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It's Transfiguration Sunday once again! But Luke adds a little to this familiar tale, because it doesn't end when Jesus, Peter, James and John come down the mountain. Because there, they meet a boy in need, and Jesus uses what happened on the mountaintop to do the work necessary on the plain. A great story for the season, for our time, and for our lives.

Jesus' Sermon on the Plain in Luke has a lot of familiar sayings..."Turn the other cheek," "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and "Do not judge, and you will not be judged," just to name a few. But how well do we really know this passage? What is it really about? Join us as we talk about agape love, breaking the cycles of abuse and violence, and...

This is a first for us...not that we don't occasionally rant about things...we just don't normally record it. But today, mostly in good fun, we take aim at a recent New York Times opinion peace that tells churches they "should" drop their online worship services. We talk Pauline theology, logic, pastoral care, and congregational polity, and the challenges of weighing many diffe...

The story seems so simple...a miraculous catch of fish, a sacred calling, the beginning of discipleship. The moral of the story is "Answer the call!" Right? But what does it mean to be called? What is vocation, really? Is "to do" the same as "to be?"  A conversation about calling, and answering, and the daily walk of faith.

Without diagramming the entire book of 1 Corinthians, we dive into the salient parts for today's discussion of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, the Love Chapter. It's about community, and connectedness, and compassion, and above all, the animating love of the Holy spirit. Join us for a far-ranging conversation about St. Paul, what it means to be part of the body, and what True Love looks like.

In the spirit of a recent clergy gathering, and the start of a brand new year, we are taking the opportunity to look at where we have been as the Church, where we are, and where we are going. Hope, fears, dreams, vision, and a whole lot of the Holy Spirit. Join us for a conversation that reaches a lot of topics, and takes us a lot of places.

Well, it happened: Covid has come to the James house! We're all ok (and hope to stay that way) but it also means we're on Zoom today. But if you can stand the funky audio, we've got a great bible study on a famous and rich story: Jesus turning water into wine during the wedding at Cana. What do we make of this extravagant miracle? What does this sign say about who God is and what Go...

It's a familiar story...maybe too familiar, in fact. We think we know all there is to know about the Three Kings and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But what's really going on here and what's it all about? Jump into Epiphany with us, as we explore the journey of the Magi, as found in Matthew 2:1-12.

We're a little more than a week out from Christmas, and do we have a lot to say...about the New Year, about Advent, about the Magnificat, about Christmas Eve! (And all of it, of course, is germaine to the season.) Join us this week for a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of Christmas.

Can you believe we're already getting ready for the second Sunday of Advent? Time seems to be hurtling by, and us with it. But this week, a pause, as we listen for the voice of one calling from the wilderness, "Prepare!" But what are we preparing for, and how do we do it? Join us this week as we talk John the Baptizer, repentance, peace, and hygge.

This week, two stories of disruption and uncertainty - both of which, in their own way, challenge us to be faithful. They force us to face hard things: delayed promise, unfulfilled needs, a scary world, and everything we can't control. And then they call us to be open and courageous, patient and present for the meeting of our moment. These convulsive pains we're feeling - are they birth...

Once again, Mark packs a whole lot into very few verses. What looks like a simple call to give sacrificially is actually a  pointed critique of the abuses of religious institutions, and a call to thoughtful, intentional, daily stewardship. With Mark, it's never simple. Join us this week for a deep dive into the story of the Widow's Mite.

What a time! This weekend mixes the sacred, the secular, the Christian, the pagan, life and death in one glorious, slightly anarchic festival. In church, we are holding together endings and beginnings, and everywhere, we are playing with identity, power, humor, and fear. All of this brings us out of our individual routines into the blessed mess of community, in search of what is real and right - o...

This week it's a simple story, with a whole lot going on...the tale of the healing of Bartimaeus. It calls back to the stories that have preceded it in the last month, while at the same time looks forward to what happens next in the Gospel of Mark, the Triumphal Entry. The story is about faith, about vision, about Self, about the Kingdom of God, about having the courage to speak up. Join us f...

We are in the book of Job this week, and the Gospel of Mark, respectively. Both passages, although quite different, speak to the cultural moment we are in. Job, although one of the oldest texts in the bible, engages directly with the grief and pain that seem to be so prominent in our world and in our personal lives right now. And Jesus in Mark speaks directly to the systems of domination that surr...

It's a seemingly simple question the man has for Jesus..."What must I do to inherit eternal life?" But Jesus' answer is anything but simple. It is rich, and complex, and in many ways, decidedly uncomfortable. Join us as we discuss camels, the eyes of needles, and what it might take to live a whole, abundant life.

It's all about courage this week...whether we're exploring the story of Esther and her defense of the Jewish people against an existential threat, or diving into Jesus' prophetic sayings in Mark 9 about boundaries and defending the vulnerable, the courage to risk is at the heart of this week's lectionary. Join us for two wildly different, yet profoundly intersecting passages ab...

There's a whole lot of everything happening here in Mark 9:30 - 37...another prediction of Christ's passion and resurrection, another time the disciples don't get it, another teaching moment about the Kingdom of God. It may sound like "We've been there, we've done that," but put all together, these short eight verses upend the whole transactional system of power...

Part three of our mini-series on salvation explores six more ways Christians have answered the question, "What are we saved from?" Maybe you've only heard one version of this story in your life, but whatever that one was, it isn't the only way. There is no one way - just many ways of expressing who we believe God is to us. All of them right, all of them limited, all of them tru...

This is the last week in our respective summer series, and we've got some big ideas to discuss. The last book at FCC Dundee, by David Zahl, is called, "Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion And What To Do About It." (Whew!) Its a fascinating book about how religious we can be about "non-religious" things - and ho...

Taking a break from our short series on salvation, we tackle some uncomfortable things this week. Pastor Aaron explores Psalm 10, and righteous lament, while Pastor Paige travels with Saul to Damascus, and talks about what we do when everything is upside down, and an answer isn't apparent. Both places that are difficult to be in, but are part of the spiritual journey.

With Pastor Paige on a well-deserved break, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jim Halverson, PhD, a member of FCC Dundee and a professor at Judson University. Jim has particular expertise in Medieval Christianity, the Reformation, and world history, and he brings that knowledge to bear on our questions about salvation: What are we saved from - and how? How have we answered these questions differently...

A small detour from following our Summer Series pattern, we are taking some time to follow up on a topic we touched on a few weeks ago...Salvation. What is it? What are we saved from? What are we saved to? How does it all work, anyway? This language is at the core of our faith, but what does it really mean? Pastors Paige and Aaron begin a mini-series on this important and interesting topic.

We're back! After a week away, we are returning to an exploration of the Summer Series we are doing. This week, Pastor Aaron is reading "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants," by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It's a series of essays that encompass all the various parts of Kimmerer's experience as a botanist and a member of the Po...

Another deep dive into our Summer Sermon Series, Paige gets to wax rhapsodic about her favorite Hebrew Bible story of all time, the tale of Ruth and Naomi, and the covenant that make with each other. Aaron is reading "Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence" by Diana Butler Bass. This book is a exploration of just some of the ways we come to...