Kicking off FOCUS’ 50th Birthday Celebration on Sunday, February 5th, the Rev. Rick Spalding offered a powerful witness to the ministry of FOCUS. The Rev. Spalding explored Matthew 5:13–19 and challenged the FOCUS churches to continue to live into our calling to do together what we cannot do alone—respond to our neighbor’s needs in the […]
“At the Intersection of Love, Faith and Holy Outrage: The Women’s March and the Gospel” Matthew 5:1-12 God calls us as Christians to speak out for those who cannot speak; to call out incidents of injustice; to speak the truth and to call a lie, a lie. Listener, please note: Miriam mistakenly says “gentile Virginian” […]
“At a Time Like This, Disciples Don’t Take the Easy Road” Luke 14:25-33 In difficult times like today, what should Christians do? Should we react in anger or fear to what is going on in the world? Some churches say ‘yes.’ Should we pursue the path of least resistance? Listen to find out which road […]
Baptism of the Lord “Get ‘er Done” Mark 1:4-12 Is there more to baptism than social custom? Listen to discover what we believe about baptism and what that says about who God is. What message do we receive in baptism about our status with God? Is a child that dies without being baptized in peril?
Easter Sunday “Turned Out Better Than We Expected” Matthew 28:1-10 It is Easter morning. The disciples (and us) have lived through the arrest and death of their leader. They now hear of the resurrection of Jesus. How do we go about talking about what the resurrection means for our lives? Listen in…and choose your 6 words.
Pentecost “The Kingdom of God: The Beginning” Acts 2:1-8, 41-42, 44-47 When the church started out way back at the first Pentecost, I wonder how smoothly everything went. All God wanted was for the church to love others into the kingdom. I wonder how obedient the church was on day one.
Fourth Sunday of Lent “The Prodigal Son” Luke 15 II Corinthians 5:17-21 Did you ever wonder what the mother of the prodigal son thought of what happened with her sons? With her husband? Listen in and listen anew as we hear this story told from the mother’s perspective.