Rev. Josh concluded our series “Those Who Dream” with Epiphany Sunday. Epiphany simply means a mystery being revealed. This church holiday marks the day the Maggi in Matthew 2 is led by astrology, finds a 2-year-old Christ-Child, and is forever changed by his light, life, and love. In this message, you are encouraged to ask, where or what has the light of Christ shined on a dark part of your life, theology, or the world and left you changed? And when we arrive on the other side of 2024, how do you want to live and love differently?
Rev. Josh reminds us that we are all dreamers. Like those gathered around the manger, we come to Christmas each year with awe, wonder, and holy imagination for what is possible. Like Mary, we treasure God’s dream in our hearts and commit to keeping it alive. Like the holy family, we believe and trust in a God who comes to us in the vulnerability of a child. How might we like Mary use our imagination to dream of a world and a church that is more just and peaceful?
Rev. Venida continues the second Sunday of Advent with a focus on sowing joy. When we sow a seed in the soil, something so small becomes something so big, so beautiful, so nourishing. Expectant mothers Mary and Elizabeth experienced joy that was so big, so beautiful and so nourishing with the seed of a visit. This sermon explores how the small seeds we sow can yield joyful returns.
Rev. Venida opens the Advent season with our new Sermon Series - Those Who Dream - from the Sanctified Art curriculum. She reminds us that those who dream do not fall asleep to the realities of the world. God prompts us to pay attention to where God’s dreams for change and new life are emerging. In Advent, we remember that God’s ultimate dream is to be intimately connected to us — to come down and dwell among us.
Our leadership team member, Priscilla Alabi, talks about her travels through Israel/Palestine and the ongoing fight over land. How did you first learn about the conflict between Israel and Palestine?
Rev. Josh makes a connection between the man beaten, robbed, and ignored by the religious elite in Luke 10 and the senseless violence, silencing, and marginalization of the LGBTQ+ community. However, the Samaritan had compassion. How might we use our empathy to advocate and care for those harmed or overlooked or how might we go about reclaiming our voices after being silenced in our closets?
Keli discusses how the influence of white supremacy on interpreting the Bible has caused BIPOC communities to forsake their cultural practices. We explore three key practices: ancestor veneration, meditation, and cleansing rituals, which have been marginalized despite being used by and for Jesus. Decolonizing our faith involves embracing inclusivity, listening to BIPOC voices, reclaiming and celebrating cultural practices, and championing justice to dismantle oppressive systems. Our faith should reflect the diversity of God's creation. As we decolonize our faith, we move closer to reconciliation and unity, honoring the cultural practices of our BIPOC siblings and embracing God's all-encompassing love.
In this sermon on Ableism, Pastor Mak Gomez (she/they) explores what Jesus shows us on how we are to interact with disabled people. She shares her personal experience with coming to terms with being disabled, what internalized ableism they’ve had to interrogate, and how Christians can be better advocates for the disabled community. Spoiler alert: saying “I’ll pray for you” is not enough.
Rev. Venida opens up Forefront’s new sermon series with a spotlight on women - women who are courageous and unyielding - women who persevere and refuse to be silent. Women who have for centuries, and will continue to, used their voices and God-given gifting to help transform and liberate lives. Rev. Venida encourages us to learn from their stories and use our voices as well.
Benny frames prayer through the mystery of language, interrogates the power of language, and surrenders that language is actually nothing! Weaving together Old and New Testament stories, he rethinks the story of the Tower of Babel and shares about the new language his brother and he are creating.
Our Prayer Changes Sermon Series continues with a focus on The Atmosphere. Rev. Venida invites us to reflect on how prayer can change not just us, or our path, but it can also change the atmosphere. She will offer ways our presence can transform the environment around us to create spaces of edification, fulfillment and healing.
In this second week of the Prayer Changes Sermon Series, Rev. Venida shares statistics and examples related to the spiritual discipline of prayer. She invites us to consider the expansiveness of prayer, something that opens us up to more of God’s greatness, beauty, and love where it changes the path that we think we are on, to a shift in perspective and purpose giving us renewed hope.
In the second week of our series on Prayer, Rev. Josh proposes that prayer changes us! He does this by asking questions like, what’s the purpose of prayer? Can we change God’s mind or convince God to do something? Or is prayer the tool God uses to change our mind or hearts? How can we reconstruct a new vision of prayer in our reconstruction process?
Thinking leads to action, so prayer will not only change my thinking but my living. But how do I face where my heart has turned to stone, the truth of harm I have participated in? The surprising, overwhelming mercy of God literally forgets what we have done, freeing us to risk praying anew, and seeking repair.
Remember the all-church survey? Well, 60% of you said that when choosing a church to connect with that community was the most important thing to you! I talk to Forefronters all the time who say they were struggling to find community in the city, so they darkened our doors in search! Making friends as an adult is so challenging and maintaining friendships in the city only adds to the challenge. This Sunday, Rev. Josh will introduce some conventional and theological wisdom on how to build and maintain friendships.
In the last week of our Sacraments series, Rev. Josh will share about the evolution of communion and diversity of how its observed in different traditions. But more than that, he paints a picture of Communion being a historically subversive act that transcends time. Sometimes the most radical act of Christian obedience is to share a meal with someone new or different than us and this is what is at the heart of this practice.
In this 6th message of the Sacraments of the Church sermon series, Rev. Venida preaches on the sacrament of Confession including its origin, how it is embraced today, and how a practice that has been used as a tactic to exert power and harm others has also been used to share one’s truth and connect more authentically with God, self and others. All this and more…
Did you grow up in a tradition where you went through confirmation? If not, what sort of initiation or religious educational process did your tradition embody? Rev. Josh shares about the sacrament of confirmation, where an adolescent or adult, confirms their baptismal vows and publicly affirms their faith after having gone through confirmation classes where they learn about Christian history, beliefs, and traditions. How might we too benefit from the Spirit of this sacrament and how might it aid us in reconciling with and reforming our faith?
Rev. Josh explores the history, theology, and modern-day implications of the sacrament of anointing the sick. This sacrament started as a counter-cultural practice of extending love and grace to hurting and forgotten people in a Roman culture where the sick or sinners were isolated from the community. What if we embodied the spirit of this sacrament by showing up and acknowledging we often can’t take someones suffering away but we sit with them in their divorce, diagnosis, depression…
Rev. Josh explores the history, impact and modern day relevance of the sacrament of Holy Orders. What if part of ushering in the next 500 years of Christianity means we commit to expanding holy orders to all? What if it means having a healthy respect for pastors while equally valuing the voices and giftings of everyone at Forefront? What might this type of church look like?
