We practice an open table in Ankeny UCC, meaning, all are welcome to take communion. Why do we do that, when Paul seems to argue that we need to have…
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.…
Sometimes we miss the true, messy meaning of phrases because of code words. In Ruth, we encounter any number of double-entendres that can inspire a variety of readings. But the…
The Bible lifts up the story of refugees, of immigrants, of foreigners who reveal God to us. The story of Ruth and Naomi gets at the question of care. Who…
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…
Paul can be challenging sometimes. So challenging that the Jesus movement was a little dubious about his joining them in the first place. One of the biggest parts of living…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Evangelist lays out his vision for the only way to understand Jesus: come and see. (note: there was a medical emergency in the church during the sermon)
John's Gospel is all about telling what we see. The corollary is to listen when people tell us what they see. That's different from our disagreements over the implications of…
Jesus's birth always reminds us that in darkness, in places we don't think matter, in the shadows cast by the bright lights to which we are all drawn, there is…
The Prologue of John re-tells the story of the Hebrew Bible in short, starting in the way that God created humanity--in community. On Advent 4 AND Christmas Eve, let's remember…
As we rewrite our national lives to erase opportunities to give thanks, pause. Look around, relieve y0ur anxiety that you are not enough. You are a loved child of God.
[audio mp3="https://www.ankenyucc.org/wp-content/uploads/sermons/2017/10/Reforming-Power-and-Prophets.mp3"][/audio] One of the unexpected consequences of the Reformation is the rise of national churches. This sometimes leads us to forget that Kings, Queens, Presidents, any individual leader will…
Samuel was called from the household of Eli to preach God's word of reform to priests exploiting people in the temple. Millenia later, Martin Luther was called to reform the…
