Awaken Community

April 9_Easter

Micah provides an honest reflection on the significance of Easter and the importance of faith in a story that can at times feel unbelievable.

April 2_Season of Lent: Jesus Before Pilate

Trigger Warning: The content of this week's sermon references and discusses points made in The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone. Mark 15:1-15, Pilate has not always been the one sided character you may have grown up hearing about. Micah challenges and invites us to consider the origin of the cross, its use in subjugating people outside Rome, and the modern equivalent we might see or experience today.

March 26_Season of Lent: Peter Disowns Jesus

Mark 14:66-72, We follow the journey of Peter and his walk with Jesus through the highs and lows. Micah explores the idea that we are not the sum of our mistakes or successes, but rather bear the image of God and the love the world was made out of.

March 19_Season of Lent: Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

Mark 14: 53-65, Jesus goes before the Sanhedrin where he experiences firsthand the at times unjust system of religious law. Micah brings forth the invitation and challenge to welcome outside perspectives, listen to voices who do not find themselves in the majority, and in doing so find ourselves experiencing an old story with new eyes.

March 12_Season of Lent: Prayer in Gethsemane

Mark 14:27-51, The humanity of Jesus is on full display as he prays to God for relief from distress, another path that might not lead to death. Micah highlights the ways Jesus becomes our truest friend and ally in life because he entered into the deepest struggle of humanity.

March 5_Season of Lent: Passover

Mark 14: 12-26, Micah explores the meaning of Passover and the ritual that would have been normal and habitual for a Jewish person. What is Jesus doing by deviating from the Passover script?

Feb 26_Season of Lent: Anointing at Bethany

Mark 14: 1-11, Jesus gets anointed at Bethany by an unnamed woman. The deed is met with disdain by the disciples, but is welcomed by Jesus who recognizes the significance of the moment and his coming death. Micah sits with the questions, can you recognize the moment you are in? And how will you be remembered when all is said and done?

Feb 19_Transformation of Jesus: Transfiguration

Mark 9:1-13, Jesus appears transfigured atop a mountain and the disciples finally see where the journey of transformation has lead. Judy Howard Peterson walks us through its meaning and translation into our lives.

Feb 12_Transformation of Jesus: Becoming Israel

Mark 8: 14-21, The previous section (ch 5-6) has 4 different stories with the number 12 in it. Why? What is so clear to Jesus that seems to be so unclear to the disciples and what do 12 & 7 baskets have to do with it? What is "leaven" and what does it have to do with the Pharisees?

Feb 5_Transformation of Jesus: Who is my Family?

Mark 3:20-34, Jesus is pursued by his family and his response carries significance in his journey to transfiguration. Any work of transformation and becoming will take us on a path that leads us right back to where we've come from with our family of origin.