Ankeny UCC

A Welcoming Church Family Exploring Progressive Christian Theology

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A Welcoming Church Family Exploring Progressive Christian Theology
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Ruth

The Future of Us

July 15, 2018
Ruth 4 gets into the weeds of redemption and marriage in ancient Israel. But there's a message for us: Boaz sees hope in the future, rather than in the past.…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Ruth 4
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Ruth

Gleaning

June 10, 2018
The second chapter of Ruth shows us the complicated life of an attractive woman working in a field. It shows Ruth's dedication, but it also shows the vulnerability of someone…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Ruth 2
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2018, Narrative Lectionary Year 4

The Fire and Spirit of Care and Service

May 20, 2018
Fundamentally, the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was one of translation. When we are called by the spirit to use our gifts in different ways to reach different…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 2:1-1
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2018, Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Serving, in Christ’s Name

May 13, 2018
Paul shows us the service that Christ gave us, by emptying himself of the powers and pretensions of God to live with us and lead by serving us. We have…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Philippians 2:1-13
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2018, Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Motivated by Love

May 6, 2018
In prison, Paul shows thanks for the care given by the Philippians, for the love expressed in their actions. We are reminded that care and love require us and inspire…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Philippians 1:1-18a
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2018, Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Sokath, His Eyes Uncovered

April 29, 2018
The implications of the Gospel are always understood in translation. We see how they were perceived in first-century Rome. What are they today? Note: Even at the time, the anecdote…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 17:16-34
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2018, Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Noticing and Risking

April 22, 2018
As we explore progressive christian theology, we ask questions about power and privilege in the Bible. Paul uses his privilege to free a female slave from possession, and, by challenging…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 16:16-34
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Violence-Conquering Love

April 1, 2018
In Christ's death, we see his humanity. In his Resurrection, we see that our identities are not centered in violence, but in the love of God. Christ's story, and ours,…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 20:1-18
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Speaking Christian

God With Us (2018)

March 25, 2018
All of Christianity goes through the cross. The cross is not the end of the story. The suffering of Christ is not the whole of Christ's story. But Christ's story…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 19:16b-22
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Speaking Christian

Ironic Condemnation

March 18, 2018
The condemnation of Jesus is full of ironies. But it's also full of the unspoken fears in empire. The crowd's fear of suffering the same fate as Jesus; Pilate's fear…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 19:1-16a
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Speaking Christian

Righteous Justice

March 11, 2018
What is right action? What is righteousness? In the midst of Jesus's trial, we see people representing the power in Jerusalem all around him, afraid to take ownership of their…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 18:28-40
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4, Speaking Christian

Finding Our Identities

March 4, 2018
Sin are those forces, external and internal, that keep us from seeing and living our identities. When we are separated from our identities and see our identities twisted, always remember…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 18:12-27
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

The Compassionate Servant

February 25, 2018
The story of people written off as having no chance in the Olympics nonetheless winning reminds us of Jesus's choice to be a servant to his disciples. None of us…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 13:1-17
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Facing the Awful Smell

February 18, 2018
Asking questions is the most holy work we can do. Believing in Christ means working to build the sovereign realm of God together, easing suffering. Mourning, and then acting, just…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 11:1-44
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Choosing Not to See

February 11, 2018
In John's account of Jesus's healing of the man born blind, we see the message of the transfiguration: yes, God does great works. Let us go down among the people,…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 9:1-41
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Water in the Desert

February 4, 2018
Water is a recurring theme in John's gospel. As we look at the Samaritan woman, outcast and alone but seemingly blameless, we see the radical message that Jesus's water is…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 4:1-41
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Loving the Light

January 28, 2018
Jesus's dialogue with Nicodemus in John gives us context to some famous Bible verses. One of those messages to us is to be careful of assuming that those we like…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 3:1-21
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Narrative Lectionary Year 4

Rebuilding

January 21, 2018
As Jesus tells the denizens of the Temple that he can build it up in 3 days, we are reminded that the church is the people of God, and that…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 2:13-25
Service Type: Sunday Worship

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