Raleigh Mennonite Church

Scripture: Genesis 221:1-14 The story from Genesis is about Abraham taking his son Isaac up to the mountain to be sacrificed. But Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son is craziness! Who has been rendered expendable in our zeal for God? When we're driven by a desire to be faithful to God and go too far, real people pay the price. Typically, the most vulnerable among us: widows, orphans, immigr...

We were excited to have so many guests join us for Pastor Trey's installation service! This morning Trey preached from Romans 6:3-11 . Death is the great equalizer. Making sense of death is the impetus behind a great deal of faith systems and cultural narratives around the world and throughout history. Even in the incarnation of Jesus, Jesus receives a death sentence. In entering the story of huma...

Matthew 9:35-10:1 On Trey's first official Sunday as RMC's new pastor, he spoke about the radically inclusive, ever-expanding Kingdom of God. Jesus proclaims the good news not to draw people into religion, but to construct new ways of belonging. Today's passage says that when Jesus saw the crowds he had compassion for them. Compassion is not only the awareness of distress or suffering of another b...

Acts 2:1-13 RMC's soon to be pastor, Trey Ferguson, preached on Pentecost Sunday, reflecting on the arrival of the power of the Holy Spirit that empowered his followers to preach the Gospel to multitudes of people in their own heart languages, no Duolingo required. In the upper room their must have been a deep sense of anticipation, waiting on the arrival of God's invitation to a partnership with...

Scripture: Luke 10:25-42 Guest speaker Chris Rice brought the message this Sunday. Every age has its signature affliction, according to Byung-Chul Han. Ours is the age of the burnout society. We're in captivity to our activity. The story of the good Samaritan is about allowing our lives to be interrupted by the stranger by the side of the road. The story of Bethany is about our lives being interru...

Scripture: Acts 16:14-40 Susan shared the story of Paul and Silas being jailed in Philippi. They were charged, beaten and imprisoned after the owners of a fortune telling demon-possessed slave girl lost their revenue from her when Paul cast out her demon in name of Jesus Christ. When you mess with people's source of money, you're asking for trouble! Even when in prison, however, Paul and his compa...

Acts 2: 42-47 Susan Scott preached on the Acts 2: 42-47 as a natural extension of the Gospel of Luke. Jesus performed many miracles in Luke, and now his followers through the power of Holy Spirit are doing the same, if a little less perfectly. The testimony of their ministry begs questions of our own walk as Christians. How much forgiveness and love should I offer to difficult people? How much mon...

Luke 24: 13-35 RMC's Hans Linnartz preached this week from the Gospel of Luke. Luke tells of the mysterious appearance of Jesus walking with his followers Cleopas and Mary, his wife, just outside of Jerusalem, fleeing the city following Jesus' crucifixion. Editor's note - below are the slides mentioned in the sermon in the order they are referenced. Much like the other post crucifixion appearances...

John 20: 1-18 Trey Ferguson preached on Holy Humor Sunday at RMC via Zoom. Editor's note- at the beginning of the sermon Trey played a CLIP - please click on the link to the left to watch- from a David Blaine street magic performance where he gets a person to pick a card and reinsert it into the deck. David throws all of the cards against a window and the person's card appears stuck to the BACK of...

John 20: 1-18 Happy Easter to all! Susan Scott preaches on the resurrection, of course, this Easter. God works a lot like springtime, making things that appear dead become suddenly renewed. With that in mind, what is Jesus when he comes back from the dead? He is embodied with scars, yet Mary mistakes him for a gardener until he speaks. Later he walks through a locked door later. Jesus's followers...

Scripture: John 12:12-27, 19:16b-22 Ben Rudeen Kreider, pastor at Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship, provided the message on this Palm Sunday. From the ubiquitous Buc-ee's billboards to the variety of incredibly creative signs seen at yesterday's No Kings rallies, signs are everywhere. A good sign grabs your attention in a short phrase with what a movement is about. Palm branches waved while Jesus...

Scripture: John 19:1-16b On this fifth Sunday of Lent, we continue the story of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Through lots of questioning Jesus is mum. When Pilate gets quite frustrated and asks if Jesus is not aware that he has the power to release Jesus or to have him crucified, Jesus answers, "You have no power over me unless it has been given to you from above." Pilate can find no wrong in him,...

Scripture: John 18:28-40 There are so many points of reference for our lives today in this story of Jesus before Pilate that Susan spoke about on this fourth Sunday of Lent. Pilate was a politician, not a statesman, not a leader, but a politician. To Pilate, truth was something to manipulate. The dissonance between Pilate and Jesus is stark. As relatable as Pilate is--we read about the likes of hi...

Scripture: John 18:12-27 Seth brought the message on this third Sunday of Lent. We find Peter, the beloved disciple of Jesus, at probably one of the worst times of his life, denying he knew Jesus when he swore he wouldn't. But this story isn't so much about Peter as it is about us. We all, like Peter, have moments when we lose sight of our bravery, our integrity, our boldness, our loyalty. We all...

Scripture: John 13:1-17 At the start of her sermon on this day after the US and Israel rained bombs on Iran, Susan admonished us to keep up the coordinated, persistent, non-violent pressure on the administration, and to keep up the prayer. The way of Jesus is the way of love, and today's text is all about love. In it we read about Jesus washing his disciples' feet. This was completely unheard of f...

John 11: 1-44 The first Sunday of Lent Susan Scott delivered a shorter sermon than normal to allow time for a major church life meeting after the service. Lent is a season when we tend to lean more intentionally into engaging with the life and character of Jesus. The scripture was story of Lazarus' resurrection. We all know the outcome, so it is easy to forget all the pain, suffering, and disappoi...

Exodus 24: 12-17 Matthew 17: 1-8 This is Trey Ferguson's (our pastoral candidate) first sermon here at RMC. How we imagine God shapes how we interact with others, our pursuits, ethics, and mores. Which means that when our understanding of God shifts there is the potential for us to transform along with it. The children of Israel saw God's glory as a consuming fire (from God's appearance on top of...

Matthew 4:12-23 Nina Balmaceda provided the sermon for this morning's service which was held via Zoom due to the inclement weather. Jesus was not from the center of power. He began his ministry near Mount Tabor. Not a majestic mountain, but more of a hill, far away from Jerusalem's power. It was close to everyday, ordinary people of mixed ancestry. He began his ministry in a place that religious l...

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 This Sunday we remembered Martin Luther King, Jr. and also focused on the temptations of Jesus as recounted in Luke (and Matthew and to a lesser degree in Mark). Temptations offer a test. There's a chance to pass it and a chance to fail it. With Lent soon approaching next month, Susan suggested it's a great opportunity to address one of the temptations you face in this tumul...

Isaiah 42:1-9 , Matthew 3:13-17 Phil Jackson was our guest speaker this Sunday, retelling the story of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. Would you have gone out to hear John in the wilderness? Many people went out to hear this guy preach and teach. Jesus was among those who went to where John was preaching. It takes a little convincing for John to agree to baptize him. In that process, Jesus com...