Message: “God in the Movies: The Queen of Katwe” from Rebecca Stryker
In our first feature of our annual summer series, “God in the Movies,” Rebecca Stryker introduces us to Phiona, a young Ugandan woman who overcomes tremendous obstacles in her quest to become a champion chess player.
Message: “Walk In Love” from Matthew Dyer
2 John is one of the shortest books of the Bible but addresses two of the biggest challenges facing the young communities of followers of Jesus. The first regards the very nature of Jesus and specifically whether he was human or not. There was incredulity that the divine could possibly be expressed within the frailty of humanity. Yet the writer of 2 John defends the outrageous claims of Jesus: that we as humans can follow in the way of Christ and experience union with God. Secondly, this partnership with the Divine is the inspiration to pursue love as both the means and end of life. We will take up this challenge to seek a life of deeper union with God; and also consider how we deal with “authority” and balance “conservative” and “progressive” approaches to our faith.
Message: “The Gospel Demands Reconciliation” from Ruth Campbell
This is the shortest letter ascribed to the apostle Paul, and the most personal. In it, Paul asks a church leader (Philemon), to welcome back a runaway slave (Onesimus) as a brother, forgive him his debt, and show him Christian love in place of Roman “justice.” This letter is carefully worded and emotionally loaded, reflecting how much was at stake: Onesimus’ very life, as well as the credibility of a gospel that claims we are all one in Christ, and that love is the greatest hallmark of a follower of Jesus. We will consider the radical call to lay aside our own demands, needs, feelings and expectations in the pursuit of reconciliation and oneness with each other in the God who is love.
Message: “A Light in Dark Places” from Matthew Dyer
This short letter addresses some of the challenges facing churches on the first century who were expecting Jesus to return in bodily form very soon. The fact that this had not happened was confusing to many followers (because of things Jesus himself had said) and had led to both a sense of abandonment within the community as well as derision from without. These internal and external pressures had distracted the followers who were enticed by by a variety of competing philosophies. We’ll explore the various distractions we face today, the apparent “foolishness” of faith in our own context and explore reasons for hope in dark times. We’ll also consider what Jesus meant when he talked about returning.