ReNew Ames Messages

What is this story about? It's about failure and forgiveness - not one or the other, but both. The disciples spent three years with Jesus; in that time, they learned from him every day and spent all their time with him. After Jesus left them (after giving them his Spirit - his presence), they went back to the way things were - fishing. Sometimes we do the same - we experience the presence of God -...

It's Easter Sunday! We're getting started here with a brief retelling of the story. Then we get to the part where the angel says, "Do not be afraid." I have trouble with this. Maybe we all have trouble with this. There's so much in the world that causes us fear. So what makes this angel think he can come into our place of worship, look us straight in the eye and say with all seriousness, "Do not b...

A note: there are some audio issues in this one that are unfixable in editing. Our apologies! Palm Sunday! There's a connection between Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, and Palm Sunday, as the season of Lent draws to a close. Both will lead us into contemplating our own mortality - the fact that all of us will one day die. THAT always leads us to the realization that we live in...

Speaker: Tony Vis Scripture: Philippians 2:12-18 http://bible.com/events/49416767

The story of Jesus and Nicodemus. In order to understand this, we have to know a little bit about Nicodemus. John gives us some clues. He's a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. Smart. Well respected. His whole life was dedicated to understanding and living up to Torah - becoming as holy and righteous as can be in order to honor God. He comes to Jesus under cover of darkness. Perha...

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem as a mother hen - calling her chicks back and yet, they were not willing. We're going to spend some time thinking about this image of the mother hen. What in the world could this story be saying to us? 1) Maybe this story is inviting us to embrace a vulnerability not often embraced in this world. Jesus doesn't offer to get rid of the "fox" (Herod). What Jesus does offer...

We live in a world that is obsessed with knowledge - which is a good thing. Knowledge gets you ahead. Knowledge is power. That's what we say. And we experience that, too. It worked for Paul. He really was THE MAN, when it came to all things God. For a lot of us who grew up in the Church, head knowledge of the contents and principles of the Bible was something that we valued highly. Memorization, t...

It's Lent time, baby! It always starts with an examination of this particular story in Luke. Today we're talking about how we can approach it - from an individual perspective - how does this impact each of our lives? AND from a communal perspective - how does this impact us as a community? Temptation one is to go after the short-cut - to take the easy way - to go after instant gratification. We're...

This morning we are doing something a bit different once again, with a panel of therapists who are in our community. A huge thank you to Sarah Fleming, Holly Thompson, and Jason Stark for sharing their time and wisdom with us today! Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6 http://bible.com/events/49399816

Luke's version of the Beatitudes - except he includes some "woes." The first thing we notice is that this is all backwards - Jesus has things all upside-down. What our world thinks of as blessed usually involves prosperity linked to wealth, comfort, no lack of possessions or materials to get what we want. Yeah, it's the opposite of what Jesus says. I'll admit that I don't quite know what to do wit...

What does this story say about us human beings? I love how this story talks about failure so honestly. We've been out all night and haven't caught anything! I know nothing about fishing, but I do know what it's like to put a lot of time and energy into something important and not get anything out of it. And I love it that these are the people Jesus calls - they're just like us! What does this stor...

This is the story of Isaiah's vision in the temple and his calling and commissioning as a prophet. At first, this story seems inaccessible. It's not like we're all seeing heavenly beings flying around all the time. So this raises all sorts of questions. And maybe we don't have answers to some, or all of those questions! But the story is still worth thinking through. So in examining it, we're going...

This week's all about deacons, elders, and how we are organized with those structures in place. Sound a little dry? Well, let's talk about why it's actually exciting, and why we already have those systems in place, even if we haven't been using those labels. We're walking through the responsibilities of those roles, as well as talking about how we can all participate within this structure we call...

This week looks a little different! We spent the sermon time working on a practice from the book Praying In Color by Sybil MacBeth. Our own Sarah Fleming walked us through the practice and then we spent some time together in the room actively participating in this form of prayer. This is more of a visual activity, obviously, so head over to ReNew Ames on YouTube for the full experience. Speaker: S...

Jesus enters a synagogue and teaches with authority - the people are amazed. Next a man with an impure spirit recognizes Jesus and Jesus casts out the spirit. The people are amazed again and Jesus becomes famous throughout the land. What a weird little story. How much of this can we relate to? Well, if we use our imaginations - we can. We'll imagine what it was like for the people in the synagogue...

The story of the calling of Phillip and Nathanael - but mostly about Nathanael. This story is not about what Nathanael sees - it's really first about what Jesus sees. It's only when Jesus sees Nathanael for who he truly is that Nathanael experiences transformation. He tells him is is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Let's unpack that here. Deceit is a concept we we get. Nathanael is a...

We'll start out here by talking about the false narrative around prophets. They were not fortune tellers or predictors of the future. They were primarily truth tellers. We are jumping into the first of a four part sermon series that Isaiah gives on The Servant of the Lord. First, the context. The Israelites were in Babylonian captivity - living in a foreign and dangerous land. And Isaiah says that...

The way God came into the world was not what the people wanted or yearned for or prayed for. The way God showed up to rescue was unexpected. God often shows up unexpectedly. This is a paradox, God showing up unexpectedly. The all-powerful one shows up as an infant, the very essence of weakness and vulnerability. But it's also the one human reality that calls out of everyone who witnesses it a love...

This is the story where Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. It starts with Gabriel meeting Mary and goes through Mary's stay with Elizabeth. Traditionally it's called The Visitation. This story gives us three gifts to think about during the season of Christmas. First, the gift of community. Mary goes to see Elizabeth. Why? She needs someone. She needs safety. She needs affirmation. She needs someone to...

This story about John the Baptist centers on the question from the religious authorities: Who are you? J the B answers it by talking about who he is NOT. He is NOT the Messiah. I wonder if we should start where he starts. We are not the Messiah. One of the worst mistakes the church has made throughout history is claiming an identity and power that just isn't ours. When we have messianic ambition,...

"Come, thou long expected Jesus," the old Christmas carol says. We anticipate the story of a vulnerable family, an ordinary family of no consequence, in a stable. We talk of the arrival of a king, *the* king, so that we might celebrate God becoming flesh and bone in the form of a baby. Commonly the kingdom of God is talked about in future tense. Many of us were raised to think of heaven as the kin...

There's a Rob Bell quote that talks about how Scripture is like a gem - you keep turning it and new and different things come out of it. It's a good quote and a good way to think about scripture. There are sooooo many ways that people have interpreted this story for like 2000 years. It's a frustrating story for me. So today we're turning the gem and looking at the different ways people have interp...

Last week was the most important commandment - this week we go waaay back to the basics and talk about the ten commandments. We're starting by talking about the story of God saving the Israelites from Egypt. Basically a summary of the first 19 chapters of the book of Exodus. God parks them at the base of a mountain and says, "Okay, after I saved you, here's our arrangement. Here's how you live in...

There are a range of feelings in the room after last week's events. To ignore that would be unfair and dishonest. Let's talk about this story, though. We're near the end of Jesus' life on earth, for context. He's asked a question: What's the most important commandment? If you truly want to live life to the fullest - what's the most important thing? Jesus responds, love God - love people. That's it...

Paul says to Timothy in this letter that he's the worst sinner ever. Yeah, ever. So, this is when we talk about his story back when he was Saul and how maybe he was right. Saul was a really bad dude. He was a religious extremist who sought out followers of Jesus so he could get them arrested or kill them. But then Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus (where he was going to go find more followers...