From Foreside Community Church

Scripture: Acts 2:41-47 The Rev. Susan Gilpin preaches on a day when Kristen and Audrey Farnham also present on their recent trip to and work in Guatemala with From Houses to Homes . In Acts, as the early church begins to spread far and wide, it is the generosity of the Holy Spirit which marks them. Today, we are invited to consider how church might be the flower which goes to seed and spreads new...

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20 As we bless graduates on their next adventures, Jesus sends out his beloved disciples to baptize in the name of what we now call the Trinity. But what he, and we, may be hoping we share is not a particular name of God, but the unending activity of God: loving, communicating, and connecting. The post Community of Blessing appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21 In a time when Empire defined the language and story that was central, Jesus’s followers discovery that the Holy Spirit arrives to help them tell and understand the wonders that God was working in their lives in their own words and ways… How do we, following in this holy way, make sure that we bring our own—and receive—stories and words for God’s love in ou...

Scripture: Acts 1:6-14 In both the story of Jesus’s ascension and in the 23rd Psalm our ideas about victory and enemies are challenged. How is God calling us to look “higher” to see the world without its dividing lines? How is God calling us to bear witness to the specificity of Jesus, seeking especially care for those who have been cast out? The post Witnessed appeared first on...

Scripture: John 14:15-21 , Psalm 23 As we continue to explore the 23rd Psalm, we also hear Jesus preparing to leave his disciples. In both, we find the power of God’s accompaniment. On a day in which we give thanks for all that mothers us, our spirits, and our lives, how does that accompanying love encourage us to do the same, turning out into the world to walk with others? The post The Love...

Scripture: John 10:1-10 Jesus describes a flock of sheep that he is both shepherd of and gate to… how do we make sense of these images, and how do we listen for the voice of a shepherd in a world in which there are so many voices that can be “thieves and bandits” of our attention? The post The Shepherd Gate: Getting Our Attention appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-10 The first letter of Peter calls the early church to build themselves upon Christ as the chief cornerstone: living stones becoming a community and spiritual temple. But building on that “stone that was rejected” may cause us to think about how we build. How can we form a spiritual community strong enough to be a shelter for those in times of trial and open enou...

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35 Two disciples wonder at what may be true in the resurrection story as they travel together, and we wonder at how we might especially find our hearts open to receive the risen Christ when we travel and meet each other more fully face to face. The post On the Road appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: John 20:19-29 The Rev. James Gertmenian leads worship, and with the disciple Thomas wonders at the resurrection news, and how we can believe “in our bodies.” The post The Resurrection of the Body – The Rev. James Gertmenian appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10 In Matthew’s telling of Easter, the day of resurrection is framed by fear: rulers afraid of what resurrection might mean for their power, guards frightened by blazing visions… but Jesus greets his followers with the song of the angels, “Be not afraid.” How does Easter’s news make us bold in the face of all that might try to bury love, and br...

Scripture: John 20:1-18 Jesus is not where people expect, and so there is a race to the tomb to see what is happening… But moving, thinking, and even looking for Jesus may not always work at speed. What happens when we slow ourselves to look, to think, to wonder more deeply at the resurrection news of Easter? The post Resurrection: Fast and Slow appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11 Philippians 2:5-11 We follow Jesus into Jerusalem and join in shouts of praise. We, like those crowds long ago, too often try to bend Jesus into our own form of just another emperor or king. Instead, we are shown the grace-filled leadership of self-emptying. How do we follow in his way, making space for one another so that we might live more wholly as a people? The post...

Scripture: John 11:1-45 Jesus goes to his friends Mary and Martha at the death of their brother, Lazarus. Like us, Mary and Martha are sure that their grief could have been avoided. But Jesus sits with them and weeps at the reality of their loss… and then, something changes. The post Getting to Empty: Unbound appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 A young shepherd is called to be a King… and so we still look to one who we call a “Good Shepherd” to lead us. But what is it about these workers in the flock? Is leadership just directing the path? Or could it be that leading also contains listening to the shape and seasons of the land to guide us safely? The post Getting to Empty: High Expectations a...

Scripture: John 4:5-42 Jesus meets a Samaritan Woman at a well, and notices the weight that her story—or rather, the story others have told of her—has weighed her down. In seeing her, naming her, and offering her his presence and blessing, he calls a powerful new preacher into the world. What stories must we set down to proclaim God’s love more fully? The post Getting to Empty: The Weight of...

Scripture: John 3:1-17 A wise one called Nicodemus comes looking for Jesus, but perhaps uncertain if he can leave his position and power behind. How are we being invited to be “born again” continually, releasing what has been to move more and more lovingly into what may be in God? The post Getting to Empty: Night Lights and New Birth appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, Matthew 4:1-11 What really happened in the Garden? Did humanity start with a story of disobedience, or maybe distrust? Did we leave a paradise with us at the center, or a web of mutuality and connection? As we begin Lent, Jesus resists the temptation to center self, and reconnects us to the center of God’s loving care. The post Getting to Empty: Trees, Towe...

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 We begin the season of Lent by remembering how fragile life is. Jesus reminds us that if we live for ourselves, all we build is just as fragile, but if we live for God’s love and others… that love makes something that can last. The post Ash Wednesday: Where Our Treasure Is appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9 As we hear the story of Jesus’s Transfiguration, we are tempted to define and limit the life of the spirit to experiences of wonder and amazement… but when a voice says, “Listen to him,” Jesus speaks with a life that does not revel in mountaintop experiences, but goes down into the heart of all that may be hurting and broken in our world. The post Beloved – The Spok...

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12 Guest preachers The Rev. Jeff Logan from Grace-Street Ministry and Matt Brown from Hope Squad offer the wisdom they have found with our neighbors who live unhoused. The prophet Isaiah calls the people to this worshipful way, finding the face of God and the invitation to true worship in caring presence. The post The Fast We Choose appeared first on Foreside Community Churc...

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus proclaims blessings in “the Beatitudes,” telling of God’s closeness and care for those in the midst of struggle… and and the call to us all to do the same, drawing near to those who yearn for peace, righteousness, and comfort in times of mourning. The post The Proximity of Blessing appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23 “What are you prepared to do?” As Jesus takes on a new chapter in his ministry and begins to call disciples to follow in his way, we wonder at the gifts and skills we bring with us into the ministry of the church, and the challenge to use those gifts to “escalate in love.” The post Coming Attractions appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Psalm 40:1-11 In a time of deep divisions, the psalms can tempt us into a painful duality of those who we would call friends and enemies. Yet they may also call us into that life giving tension of naming injustice clearly and holding out faith in God’s reconciling and redeeming power. The post Old Book, New Song appeared first on Foreside Community Church .

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 Wise ones come from away seeking a new king. They get lost, because they go looking in a palace and in a capital. When they find a child born among animals, they—and we—are left to ponder, what if nations came to pay homage to a poor child? What if nations sought to live together in such a way that all children might be welcomed as the beloved of God? The post An Internat...

Lessons and Carols As we tell of the many characters of Christ’s birth stories, we recognize that none of them find God with Us through a path they would expect. As we come to celebrate perfect love come down, we pray to release all our expectations of perfection in our celebrations, in the season, in our lives… we find that God has come to meet us where and how we are. What Joy to the...