Awaken Community

The Long Road: We Make the Way by Walking

Pastor Micah explores Luke 24:13-35 and the moment the disciples become aware of Jesus presence in their midst. They are made aware because of their lived experiences with an embodied Jesus, not because they had all the right answers about God. This is the life of faith - taking one next right step, in community, leaning on our past experiences, in the hope that healing and incarnation will draw close to us in our walk.

The Long Road: The Plumb Line

Guest speaker Stephanie Spencer visits Awaken again to discuss the concept of justice by looking at a plumb line and how it is used in tandem with a measuring line and a cornerstone to build structures in the ancient world. How do these simple building tools help us understand what it looks like to reconstruct our spiritual lives?

The Long Road: A New Pair of Glasses

Pastor Micah discusses the parable of the mustard seed and the fact that this particular plant was considered a weed. How might this context change the way we view the journey of faith...and weeds.

The Long Road: Community & Generosity

Pastor Micah continues the series by looking at Numbers 2 and the tabernacle to understand the importance of living in connected community. People gathered around the tabernacle in a circle wherein they could see the one another face to face with the spirit of God between them at the center. They would bring whatever they had to offer with a glad heart for the sake of the collective. How might we do the same?

The Long Road: Sin and Brokenness

Awaken begins another series focused on rebuilding the foundations of faith after an unburdened series that unpacked unhelpful ideas within the evangelical tradition. Pastor Micah kicks things off with a discussion on sin and brokenness.

Unburdened: Letting Go of Scapegoat Theology

Pastor Micah delivers his final Easter message by looking at Jesus as the last scapegoat, breaking the cycle of redemptive violence that has become so normalized throughout human history.

Unburdened: Letting Go of Comfort

Awaken's Director of Spiritual Formation, Cathy Solomon, delivers a refreshing exploration of the ways comfort has been used within white evangelical religious spaces as a means of avoidance. What does it look like to enter into discomfort for the sake of spiritual growth and connectedness to ourselves and our neighbors?

Unburdened: Letting Go of American Exceptionalism

Pastor Micah unpacks the consequences of American Exceptionalism and Colonialism embedded within the Christian church. What does it look like to unearth, address, and let go of colonialism within our religious context?

Unburdened: Letting Go of the Rapture

Pastor Micah discusses yet another major belief in modern western christianity, the rapture. He unpacks what it is, where it's found in scripture (if at all), and how it gained such a significant following. By looking at the real world implications of such a belief, Micah encourages us to let go of escapism and be reminded of partnering with God on this earth here and now.

Unburdened: Letting Go of Purity Culture

Pastor Jenna and Micah are co-teaching for the first time in Awaken's history on the impact of purity culture in the evangelical landscape. They unpack the shame and guilt that came with viewing our bodies as sinful first, while inviting us to consider what it would look like to let go of the binaries that exist within that framework.