Bethel Community Sermons

Pastor Erina reflects on sections in Mark and the ways that Jesus disrupts the social order of his time by reorienting family and kinship. How might the promise of a family that extends beyond our blood families be good news for us in a time, climate, and reality in which sometimes, our families are the ones we need saving from?

Jazzy Johnson guest preaches for us and guides us into the interaction between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7, reminding us that salvation is not abstract, but material. She invites us to hear and heed the cry of this woman, alongside obstinate mothers across time and history, who have fought for their own dignity by demanding their daily bread. How might we continue to hear these cr...

Pastor Erina continues our sermon series by looking at the story of the demoniac in Mark 5 from an imperial lens. How does the naming of Legion in Mark 5 unveil Jesus's authority over the forces of Empire, militarism, and occupation? How might we follow Jesus into the act of naming the demons of our world, in pursuit of collective liberation?

Guest preacher, Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson, preaches for us from Mark 12:41-44, by speaking from the voice of the widow. How does the widow's offering in the midst of a broken and exploirtative temple system remind us of Jesus's movements in our world? How might her story invite us to embrace the margins, to see the invisible, and to work toward a world where all God's children are seen-...

Pastor Michael continues our sermon series by reading Jesus's authority to heal within the conditions of Empire. How is healing not just a physical act, but also a political one? And how might Jesus' deliberate healing actions represent a disruption of the Empire's inertia toward both sickness and injustice?

Pastor Erina kicks off our fall sermon series by providing us some historical context for the imperial backdrop of the Markan narrative and examining the beginnings of Jesus's ministry in Mark 1. How does the arrival of Jesus- in movements of belonging, belovedness, and vulnerability- provide us an antidote to Empire? How does Jesus provide us new understandings of messiahship that defy the ex...

Pastor Erina and Pastor Michael share some updates on work that our community has collaborated on the past 6 months- updating our church identity and values statements.

Dayo Ajanaku concludes our "Passions of the People" series by sharing about the Enneagram as a framework for healing, growth, and self-actualization. She shares about her personal journey in discovering a God who fully knows and accepts her (as enneagram 1) and her hopes for all people to not only survive but to thrive as they come to know themselves better through the Enneagram.

Nancy James and Jonelle Crow share about aging as a source of blessing rather than just a burden. They reflect on their book club experience reading "The Gift of Years" by Joan Chittister and impart their personal explorations and wisdom around the realities of aging through their embodied experience.

Cindy Chan shares about her journey as an artist- what it means to feel God's pleasure as she creates and how she's come to embrace art as a means of fostering care and connection rather than capitalistic gain. She also shares some art pieces that hold significance to her journey.

Katie Joh shares her passion for the dignity of all families through her journey of becoming an advocate in the child welfare system, fighting for family preservation and reunification. She gives us glimpses of the ways our current system unfairly criminalizes and punishes families based on race and class, and shares how Isaiah's prophetic words in Isaiah 58 move her toward both anger and hope...

Matt Gustafson shares about how his experiences with community organizing, communal living, and community land trusts has expanded his imagination for land and housing. How might we begin to view housing and land as resources for building community and pursuing the common good, rather than accumulating personal wealth and profit?

Two physicians in our community, Dr. Miriam Lomelino and Dr. Teresa Ku-Borden, share a bit of their story, their work, and their passions with us in a joint interview, along with how they are trying to humanize healthcare, even as they face the Goliath of our health care system.

Church member Shanda Scherdin continues our "Passions of the People" series by sharing about her experience with neurodiversity, home education, and unschooling movements, and how these things intersect with her faith.

We kick off a special summer interview series called "Passions of the People," highlighting some of the gifts and passions of members of our community. Church elder Yehsong Kim shares about her journey toward becoming a therapist, and the ways that churches can provide healing and therapeutic community for those dealing with anxiety, depression, and perfectionism.

Brandi Miller preaches from the creation narrative, challenging interpretations of creation rooted in rigidity and hierarchy and inviting us to explore the "negative space" in the story. How might a fuller picture of the world God is creating invite us into greater expansiveness, creativity, and freedom?

Pastor Michael continues our "Expanding the Table" sermon series, preaching for Father's Day on the parable of the prodigal. How does the father in this story create new social imaginaries by rejecting the gender binary? How does this parable grant us a more expansive view of the revolutionary act of parenthood?

Pastor Erina preaches from Acts 11, about the Spirit's transgressive work in the early Church, which led to the inclusion of Gentiles in their community. What does Peter's encounter with Cornelius teach us about how to approach divine revelation? How might we wrestle with a Scriptural tradition in which the word of God presses against the word of God and brings about new and unexpected cha...

Guest preacher, Natarsha Sanders, preaches from Romans 12 about the nature of God's radical love - a love that we are called both to experience and to embody. What might our lives look like, planted in the fertile love of God?

Pastor Michael preaches for us on Trinity Sunday, about the life of our Triune God as an embodiment of family- a family marked by belonging and belovedness.

Pastor Erina preaches for Pentecost 2024, sharing about the Holy Spirit's leveling power and casting vision for a church community where power is shared. In light of Bethel's 5 year anniversary or revitalization, what does it look like to become a house of God marked by abundance and co-creation and inspired by the Spirit's leveling power?

Guest Preacher, Erna Kim Hackett, shares a special Mother's Day and AANHPI Month reflection on Yuri Kochiyama's legacy of radical solidarity and radical mothering. How might Yuri's life and witness point us to a God of justice, and teach us how to live in these days?

Guest preacher, Sara Kwon, explores what it means to sing new songs, especially in times of exile. How might the act of praise ground us in God's story, reminding us of our true identity and helping us imagine new futures together? Sara is a Japanese and Chinese American woman who is growing in trusting her voice and having fewer ‘should’s’ direct her desires. She has been in campus ministry f...

Pastor Michael preaches from the Eastertide lectionary text of John 15, exploring what a life of mutuality with Jesus looks like. What does it mean for us to be hosted by Jesus- freely and generously? What does it mean for us to host Jesus - in vulnerability? Please note: Technical issues during the sermon have created some static and differing volume levels on the sermon audio.

Pastor Erina continues our Eastertide series on Good Shepherd Sunday, reflecting on the lectionary text of John 10:11-18 and Jesus' declaration that he is the good shepherd. In a world full of untrustworthy leaders, what does it mean for us to put our trust in Jesus and find hope in his good shepherding?