From Your Pastor

You asked questions about forgiveness...and now I think we also need to talk about good apologies, reparations, and reconciliation. Maintaining relationships is rewarding, but hard work.

For our week exploring prayer, we had different folks from the congregation offer their own testimonies about prayer--what they like to do, how they experience the Divine, what they've tried. To keep the pressure off our responders, we didn't record this. However, Rev. Jenelle offered a guided meditation at the end of service which we've recorded here for you. Find a comfortable place...

We take a look at church hurt through the lens of Family Systems Theory...and take some deep breaths.

This week we talk about how to talk about God. Is God close and cuddly? Distant and mysterious? A bit of both?

This is an advertisement for our July book read: Faith after Doubt by Brian McClaren. It's also a sermon about how when our beliefs are up for grabs that doesn't mean our faith has nothing left for us.

We tackle the hot place on this painfully hot Sunday in Hot-lanta: Hell!

Starting with an apology. The recording is not ideal. In fact, it's pretty lame quality. Apologies! Friend and fellow Candler Alum Christina Toney-Schmitt joined us this week to tackle the Kingdom of Heaven. Despite my phone garbling the recording, I think her wise words on the topic are definitely worth a listen.

The Rev. Dr. Chris Holmes (he's very cute, even if you can't see him on this recording) joined us for our second sermon on the Bible. Listen in!

Basically a midrash on Peter Enns' book How the Bible Actually Works . What is in this Bible that makes it so unruly? Because it is. Also, Jenelle's longest sermon to date. Ever.

The wonderful Laura Jean Truman joins us as we explore your questions about being Christian and being LGBTQIA+. You can also find Laura Jean at her blog at https://laurajeantruman.com and on Instagram @laurajeantruman.

Stop looking at heaven say the angels. Start looking at the world.

A sermon one part Nickel Creek and one part Paul the Apostle.

Join us as we echo Rabbi Steve Leder: If you go through hell, don't come out empty handed. Also, I'm angry about gun violence.

The confession "Jesus is my Lord and Savior" has had some rough patches in recent decades. Can we reclaim it?

From Peter's first sermon to the words of our children 2,000 years later: who is Jesus?

We explore the differences between approaching Holy Week in a frame of fear or a bedrock of love.

We do not walk our faith journey alone. Jesus didn't. Moses didn't. No one does.

We talk today about the complicated-ness of beliefs and behaviors that our ancestors and family have offered us.

We explore the difference between traditions or beliefs and faith. If you set aside one, do you lose the other? Let's hope not. 

We explore how fear sidelines our faith journey and ways to breath our way through it.  *Also includes a bonus guided breathing meditation at the end.* 

We explore how the call to repent is a call to deconstruct. And God's got our back while we do it. 

We explore a great framework for talking about who Jesus is and what Jesus reveals about God. 

Your new identity, affection, and responsibility in Christ.

We've gotten bogged down in our tradition with predestination. Perhaps we got it a bit wrong.

What is at the heart of leadership (despite the denomination).