desire, and the other that enacts imperial control and surveillance. As we enter into Holy Week, how might we be invited to continue walking the liberating path of Jesus?

Pastor Erina continues our sermon series by preaching from Amos 8, which condemns the impulses toward multitasking on the Sabbath. How might we continue to embrace the way of Sabbath as a gift, rather than choosing the way of Pharoah which calls us to do more, be more, and produce more? How might we continue understanding the economic implications of the Sabbath, in conjunction with the spiritual...

Guest preacher, Rev. Lynice Pinkard preaches for us from Isaiah 56:3-8 by presenting two different ways of organizing the world: the logic of death systems which always closes doors, and the logic of God's kin-dom which always makes room. How might we join ourselves to Sabbath's call to widen the circle of belonging, as an act of resistance to Empire's impulse to shrink it?

Pastor Michael continues our Lenten series by preaching on the Sabbath as creation's expression of universal dignity- for all people as well as the land and all creatures. How might returning to the Sabbath allow us to resist exploitation as we remember the restless among us?

Guest preacher Jonathan Walton continues our Lenten series on Sabbath, by reflecting on the ways that the Sabbath frees us from anxiety and invites us into the presence and proximity of God.

Pastor Erina kicks off a new Lenten series titled "Sabbath as Resistance" by exploring God's vision for rest in Genesis 2:1-3. How might the divine actions of completing, resting, and sanctifying time guide our commitment to rhythms of rest? How might we reclaim the radical nature of Sabbath in this Lenten season?

Pastor Michael concludes our sermon series by reflecting on God’s vision of jubilee as a form of communal, sacred power cycling. He explores how jubilee is tied to return to ancestral homelands, forgiveness of debt, the release of indentured labor, and the resting of the land. How might this radical and subversive vision teach us how about the power of starting anew, in the face of failing empires...

Pastor Erina continues our sermon series by reflecting on both the mystery and the abundance of community n the realm of God. How might we reclaim the revolutionary nature of friendship and "queer" our understanding of kinship, even in the face of empires that want to keep us divided and dominated?

Jazzy Johnson continues our sermon series by reflecting on the Eucharist. She explores the difference between communion and cannibalism, the mothering nature of Jesus's words- "Take and eat," and the call to continually return to the table. How might the communion table continue to nourish us to live fueled by life and not death, even in the face of Empire?

Pastor Michael continues our sermon series by reflecting on Jesus's invitation to abide with him from John 15. How might we learn to "stay for a while" in Christ's presence, even in the face of the pressures and anxieties of the world around us?

Pastor Erina kicks off a new sermon series by reflecting on the relationship between sacred texts and Empire, inviting us to consider the narratives we inhabit that either lead to oppression or liberation. How might we shift away from a posture of memorization to a posture of improvisation when it comes to Scripture, holding the "Yes-And" reality of God's revelation?

Pastor Erina preaches for Epiphanytide on Matthew 2:1-15, exploring the ways that Christ's birth reveals God's presence amidst a world of brutal tyrants and oppressive Empires. How might the Epiphany story invite us to worship a God of revelation, who is still speaking in our midst- even now? How might we continue to pay attention to that revelation, even when it comes in unexpected ways?

Pastor Michael preaches on the journey of the Magi and two questions they invite us to reflect on: "What in your life, or what in creation, is leading you into Creator’s presence? What is a lie of the Empire from which you would like to walk away?"