Zao MKE Church

Every new parent thinks their newborn baby is perfect, right? Well God thought that about you at the moment of your creation, and unlike human parents, the shine never wore off. Sometimes we talk about God as the "perfect Father" - but what if God thinks of you as the perfect child?

What does it mean to trust in God? Do we trust God with the vulnerability of a newborn baby? Should we?   In faith spaces, we often take for granted the idea that trusting in God is important, but in this episode we'll unpack what we mean by trust and whether trust, even in God, must be built in relationship.

We come into this world through irresistible forces of movement and change. Through our lives, we learn to resist change. What if we released our resistance and surrendered to the flow of creation?

Try as we may, we cannot avoid suffering - for ourselves or for our loved ones. What does the suffering of the innocent tell us about humanity, creation, and the nature of God?

“The joy of the lord is your strength” - Nehemiah 8:10   When we arrive on this earth, everything we take in everything with wide-eyed wonder. What if that’s a feature we aren’t supposed to age out of? Though many of us wear cynicism like an armor, the call of God is to earnest joy and delight wherever we can find it. An attitude of delight us vulnerable, but also gives us strength for the beautif...

"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there" - Job 1:21   We are born naked into this world - unashamed, vulnerable, and ready to be loved. Through the worries and wounds of our lives, we acquire shame, emotional armor, and a fear that we are unlovable. The love of Jesus calls us to return, naked and unashamed, into the embrace of our loving God. Join us this Sunday as our...

Guest sermon by Rev. Hannah Kardon We aren't the first people to, in fits and starts, begin to return to old ways of life after a long and traumatic disruption. A few thousand years ago, the Israelites under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and The Temple after seventy years of exile. From them, we can learn a bit about what is needed to make a new life out of rubble, to r...

J.J. Warren preaches from Acts 11, challenging us to be like Peter: to respond to the voice of God, which calls us to move beyond the boundaries that keep us apart from our fellow humans and the doctrines that keep queer people out of UMC pulpits.

Guest sermon by Derrick Scott The folks who received the Sermon on the Mount were probably surprised to hear these words being said to them. The call to be salt and light for the sake of the world goes out to everyone, but especially to everyday, ordinary individuals. And the world is waiting on us to respond.

Guest sermon by Rev. Dr. Jay Williams, Pastor at Union Church Boston Loving self (body) is a process of unlearning… self criticism, self hate, self loathing - it is the rejection of how we’ve been shaped by society. Being beloved of God and the body of Christ is accompanied by transformation of the mind.

Guest sermon by Cor Christophe, Zao community member We believe God created us and most of us claim, believe, and/or have been told that because God created us, our bodies are sacred/holy. But what does it mean to have a sacred body? Are all bodies truly sacred? And how do we care for our sacred body? Join us this Sunday as we explore these questions, and examine how we may attend to our sacred/ho...

Guest sermon by Rev. Jason Butler Our bodies represent a power but our question is always, “How will that power be used”? For good or not so much? When Jesus encounters the religious leaders he is facing strongmen who are oppressing the people. How does Jesus respond? And where are our bodies in this story?

Guest sermon by Bryan Minan, Zao community member The love of God has always and will always be given and extended to us all. Especially to those communities who have been historically hurt, oppressed, and had religion weaponized against them. Join us for a message about that love that promises to always be there, from a community that wants to do the same.

Guest sermon by Rev. Victoria Sun Esparza What do our scars tell us about God’s transformative work? What happens when our scars only remind us of our painful past? Join us as we talk about transformation, the story of our bodies, and what we do with the scars left behind.

Guest sermon by Rev. Tyler Sit, Pastor at New City Church How do we cure pity in our society? What alternatives does the Bible offer to paternalistic charity? Join us to see how Jesus answered those questions!

Guest sermon by Rev. Afi Dobbins-Mays, Pastor at Solomon Community Temple United Methodist Church and the New St. James Community Church In true Zao fashion, we are still celebrating PRIDE long past June! Join us for a sermon from Reverend Afi Dobbins-Mays, in celebration and honor of Pride month. It is a call for justice, love and unity in Christ!

Guest sermon by Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom, Senior Minister at First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee Stillness has a relationship with movement, just as the notes of a piece of jazz are punctuated by silence. As opposed to silence, stillness can be a frame for music, creativity, and teeming life. Stillness can serve as the ground for creativity, the rest that creates the next thing. Join us for this w...

Each 4th of July weekend, churches across the country wave flags and sing songs of patriotism. But is this commitment to national identity faithful? Or do we have other opportunities to celebrate alternative American histories that align less with colonizing empire and more with the Gospel message of freedom from oppression?

When we come to the end of the Spiritual life cycle, we are invited to reflect on what we've learned. Where have we come from, and how are we different? Can we accept that this path is not what we thought it might be when we set out?   We'll look to Jesus on the cross, facing transition from life to death. Though he will rise again in just 3 days, even Jesus must face the end of this cycle. How ca...

In the middle of our spiritual cycles, we can find ourselves in a bit of existential crisis. Does any of this even matter? God invites us to turn from ourselves in these moments to see that we are part of something larger and more lasting - and that our contributions matter!

Happy Pride weekend! This week, we'll be entering the part of the spiritual life cycle concerned with identity and love - who am I? Can this new version of myself love and be loved authentically? Learning from the Biblical story of young lovers David and Jonathon, we'll see how stripping off the expectations of others and pursuing your true self can lead you into deeper and truer love - for yourse...

At the beginning of every spiritual cycle, we ask ourselves, "Can I risk it?" We wonder whether we are truly capable of embarking on a journey into the unknown. Is it safe? Who must I rely on, and how much can I trust myself on the new path?   To give us hope and a model of how to leap into the spiritual unknown with abandon, we'll look to Jesus in his own childhood, putting his trust entirely in...

Jesus asks his followers to stay awake, which begs the question: Stay awake to what?   Join us for a special sermon from Tyler Sit, who is a queer POC friend of Zao, church planter and author of the new book, Staying Awake: The Gospel for Changemakers. We'll explore how we can stay awake, show up for justice and transform the world around us by first transforming ourselves.

Sometimes we're plagued by doubt, even if we're *mostly* sure that God affirms and celebrates LBGTQ people. So what if we're wrong? Come hear a word of hope in the midst of uncertainty - our earnest, imperfect pursuit of the Gospel is holy and good. Even if we're wrong.

This week, we'll unpack the handful of single verses that have been taken out of context to harm LGBTQ people. What's an abomination anyway? Do these scriptures actually reference consenting relationships between adults at all? From Leviticus to Romans, we've got you covered, verse by verse.