The Gospel Of: Gratitude. Giving as a liturgical act.
Do you believe in 'tithing' or giving a percentage of your income to church? Do you believe it's even worth giving to the church?
Sarah Ngu explains how tithing -- giving a percentage of your income to the church -- is an outdated concept rooted in a time when Israel was a sovereign nation where people had to give tithes to their priests. We don't live in such a context- so why give?
Read MoreThe Gospel of Heaven: Is Jesus the only way?
At some point in your life you were told that Jesus was the only way to heaven or told someone else that Jesus was the only way to heaven. We justify this by using John:6. It says, "Jesus answered, I'm the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to God but through me." This is a terrible interpretation of scripture!
In this 3rd sermon in our EasterTide series, watch Jonathan Williams remind us how Jesus excluded no one from his promise of Heaven. As always, it’s critical that we understand the context of culture at the time these stories were written. When we believe that people who don't believe in Jesus are unworthy of eternal life, we'll treat them poorly in this life.
Read MoreWe Christians never believe that we're holy enough.
We have to believe a certain way. Read scripture a certain way. Attend Church often. Believe that some people are holy and others are not. Believe an atonement theory that says God is holy and separate from us because we are not holy.
With Jesus it seems like we have a really clear picture of what God sees as holy.
God sees refugees as holy. Jesus was one. God sees the politically oppressed as holy. Jesus was politically oppressed. God sees the homeless and underserved as holy. Jesus was too. God sees those ruthlessly murdered by a corrupt justice system as holy. Jesus experienced death at the hands of a broken system.
What God does through Jesus is essentially tell us that there is no line between that which is holy and that which is not. All of it is sacred and all of us are sacred. All of us are holy and worthy to part of God’s priesthood.
If the God we believe tells us that we are separate and not holy then maybe it's time for us to kill that god.
Read MoreMira Sawlani-Joyner, guest preacher and former Community Director at Forefront Brooklyn, shares her personal experiences as an Asian woman. Inspired by the story of Rahab, Mira shows us how Asian women have divine purpose in this world, partnering with and co-laboring with God to bring God's kin-dom to fruition.
Unfortunately, Asian women are hyper sexualized by the media and popular culture, and are relegated to tropes and stereotypes that render them as submissive and docile. These stereotypes lead to their treatment as second class citizens and stand in the way of us seeing Asian women as image bearers reflecting the diverse qualities of God.
This is a powerful, heartfelt sermon that challenges our views towards Asian Americans and helps us take a step closer to a society that accepts, values and respects all.
Read MoreThe resurrection story is not a neat and tidy formula to get us into heaven.
It is a wild and imaginative story that asks us to take big risks for others and to work with God to bring about new creation. Jonathan Williams shares that If what we see in Jesus is God's own self, revealed, then we are dealing with a God who is ridiculously indiscriminate about choosing friends, who would rather die than have a neat and tidy sin management system complete with a scorecard, who would not lift a finger to condemn those who crucified him - A God unafraid to get God's hands dirty for the ones God loves. The resurrection of Jesus Christ did not happen so that your soul would be saved from hell and your sins forgiven, rather so that you would open your eyes to the unexpected and radical love that God has for God's creation.
Read MoreHope is what comes when all else fails.
On this Palm Sunday, Jonathan Williams shares that’s not really what hope is -- it’s what comes when all else fails. The hope that comes when all else feels hopeless -- apocalyptic hope -- shows that the apocalypse isn't an ending, it's a revelation. What can feel like failure or pain can actually be the beginning of hope.
This is the sixth and final sermon in our “This Feeling's Got Me Like...” series.
Read MoreThe opposite of fear is saying yes to living fully.
The future is unknown. That scares the crap out of us. What do we do in the face of the unknown?
Jonathan Williams shares that the way forward is not fear, it’s faith. Faith is a choice to take action and move forward even when there is nothing guaranteed. To make the conscious choice to believe just for today that the great I AM is at work in our fears and in our unknowns. The opposite of fear is saying yes to being made in the image of God, of living fully alive, warts and all.
This is the fifth and final sermon in our “This Feeling's Got Me Like...” series.
Read MoreLonely in the wilderness.
The pandemic of loneliness existed long before COVID-19, and being lonely can make us feel like we’re lost in the wilderness.
In this Sunday’s message, guest preacher and former Forefront Brooklyn associate pastor Jennifer Fisher of Launchpad Partners tells us that the wilderness can be the place where we come to know God the strongest, and can actually be a place of hope for us to grow deeper in relationship with God, each other, and creation.
This is the fourth sermon in our “This Feeling's Got Me Like...” series.
Read MoreCovid has highlighted an unspoken struggle for millions of us. We're not doing well and don't know how to find healing. We suffer silently and are afraid to talk about mental illness in the church. We believe that we're not holy enough, godly enough. That's a lie!
In this sermon, Jonathan Williams explains how our struggles with mental challenges can actually shape the kin-dom of god.
This is the third sermon in our “This Feeling's Got Me Like...” series.
Read More“How anger is a gift and a gateway to positive change”
We’ve been taught that the Christian response to anger is to minimize it, but it’s actually *not* Biblical to deny our feelings of anger.
In this sermon, Jonathan Williams shows us that our anger is not a spiritual weakness or failure, but rather something we can employ to help create positive change.
This is the second sermon in our “This Feeling's Got Me Like...” series.
Read More“I’m not doing enough.”
These days we're all about optimization, self-hacking, and efficiency. We feel enslaved to our to-do lists. How do we resist some of these values?
In this sermon, Sarah Ngu examines the value of productivity in our workaholic society. It all began with industrial capitalism, which led to the “machinization” of the human body. But the Christian tradition starts from a very different place. Our faith begins from the premise that human beings are not machines created for labor, but that we are created to receive.
This is the first sermon in our Lenten series: “This Feeling's Got Me Like...".
Read MoreWhat will you do with what God has entrusted you?
Jonathan Williams looks at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells his audience that they do not have to compare themselves to others because they are already righteous, they’re already loved, and they’re already children of God.
This is the sixth and final sermon in our “BE” series.
Read More“But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Sarah Ngu, Makenzie Gomez, and Jonathan Williams discuss how to interpret this passage for today. The "narrow road" that Jesus talks about is not about orthodoxy -- believing and doing the right things. Instead, it's about living with intentionality and purpose, and embracing the process and not just the destination.
This is the fifth sermon in our “BE” series.
Read More"Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect" is one of the most misinterpreted and damaging scriptures in our bible. How do we redeem the idea of perfection?
Jonathan Williams explores how striving for perfection has been incorporated into Christianity and reminds us that the real measure of worthiness is not perfection, it’s courage to be compassionate and justice minded towards others. God’s perfection is the simple practice of being courageous, compassionate, and creating connection.
This is the fourth sermon in our “BE” series.
Read MoreJonathan Williams asks the question - is judgment always bad?
Jonathan examines Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the context in which Jesus judges others. He reminds us that God’s judgment is restorative justice in action. God’s judgment always believes the best in others. And so we believe the best in others because that’s how God sees the other.
This is the third sermon in our “Be” series.
Read MoreIntegrity starts with being grounded in yourself.
Sarah Ngu reminds us that Jesus sees us as more than the worst decisions we’ve made or things we’ve said.
In Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he tells us that words matter and that truth matters. Integrity means not just saying what we really mean, but also realizing when we don’t really mean what we are about to say. This starts with being grounded in ourselves and recognizing when we are not in the right mind to speak honestly.
This is the second sermon in our “Be” series.
Read MoreGod is on your side.
Jonathan Williams tells us that when Jesus delivered the Beatitudes during his Sermon the Mount, Jesus was saying that God is on your side -- even when you're in the midst of a crappy year and it doesn't feel that way.
God doesn't need you to believe in certain principles, policies, or social agendas -- God just needs you to believe that God is on your side.
This is the first sermon in our “Be” series.
Read MoreSaying yes to new experiences brings about radical equity.
Jonathan Williams unveils the final of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: Radical Equity.
Same is safe, different is dangerous -- or so the saying goes. We're afraid of new experiences because they take away our control and power, but God's kin-dom only comes when we're able to say "yes" to that which feels different. Our faith should always evolve and feel a bit dangerous, and we can only bring about radical equity when we're willing to say "yes" to that which feels different.
This is the fourth sermon in our "Make A Joyful Noise" series.
Read MoreBelieving we're worthy reimagines worship.
Jonathan Williams unveils another one of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: Worship Reimagined. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the first preacher of the New Testament, and by believing she was favored by God, she reimagined worship.
Just like Mary, when we truly believe we're already favored by God, we can reimagine worship as well.
This is the third sermon in our "Make A Joyful Noise" series.
Read MoreBuilding a community through uncommon kinship.
Sarah Ngu unveils one of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: uncommon kinship. Common kinship often focuses on taking care of people who are in the center, but what makes kinship uncommon is taking care of people who aren't in the center of their community, and how it's worth having a community that will take a risk to ensure those who aren't typically centered feel loved, valued, and elevated.
This is the second sermon in our "Make A Joyful Noise" series.
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