Awaken Community

For the third week of Advent, Micah looks at what God's response to the suffering of his people looks like and shows how it's another way that the Kingdom of God looks very different than what we might expect. 

Micah delves into Mary's Song, also called The Magnificat, and shares his reflections on seeing Mary as a prophet as well as a mother.

Micah kicks off Advent and a new series with John the Baptist. As God seems to do so often, he takes the oddball, the outcast, the one perceived to be on the outside to speak truth to those in power and bring a mirror to the faces of those who have lost their way in Christ. John the Baptist is the perfect example.

We are privileged to have Pastor Judy Howard Peterson speaking on Deborah this week. As always, Judy brings a new perspective and normalizing view of biblical characters.

Many have argued that the prophet's role is to be the conscience of the state. Micah shares some compelling through lines and comparisons of the prophecies of Nathan to the situation we find ourselves in today.

What would have to happen for God to say "I hate your gatherings!"? What could make God so angry? Rotten fruit. Micah asks some hard questions and sees what the prophet Amos has to say.

This week's teaching is a little bit less about what Jonah said and more about what he did (or didn't do) as a prophet of the Lord. What does the context of this book tell us? Does it matter if we read it literally or as a parable?

To start off our new series, Micah shares a few excerpts from the book of Jeremiah. As a prophet of the Lord, his messages are varied and many. He speaks challenges along with hope. Where can we fill the gap between what we say and what we do? And how can we count on hope, the hope that comes from God, in a time where it feels like there isn't any?

We begin a new series this week which will be an exploration of the prophets of the Bible. In a world filled with tumult, we hope to hear the voice of the Living God from the prophets of old and the prophets among us.

In this discussion of what we want to be as a church, it has to include how we can serve the community around us. We don't want to be a community that's sole focus is inward and our own needs. To be a community that's trying to look more and more like Jesus, it must include serving those around us.