This week, we are blessed to welcome Rev. Dottie LaPenta (a frequent guest preacher at COA) as our pulpit supply during Pastor Jessie’s vacation. She continues on with this summer sermon series “Great Questions of the Bible”, and today focuses on

This week, we come to a question in one of the most quoted and beautiful chapters of the Bible in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul is towards the end of his missionary career, and has been through a great deal of trial and tribulation. Christians too are receiving his words in times of persecution, division and violence. Paul offers tremendous reassurance that having faith does not prevent these hardships in life, but still that NOTHING can separate us from God’s love in Jesus Christ. Sometimes WE can push God away, but God always seeks relationship and room to work in our lives. How can we find ways to connect more with this love that will not let us go? How can this promise help us to better navigate the inevitable difficulties of life? Let’s meditate together on this incredible promise!

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This week, we come to a pretty loaded passage in John. A very religious, very well-respected teacher of the Law approaches Jesus with curiosity and is taught this confounding idea that we must be “born again”. This term is loaded in our current religious vernacular; we tend to associate it with evangelism, even “bible thumping”. We tend to also associate it perhaps with particular kinds of Christians who we may or may not identify with. But what was Jesus talking about with this teaching? Wouldn’t we too wonder with Nicodemus: “how can someone re-enter their mother’s womb? How can someone be born when they are old?” We might wonder it about ourselves, questioning whether we can really change. And we may wonder it about institutions like the larger Church, which not only seem old, but seem as if they may be dying in modern culture. Can we too, as a community of believers, be made brand new? Can we experience new life? Let’s dive into this question together in a fresh and new way.

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This week we come to a long question, but a powerful and important one posed by Jesus Himself. He was having a turning point conversation with His disciples in the Gospel of Mark. He was asking what people were saying about Him and then He made it personal. He asked them: “who do you say that I am?” Another important question, but we are focusing on one that comes later. Peter answers correctly and is the first to identify Jesus as the Messiah; the Son of God. But then what we will think about today is Jesus telling them what that really means. Being the Messiah does not look like the Warrior King overthrowing the occupying powers the way they had imagined, but instead it looks like vulnerability, pain, suffering and rejection! How can it be? It is hard for the disciples to accept this, and then Jesus calls them to deeper discipleship. He calls them to follow Him and trust Him even on this hard path. And then this amazing question: what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

Let’s think about this together as a community, as we all seek to follow Jesus with more integrity.

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This week in our summer sermon series, we come to a haunting question in the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel has a vision where God takes him to a desolate place where there has been mass destruction and death; where all seems lost and hopeless; a valley of dry bones. And once again in this series, we find that God asks US the great question. God asks: “can these bones live?” Is there hope? Is there a way forward? Is there a way through even this? It is a question and also a call. We will explore this story and this deep, piercing question together as a church, and we hope you will prayerfully join us in that exploration.

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