Shows
Federated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastA Resurrected and Resurrecting BodyIn this message, Pastor Eric continues reflecting on resurrection. In Christian faith, Easter is not merely a day, but a season; and resurrection is not merely an event we remember, but a reality we are called to participate in. Listen in as Pastor Eric invites us to go beyond merely "believing" in the resurrection to living it with our whole lives. This seemingly small shift makes a world of difference. Indeed, it calls us to open ourselves that we might be filled with the Life-Giving Spirit that longs to re-make the world so that all would experience new life.2025-04-2821 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastLost AND FoundIn this message, Pastor Eric explores the dichotomy of “lost” vs. “found.” How often does our world separate out those who are "in" as "found," and those who are not as "lost." And how often, we then give these a value: to be lost is "bad"--and one who is lost is somehow deficient--and to be found is "good," as is the one who is found.But what if we took these value judgments out. What if one can be both found AND lost at the same time, or in the same season?Through Jesus's "Parable of the Lost Sheep,"...2025-04-0221 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastFaith AND WorksIn this Lenten message, Pastor Eric explores the common dichotomy of spirituality vs. social justice, contemplation vs. action. Many of us feel pulled to identify with one vs. the other, and to place value judgments on which one is better.Some churches emphasize "faith alone," and thus see any influence of social justice as separate from faith--and, sometimes, dangerous to "true" faith.In reaction to this, many people insist that "action/works alone" is necessary and sufficient. Who needs spirituality or worship? In this context, things that invite stillness like art or poetry or prayer are seen as unnecessary...2025-03-1923 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Life that Love Makes PossibleIn this message--an addendum to our Advent-Epiphany sermon series--Pastor Eric adds one more "reminder for new seasons": Beloved is where we begin—and end. It's as simple as it is difficult to trust and live within. God loves you. Reflecting on the baptism of Jesus and the meaning of baptism for us, Pastor Eric reminds us that the foundation of our faith is the insistence that Love is after you--and God's Love will not rest until you simply let yourself rest in it. There's nothing you can do--or fail to do--that can change this. An...2025-01-1322 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastHope Is Worth The Risk (Advent Reminders for New Seasons)In this Advent message, Pastor Eric explores how the story of Mary and Joseph speaks to this week's reminder: "Hope is worth the risk."
While it may seem obvious--we all know we want and need hope--actually moving forward in hope amidst the endings and new beginnings woven throughout our lives can be immensely difficult. When we've been worn down by suffering, disappointment, loss, rejection, or broken trust, it can become easy to be cynical. It's easy to build walls around our heart and try to protect ourselves--to tell ourselves: no more making ourselves vulnerable; it's not safe!
But if...2024-12-2320 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastDo The Good That Is YOURS To Do (Advent Reminders for New Seasons)In this Advent message, Pastor Eric continues exploring the reminders we need to hear again and again throughout life, especially as we navigate new seasons.
This time, amidst the various endings in our lives and world, when it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the world's disasters, uncertainty, and grief we are reminded that we are neither called to be heroes who do it all, who hold everything together, nor to succumb to despairing, wondering: "what can I possibly do to make a difference?"
Instead, Jesus calls us to ask: "what IS mine to do?" You are...2024-12-1617 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastYou Cannot Go Alone (Advent Reminders for New Seasons)In this message, Pastor Eric continues our Advent series exploring "reminders for new seasons;" those truths we need to hear again and again throughout life as we navigate endings in order to move toward new beginnings.
Drawing in the powerful story of Ruth and Naomi and the Book of Ruth, this message explores the reminder that "You cannot go it alone." It's a message that we can all pretty readily accept; and yet, most of us resist it--especially when life is difficult; we tend to pull away from others precisely when we most need to draw near; when we...2024-12-1120 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Transforming Power of Giving ThanksIn this message, Pastor Eric shares a few stories from his own life and faith journeys to help us reflect on small things in life that are actually the big things; the easy-to-overlook moments that are actually the moments that matter the most. The great Medieval German theologian, Meister Echkart, said: "If the only prayer you say in your life is 'thank you,' it would be enough." What if we learned to pay attention to these small things, to pause for a moment and say "thank you" when notice them? What if we...2024-11-2822 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastYOU are called to Be A Minister of HopeIn this message, Pastor Eric concludes our Stewardship series on being a Community of Hope. It also being the first Sunday after the 2024 election, he reflects on how Jesus himself lived in a difficult, chaotic, and uncertain social-political time. In the midst of that, he built a community of disciples--students--who were themselves being formed by the gospel of peace and compassion and justice, and then he sent them out to proclaim and embody that message with others. In doing so, he offers a model for us as we seek to be a community of hope in our own turbulent t...2024-11-1123 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastA Community of Hope--for Who?In this All Saints Day stewardship message, Pastor Eric reflects on remembering our ancestors as a way of looking toward a future with hope. In doing so, he invites us to think of ourselves as "ancestors in the making" and reconsider what it is that God is calling us to be stewards of.
Rather than merely passing on possessions, what does it mean to steward "a community of hope" in a world of violence, fear-mongering, isolation, and hopelessness?
What will future generations say when they look back at us, on this moment in history, and consider how we responded? Af...2024-11-0619 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Church as a Field HospitalIn this Stewardship message, Pastor Eric invites us to reflect on one of Jesus' most famous parables--often dubbed the "Parable of the Prodigal Son"--and ask ourselves how God has sought us out, lavished love on us, and invited us into a future where there was hope--just when we were at our lowest and most despairing? How has this church been a space and community that has loved you back to life, offered you hope during a difficult season? Drawn forward by these experiences, how might God be calling us to more boldly embody God's prodigal--God's wastefully extravagant--love?2024-10-2121 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTo Hope When the World is EndingIn this Stewardship season message, Pastor Eric reflects on the Prophet Jeremiah's vision of "a future with hope." What is the relationship between hope and the experience of hopelessness? Between hope and honestly facing reality; honestly facing life's difficulties and hardships? What does it look like to choose hope--to make hope a verb--here and now, and how does doing so transform the future that is possible?
What might it look like for us as a church to be a "community of hope" in these difficult times that we are living through? What are you willing to commit in terms...2024-10-1422 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhere Are We Going? Who Will Go With Us?In this Stewardship message, Pastor Eric draws together the story of God calling Abram and Sarai to set out into an unknown future where, despite all signs to the contrary, God promises there will be abundant life, and this quote from Howard Thurman, the great African American theologian, mystic, and mentor to Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement: "There are two questions we must ask ourselves. The first is “Where am I going?” and the second is “Who will go with me?” If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble.”
If the future is...2024-10-1022 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWe are a Multi-Storied PeopleIn this final message of our "This is Us" sermon series, Pastor Eric uses examples from scripture and our own church history to explore the danger of telling a single story--about ourselves, our communities, and about others.
Each of us are made up of many stories. We are complex, messy, inconsistent, changing, and ever-growing. How do we hold the fullness of our stories, of who we are, and honor that fullness in others? How do we acknowledge our failures as well as our triumphs without giving in to shame? How does the way we...2024-10-0122 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThis is Our StoryIn this third message of our "This is Us" sermon series, Pastor Eric explores Federated Church of Sycamore's long-standing commitment to living out our "love of God and neighbor" in the public realm. Listen in for stories about our church's history with abolitionism and the Underground Railroad as we consider the surprising importance--and power--of small communities to affect meaningful individual and social transformation.2024-09-2318 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Headlights, Not Taillights, of JusticeIn this message, Pastor Eric draws on the Prophet Amos, the Letter of James, and the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" as he traces our denominations' history of being at the forefront of the movement for love and justice in society.
By exploring this history within the United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist Association, we are better able to understand the kind of spiritual community we are seeking to build here and now, and the values--along with the actions they call us to--that form our center.
This message...2024-09-1623 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastLooking at Trump and Seeing OurselvesIn this message, Pastor Eric continues exploring the role of faith as it intersects with politics and the work of democracy, especially in these hyper-partisan and polarized times.
In our world where it's easy and common to focus all our energy and time on arguing about Donald Trump and the dangers he embodies, this message invites us to consider how what we most focus on in him is a projection of that which remains unhealed within ourselves--as well as in our world. What might our hyper-focus on his racism, sexism, ableism, desire for control, etc. reveal about the shadow...2024-08-2719 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat it Means--and Doesn't--to Love Your EnemiesIn our hyper-partisan and polarized world, in the face of genocide enabled by Democrats and the rise of fascism among Republicans, and as we move through another intense election season where it seems democracy itself might be at stake, Pastor Eric asks: What does Jesus’ call to “love your enemy” mean? What does it mean to love your enemy in this context where “winning at all costs” is the goal and fear (and fear mongering) is the fuel?
Importantly, how might Jesus’ radical call to love also differ from the calls for love and peace and unity that are often called...2024-08-1927 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Idolatry of Christian NationalismIn this final message in our summer sermon series, "Ask Me Anything," Pastor Eric responds to people's questions related to faith and politics, our hyper-partisan and polarized political climate, and how people can claim to be Christian/follow God and advocate for violence.
Here are the questions people posed:
Why have christians done so many horrible things in the name of god?
There are countless kings in the bible who ruled and were always fighting others. Why if they were all following god? Why did they turn on occasion to worship false gods?
Why is there constant fighting in...2024-08-1329 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastEating with Jesus: On Communion & CommunityIn this “Ask Me Anything” message, Pastor Eric responds to questions about Communion: “How did the early church celebrate communion? Did they? Was wine a common household item back then, or only for the well off? How do we get past the famous paintings and sculptures depicting communion if they don't really reflect what happened?”
As Pastor Eric reflects on "Jesus's table practice" and how this shaped the early church's practice of communion/worship and community after Jesus's crucifixion, he also responds to a question posed about our own church's work of building Beloved Communit...2024-08-0521 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTHE QuestionIn this "Ask Me Anything" summer sermon series message, Pastor Eric responds to THE question that is often most on people's hearts and minds when it comes to God, faith, and life. Our question asker(s) posed it this way: "Why is there so much suffering if a loving God exists? Why are some people spared (like me) and other good people face horrible things--like their child gets cancer? How can I believe in a God like that? Is God a puppet master pulling strings? What are the reasons some people get cancer or other diseases, while others don't?2024-07-3024 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastAsk Me Anything: On the Spot ResponsesIn this third installment of our summer sermon series, "Ask Me Anything," Pastor Eric takes some time to offer briefer, on-the-spot responses to several different questions people submitted, determining which questions to respond to by pulling them out of a hat.2024-07-2222 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastJesus is the QuestionIn this second installment of our summer sermon series, “Ask Me Anything,” Pastor Eric responds to the questions people posed about Jesus:
“What is the historical evidence that Jesus as a man existed—beyond the Bible? Is there any?”
“Is it important to accept the divinity of Jesus? I have problems with accepting this—sometimes questioning it. If not, then what does it mean to be a Christian?” To put it more succinctly: “Must I ‘worship’ Jesus?”2024-07-1627 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat We Talk About When We Talk About GodPastor Eric began our new summer sermon series, “Ask Me Anything,” by exploring the questions people asked around God.
Here’s what they were: “The thing I struggle most about when it comes to religion (other than how it's been used to harm) is God and Jesus as males. Why are all spiritual deities male? I just don't know if I can think of God as gendered at all. And why should HE choose a man to take human form? Is God a man? And how can God exist beyond space and time?”2024-07-0923 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastUnless You Become Like ChildrenIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on Jesus' emphatic injunction: "Unless you become like children, you cannot inherit/enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Entering the "Kingdom/Realm of Heaven" is not about going somewhere when we die. It is about our ability to enter into the presence of the Divine Mystery here, to truly be receive and be animated by God's Love now.
So, what is it about children that we have to learn? What is it that we tend to lose in the process we call "growing up," or "becoming mature"? What is it that they have to...2024-07-0121 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastJesus at the Gay BarIn this LGBTQ Pride Service message, Pastor Eric reflects on the desire for healing by drawing on the poem "Jesus at the Gay Bar" by British transgender performance poet Jay Hulme as he interprets the story of the hemorrhaging woman in Mark 5.
In this poem, healing takes place, but not where expected. In light of this, we might ask: what if the healing that takes place in Mark 5 is also different than what we first expected or assumed? What IS the healing that takes place?
Likewise, what is the healing that you long for? Might it be that the healing...2024-06-2620 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat Kind of Man? What Kind of Father?In this message on Father's Day, Pastor Eric uses the shortest verse in the entire Bible (at least in English): "Jesus Wept" (John 11:35) to reflect on the kind of masculinity Jesus embodied. Looking at Jesus, he then contrasts these with the ways we imagine what it means to "be a man" in our own society, and asks: how does the socialization process from "boys to men" end up cutting us off from core parts of what it means to be human? If Jesus was fully human--and lived fully into his humanity--then how does the way he embodies his masculinity...2024-06-1818 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastKoinonia: the Opposite of PovertyIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the bold and counter cultural community found in the Book of Acts—a community where everyone gave what they had to share with all such that “there was no one in need among them.”
Drawing on a quote from the influential theologian, Jurgen Moltmann, that “the opposite of poverty is not property. The opposite of both poverty and property is community,” Pastor Eric reflects on what such a boldly countercultural and extravagantly loving community might look like here and now. How are we already living this out? What might become possible if we commit to...2024-05-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastMourner, Mother, Midwife: The Liberating Presence of GodIn this message, Pastor Eric explores the overlooked and undervalued images of God in scripture as a mourning woman, mother, and midwife. The foundational understanding of God in the Old Testament--the tradition in which Jesus was raised--was not a philosophical construction as God became after the Enlightenment (with a focus on omnipotence, omniscience, etc.). Rather, as a people who knew immense suffering, God was fundamentally the Liberating Power for Life, for Love, for Justice, for Collective Flourishing.
Drawing on this deep commitment to a God who wills life, Pastor Eric explores how they looked around at their everyday world and...2024-05-1321 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastGather. Go. (Repeat): Rhythms and Rituals for ResurrectionIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on how our habits—things we do regularly and without thinking—shape us and our world, shape our reactions to everything from receiving good news to dealing (or not dealing) with pain and grief.
What might happen if we added intentional rituals to our everyday lives? What might this look like and how might it shape us and our world differently?
With these questions in my, Pastor Eric explores how the rhythm of gathering through rituals that connect us to God, self, others, and creation shaped the earliest followers of Jesus amidst their own chao...2024-05-0621 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastGod, Bless JudasIn this message, in the early weeks after Easter, Pastor Eric invites us to reflect on Judas:
How is it that scripture remembers him? How much of this negative image may be a projection of the rest of the disciples own shame for having deserted and denied Jesus during his greatest hour of need? Does Judas become a sort of scapegoat?
And similarly, how have we done that--projected our own shame onto others; turned individuals or groups of people into scapegoats as a way of trying to not confront our own failures and mistakes?
How far does God's love go...2024-05-0220 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWe Are the Resurrected Body of ChristAs we continue in the season of Easter, Pastor Eric reflects on one of the primary ways that the earliest followers of Jesus came to understand the resurrection: they were now called to be his living body. As they opened themselves to receiving his life-giving Spirit, they found themselves animated and empowered to love boldly and courageously, just as Jesus had loved (and in spite of their grief, guilt, shame, and fear).
Still, this was not a “happily ever after” story. The early church continued to navigate heated differences amidst its growing diversity. In this message, Pastor Eric uses the...2024-04-1523 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastResurrecting Peter--and UsIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the mysterious nature of Jesus' resurrection appearances. Drawing on the Apostle Paul's description of the "risen Lord" as a "life-giving Spirit" rather than just a "living being," he explores the resurrection story of Jesus feeding the disciples breakfast in John 21 and three times asking Peter, "Do you love me?"
This scene invites us to consider how the disciples don't just "see" a resurrected Christ, but rather encounter Jesus' Life-Giving Spirit, which also raises them up to new life. What might this mean for us as we are...2024-04-0820 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastPrisoners of Hope: Running Toward the TombIn this Easter message, Pastor Eric helps us differentiate between "fact" and "truth" as we consider what it is that we are invited to believe, encounter, give ourselves to, and proclaim when it comes to Jesus' resurrection.
While we don't know all the facts of that first Easter, or the precise "nature" of Jesus' resurrection, we do know that something powerfully life-altering happened. A day that begins in grief and despair ends in joy, even as "Mary and the women" and Peter have no verifiable proof that Life has overcome Death. According to Luke 24, at the empty tomb, they...2024-04-0119 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhere Are You, Peter?In this message*, Pastor Eric invites us to imagine the unfolding events of "Palm Sunday" from the perspective of Jesus's disciple, Peter. The challenge is that Peter and the disciples, while constantly at Jesus' side during his ministry, are nowhere to be found in this moment.
But scripture is clear: Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and his actions in the Temple--flipping over tables and causing a stir--are the very events that push the political and religious leaders leaders over the edge and lead them to crucify him. We can't understand how we get to the cross without...2024-03-2518 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTeach Me Your Ways: The Absurd, Illogical Math of GraceContinuing our Lenten journey of figuring out faith with Peter, in this message Pastor Eric reflects on Peter's hunger to learn; his willingness to stay open, keep showing up, and learn--even after last week when Jesus rebuked him quite strongly.
What is it that Peter is hungry to learn about in this scripture? Something many of us are hungry to learn about--and struggle with: forgiveness. What role does forgiveness play in our relationships? What's the relationship between forgiveness and accountability? If you forgive, then does that let someone off the hook of facing consequences for their actions? Are there "nonviolent"...2024-03-1824 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat if Jesus Wasn't Who You Thought He Was?In this message, Pastor Eric continues exploring the scripture story began with last week's message where Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do YOU think that I am?
For a moment, Peter and Jesus see, name, and bless one another in a powerful exchange.
However, it quickly becomes clear that while Peter gives the "right answer," he has the wrong understanding. His understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be "the Messiah, the son of the living God" is rooted in scripture and tradition. It's what many around him were thinking. And yet, that understanding was far from who...2024-03-1120 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBut Who Do You Say That I Am?In this message, we continue our journey of figuring out faith alongside Simon Peter and his winding, wandering heart. Over the first two weeks for his series, we've reflected on the very human and relatable qualities of Peter. We've seen him question, doubt, give in to fear, and mistake courage for bravado.
But this week, for at least a moment, we pause as he alone among the disciples has the courage, clarity, and capacity to see Jesus for who he really is. In response, Jesus gives him a new name--Peter (which means "rock")--which functions as a blessing, a...2024-03-0421 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastRescue Me!This week, as we continue our Lenten series following the Apostle Peter, Pastor Eric explores how Peter reacts when caught in a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee, and in doing so invites us to consider how we tend to react when faced with forces beyond our control that threaten to "swamp our boat" and "sink" us, and how these reactions--and our understandable desire to control things and make them go away as quickly as possible--often make matters worse; or, at best, get in the way of real healing and truly moving forward. If that's so, then how...2024-02-2722 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastSoughtWith this message, Pastor Eric launches us into the season of Lent. Introducing us to our theme, "Wandering Heart: Figuring Out Faith with Peter," we are spending the season following Peter's journey. In Peter, we see a person who is both steadfast and unsteady, a dear friend and a betrayer, a follower and a wanderer. In Peter, we are invited to see something of ourselves. By following Peter’s journey, we watch the story of Jesus unfold through the eyes of a very normal human trying to figure it all out—just like us.
More specifically, in this message, we are...2024-02-2020 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBecoming Human, Becoming DivineIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the story of Jesus' transfiguration--a "coming out" story of sorts. Atop a mountain with his three closest disciples, Jesus reveals a truth about him that up to this point had not been fully seen or understood, even by them. The question that follows--for the disciples is how will they respond. Will they "listen to him," as the voice of God calls them to? Or will they react by trying to put Jesus back in the boxes/understandings they're familiar--and more comfortable--with?
This story of transfiguration isn't just about Jesus. Moments of transfiguration--of...2024-02-1320 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastYou Sure You Want to be Well?In this message, Pastor Eric explores a passage from the Gospel of Mark that includes a story of "casting out demons" and physical healing. How are we to understand these stories? What are we to make of demons? Is this just ancient superstition? Does this just reflect an antiquated worldview that we, with modern medicine, no longer have?
Introducing us to the wider context of Jesus' world and ministry, Pastor Eric explores these questions and invites us to consider the hope, possibilities, and challenge they offer us in our own lives and world.2024-02-0523 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBirthing God, Raising JesusOftentimes, when we imagine God, we imagine a sort of superhero Being far beyond humanity. We imagine One who is "all powerful" and "all knowing."
And yet, at the center of Christian faith is the God of incarnation--a God who is neither of these, but rather a God who is "all-vulnerable." A God who is not "self-sufficient" or "self-reliant," but a "powerless" God who is utterly dependent on others: to be cared for, to be fed, to be held, to be loved--heck, this God even had to learn how to walk and probably needed...2024-01-0413 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastGod is Born Amidst the RubbleIn this Christmas message, Pastor Eric explores not only the meaning of God's incarnation--"God with us"--but what kind of "flesh" God took on: where, when, and to whom.
How does the particularity of the story of God's incarnation illuminate the meaning of God with us in new ways? How might we hear the "good news" of God's salvation and peace and joy for all the world when we hear it in this way? How might this help us to see and experience this good news in our own lives and in our own world?2024-01-0411 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastLiberation's Song: Full-Throated Joy in a Weary WorldIn this message, Pastor Eric takes us more fully into the world of Mary in order to better understand who this young woman is that sings out in the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56) about God toppling tyrants from their thrones and lifting up the lowly. It is only in understanding the context in which she lived that we can truly understand what it means--how profound and world-altering it is--that God would choose her of all people. What does it mean to say that HER child--who will be shaped by her vision of love and justice, by her God, will be...2023-12-1823 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastCan You Allow Yourself to be Amazed?In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the story of the birth and naming of John (the Baptist), within the larger story of both Elizabeth and Zechariah's journey of grief, suffering, shame, weariness, and hopelessness and that of the brutal world in which they lived.
The words and actions of Elizabeth and Zechariah reveals a profound transformation from where they began. How did that transformation happen? Namely, what role might wonder and awe have played in it for them--just, as scripture says, it does for the crowd gathered for the ritual circumcision and naming ceremony? What role might it...2023-12-1120 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWisdom's Circle: Connection & Joy in a Weary WorldIn this message, Pastor Eric invites us to hear the story of the first Advent in Palestine—the story leading up to the birth of Jesus—by drawing us deeper into the story of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. By helping us imagine their lives—their hopes and fears, their struggles and weariness—he invites us to consider our own.
In a world so focused on self-help and individualistic journeys of healing, this scripture and reflection invite us to consider its limits. Instead, we reflect on the role that Mary and Elizabeth's deep connection with each other during their difficul...2023-12-0421 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Shape of Hope in a Weary WorldIn this message, Pastor Eric invites us into the Advent season with this question: "How does a weary world rejoice?" What does hope look like in the face of the devastations of war? In the face of griefs that can't be wished away or fixed?
Through the ancient story of a simple couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth, we are reminded that true joy and hope can only grow from this soil. Our invitation is to meet God here, in the very places where God feels most absent and silent and to discover the shape of joy and hope in...2023-11-2819 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat is it We're Stewarding?In this message, Pastor Eric invites us as individuals and as a church to consider: what is it that you primarily see yourself as stewarding and passing on to the next generation?
Many of us probably think of material things. We pass on buildings/homes, collected treasures, money. We often think of our primary focus as ensuring that we have something of this sort to pass on. And yet, this is not what Jesus calls his followers to focus on as he prepares for his death. As he prepares them to carry on the movement he's started without him...2023-11-0619 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastNo Longer Outsourcing Our FaithIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the historical shift that took place in the centuries after Jesus--from actively following Jesus and the Way of Love that he modeled to building and maintaining an institution.
Going back to the early church, he invites us to imagine what it might look like for us to boldly and courageously embody this Way once again, to keep growing as a dynamic movement of Love, rather than merely focusing on maintaining a building and the traditions handed on to us.2023-10-2418 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastLiving Ourselves Into New Ways of Thinking"So, you say you love the poor? Name them."
These words from the great Latin American Liberation theologian, Gustavo Gutierrez, remind us that love cannot be lived out at a distance. It is not merely about "being on the right side of history," believing the "right" things, or voting a certain way. It is a call to build authentic and deep community with one another; to get involved in the beautiful, complicated messiness that is life.
At the end of the day, if we are not in community with--if our church is not comprised of--those who experience marginalization and...2023-10-1619 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Church as a School of LoveIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the story of Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian who, as a child, experienced the trauma of his family and entire village being rounded up and violently forced to flee their homes in the founding of the State of Israel--and who yet would go on to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize two times, while receiving several other international peace awards.
How did this traumatized child go on to be a visionary person of audacious love and courageous peace-building?
In exploring Jesus's call to his followers--to love others...2023-10-1218 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastFamily Is Our First School of LoveIn this message, Pastor Eric explores how the Gospels portray Jesus' relationship with his family, and in doing so invites us to reflect on our own--especially with regards to how we learned to give and receive love as children. By inviting us to see our families as our first "school of love"--where we are taught through words and actions what love is--Pastor Eric invites us to consider how these patterns continue to shape how we give and receive love as adults, even if that "love" was and is a distorted version of love.
What might it look like for...2023-10-0219 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastSpiritual Bypassing & Authentic SpiritualityIn this message, Pastor Eric invites us to consider the ways that we use spiritual beliefs and practices to avoid certain parts of the human experience. Sometimes, we can believe that being "spiritual" means rising above emotions (namely the ones we don't like, such as fear, anger, grief, pain or shame). Rather than seeking a spirituality that calls us to move through these "wildernesses"--that helps us embrace the fullness of what it means to be human and journey through them toward new life--we too often turn to platitudes and practices to bypass being honest with ourselves about them.
...2023-09-2520 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Future of SpiritualityIn this message, Pastor Eric invites us into a playful practice of imagining possible futures; of imagining what’s possible without getting bogged down in whether or not it’s realistic or how to do it, etc.
Too often in our own lives and in the church, we can get stuck, and we lose the ability to imagine anything else to be possible other than what is or has been—or perhaps that, but slightly better. But the future is not fixed; it is not “out there” waiting for us to arrive. The future emerges from our present; what’s possible i...2023-09-2024 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastSavor LifeIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the famous passage from Ecclesiastes—“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die…”—and the central struggle on the author’s heart and mind: that life is filled with absurdities; the cause and effect “order” that we often want, simply doesn’t exist: bad things happen to good people.
How does one live within these absurdities? Within this life that is but a vapor? How might we live within the overlapping of these seasons--when there is not just new life, but...2023-09-1123 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon Podcast“Beyond ‘All are Welcome’: Re-learning God to Re-make the World”In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on how Moses encounters God in the strangeness of a "bush that is burning, but is not consumed" in order to connect how the ways we imagine God especially shape the way we respond/react to "strange" situations or "foreign" ideas or people. Does our theology open us to such moments and encounters or close us off from them? Do we allow such things, ideas, or people to touch us and possibly even change or transform us, or do we try to control them, suppress them?
After exploring the ways that God speaks to...2023-06-2621 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastGod Breaks the Rules to Get People InIn this message, Pastor Eric follows up his two previous messages reflecting on "where is God?" in order to reflect on what our answers to that question mean for the kind of community we can imagine--and therefore the kind of world we can work to create.
Through the story of Philip's encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, he explores what it meant to be a eunuch in the biblical world, and how this encounter was--and remains for us today--a beautiful, controversial, and world-altering invitation to follow in the Way of Jesus as the Spirit of God continues breaking...2023-06-1919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon Podcast“Let there be Marshes”: Meeting God Again… for the First TimeIn this message, Pastor Eric takes us on a journey through the story of creation’s beginnings in Genesis 1, inviting us to allow its familiar words to surprise and even challenge us toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Creator who is always drawing forth goodness and new life from the chaos of the world.
Beyond the binaries of light and dark, land and sea, earth and sky, and so on, is God not present in sunrises and sunsets? In dawn and dusk and in marshes or swamps?
Looking at Genesis 1 and then drawing on images of God used throughout sc...2023-06-1221 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastJoining in the Divine DanceIn this message, Pastor Eric invites us to encounter the Divine Mystery we name "God" in new ways.
Many of us have grown up with an image of God as a distant, angry, judging, old white-haired man whose approval we need to seek. The consequences of this image of God--even when we stop intentionally believing in it--not only negatively shapes our individual lives, but also the world that we imagine to be possible--and therefore are able to build.
In contrast to this, Pastor Eric dusts off the ancient Christian image of God as three and yet one--a singular unity and...2023-06-0520 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhat Has Gotten Into Them?!In this Pentecost message, Pastor Eric reflects on the strange, confusing, seemingly absurd ways that God shows up in our world and in our lives. But all too often, we try to domesticate God, we try to control how and where “god” shows up and what happens as a result. In short, we get stuck in our own patterns and ways.
Pentecost is an invitation to open oneself to God’s Spirit, trusting that even when things seem chaotic, confusing, and beyond our control God can still be found. Which is to say that love and life are still present and un...2023-05-3121 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTo Live Threatened with ResurrectionIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the Apostle Paul’s radical transformation from a person of privilege to someone who chose a path that didn’t shy away from suffering when it resulted from boldly living out God’s love in a world of injustice. What came over him? What prompted this profound change of mind and heart and empowered him to live in this way?
During the Guatemalan civil war and genocide of the indigenous Mayan people, the Guatemalan theologian-poet and peace activist, Julia Esquivel, wrote a provocative poem of hope. Amidst grave injustice and suffering, she proclaimed that t...2023-05-2520 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWe Will Do Greater Things Than Jesus?!Continuing our Easter theme of celebrating a “season of Resurrection,” in this message Pastor Eric reflects on Jesus’ words to his disciples—and to us—when he says: “I tell you, the one who trusts in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” Can Jesus really be serious here? We’ll do greater things than him, if we trust in him??
From these seemingly absurd words from Jesus, Pastor Eric reflects on the bold, courageous, and radical witness of the early church to suggest that...2023-05-1520 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastRecognizing and Receiving ResurrectionIn this message, Pastor Eric continues his Easter series reflecting on resurrection and inviting us to look beyond "can I really believe that happened?" Instead, he invites us look for truth in what happens when the resurrected Jesus appears--namely, this week, when he appears to Peter. Peter, the one who had denied knowing Jesus, who had abandoned him in his greatest hour of need. What happens when the resurrected Jesus appears to Peter, to one overwhelmed with grief and shame?
Through this story, what are we being invited to pay attention to? And, importantly, how are those who, like...2023-05-0820 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastI Believe in the Resurrection of the BodyIn this Easter season message, Pastor Eric explores how “believing in the resurrection of the body” doesn’t mean what most of us think it means! It isn't merely about proving that certain facts of history did or did not occur. It is a truth we are called to embody ourselves; it is a pattern, a reality, that we are invited to give ourselves to. What does it mean to believe in resurrection here and now? What does it mean to say one believes that bodies as good as dead can be raised anew?
In fact, the earliest Christians--building on their...2023-05-0120 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhere Are You Going?Howard Thurman, the great African American theologian, mystic and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Rights movement, once wrote that the most important question we must ask ourselves is: "Where are you going?" That is: What are you after? What are you really chasing or being drawn toward? Where we are going--what we are really after--will shape the choices and actions we make each day.
The Jesus we encounter on Palm Sunday seems out of place at first. After making a dramatic entrance, he makes his way to the Temple complex and starts flipping over tables...2023-04-0322 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastCan These Dry Bones Live?In this message, Pastor Eric weaves together reflections on two seemingly very different passages--one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament--to reflect on God's presence with us and call to Life even when we find ourselves in "the valley of the shadow of death."
In our Lenten series: "Seeking: honest questions for a deeper faith and more authentic life," the question posed by this message--"Can these dry bones live?" is a question about radical hope. Can we trust; can we believe that there is still life to be found even when our lives have fallen apart?2023-03-2821 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWho Sinned? (And Other Terrible Questions We Ask)In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the misguided assumptions that often undergird the questions we ask--questions that lead to judgment and isolation. Too often, we focus on theoretical or theological understanding; on being "technically" right, even if that comes at the expense of people's dignity.
Through the story of Jesus and the man born blind, this message challenges us to reflect more honestly and deeply on our own assumptions. As Jesus makes clear, it is often those who think they can see clearly--including the religious folks who think they "get it"--who do not. And it is oftentimes those...2023-03-2218 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWill You Give Me a Drink?In this message, Pastor Eric explores the profound and challenging invitations present in the simple exchange between Jesus and an “unnamed woman from Samaria”—a life-altering exchange that becomes possible only because both parties choose to enter into the shared vulnerability that marks its beginning: Jesus—a man, a Jew, tired from a long journey, wandering through a place that his religion and culture had taught him to despise, had taught him to think were lesser—asking for help from a woman of that region. Jesus, scripture it says, was nourished by this exchange in a way he wasn’t with his dis...2023-03-1220 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastHow Do We Begin Again?What is your first reaction when you are thrust into something new; something difficult; something painful? Are you inclined to just keep barreling forward—leave the past in the past? Do you grieve hard? Do you grieve at all? Do you cling to platitudes like “just gotta stay positive” or “everything happens for a reason”? Do you despair?
In this message, Pastor Eric invites us to face our wilderness journeys with honesty, intentionality, and with earnestness. As the great farmer-poet-prophet Wendell Berry writes: “It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work. A...2023-03-0719 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhere Are You Going? and Who Will You Listen To?In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on two familiar passages: Adam and Eve being tempted by a cunning snake in the Garden of Eden, and Jesus being tempted by a devilish voice in the Wilderness.
Reading these two passages alongside each other helps us to hear the story of Adam and Eve in a new light. Rather than being about “original sin” that now makes all of us inherently “bad” from birth, these stories flow from “original blessing.” Throughout Genesis 1, as God creates the world, God looks out and says, “That is so very good!” Similarl...2023-02-2721 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBecoming DivineIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the story of Jesus' transfiguration as the mother of all epiphanies--a moment where he dared to "shine forth" as he truly was. In some ways, the transfiguration can be seen as the story of Jesus' "coming out" moment as he shares with his closest disciples and friends his true identity, which he had not revealed up to that moment. It's also a moment where the voice of God reminds the disciples that Jesus is both a Beloved Child of God, and has a special calling.
The disciples don't understand, and even try to f...2023-02-2119 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe First Tattoo I Get Will Be...Many people think that the point of "being a Christian" is to be a good person. Pastor Eric says that is not really the case. What?
Most of us spend much of our lives trying to prove to others that we are good. Underneath this lies an almost DNA-deep fear that if we are not seen as "good" then we won't be loved; we'll be excluded. In this message, Pastor Eric reflects on how our struggle to be seen as good actually gets in the way of our ability to build families, relationships, and communities where growth, forgiveness, accountability, and h...2023-02-1319 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhere the Voice of God is HeardIn this message Pastor Eric explores liminal seasons in life—seasons of transition and change, like: dating or marriage or moving in with someone; moving; going to college or graduating; losing a loved one; retiring; coming out or transitioning (or your child coming out or transitioning).
Rather than just “getting through” these seasons or waiting for things to “go back to normal,” the work of mature spirituality is for us to be made new in and through them.
How?
That is what this message is about!2023-02-0720 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTransforming Conflict: Becoming Less to Become MoreEveryone hates conflict. And yet, every real and authentic relationship has it. Conflict simply means that we have differences--different opinions, backgrounds, expectations, assumptions, cultures, etc--and now we have to learn how to move through those differences as we learn to live together.
The challenge lies in the fact that most of us have learned unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict: we learned to yell in order to be heard; we learned to run away because it was unsafe; we learned to shrink ourselves to make things stop; we learned to be violent because we were never taught any other tools...2023-01-2320 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Life That Flows from LoveBefore Jesus has done anything significant in his ministry; before he has any followers, has preached any public messages, performed any healings; before anyone looks at him and calls him "the Messiah," he joins the ranks of people being baptized by John in the Jordan River. At that moment, a voice from the heavens makes public what has always been true: Jesus is God's beloved child, with whom God is so well pleased.
So it is with us. Before--and apart--from anything that we do or don't do, God's love washes over us and claims us. Nothing can separate us from t...2023-01-1922 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastHome By Another WayIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the surprising, unsettling and often overlooked fact that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were forced to seek asylum as refugees in Egypt shortly after Jesus’ birth. It is in this context that the meaning of the magi gains it’s significance, and both the invitation and challenge that they hold out for us as we move into a new year and consider our own intentions in the year ahead.2023-01-1219 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBirthing God & Raising JesusPastor Eric continues reflecting on the Christmas stories in this message, inviting us to consider what "birthing God" and "raising Jesus" would have required for Mary (much like any parent). At the heart of this invitation--for Mary and for us--is an invitation into all those small, every-day moments that are required to raise an utterly dependent newborn into an adult. It's an invitation into noticing and tending, small acts of love and compassion, and responding with love and grace to all the challenges, frustrations, and overwhelm. It's an invitation not only to offer our own bodies for the life of...2023-01-0410 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastAnd the Soul Felt it’s WorthIn this Christmas message, Pastor Eric reflects on the Light that shines in every darkness, and that no darkness can put out. More than the "power of positivity," what is the heart of the Christmas message than is capable of providing hope in even the most dire of circumstances: for one hiding from Nazi soldiers; for a refugee; in the face of a serious health diagnosis or a divorce or job loss or family strife? The light of this hope born amidst the most silent of nights is the promise we claim this Christmas, and every day.2022-12-2911 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Courage to Make Hard ChoicesIn this Advent message, Pastor Eric reflects on the story of Joseph finding out that Mary is pregnant with a baby that is not his, his response, and God's intervention to call him to a better way. In this brief story, we see a Joseph who would have had to process some difficult feelings in order to make some incredibly hard decisions. Given the challenge that many of us have with sitting with feelings of grief, fear, betrayal, anger and shame, Joseph--who would have felt all of this at the news of Mary's pregnancy--invites us to do just that in...2022-12-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastMary: Prophet of FaithfulnessIn this Advent message, Pastor Eric reflects on the stereotypical images many of us have of Mary, the mother of Jesus: sweet, serene, docile, submissive. He then peels back the layers of the story of Mary in Luke 1 to reveal how distorted this image is from the one that actually appears, for there we meet a young woman who is bold and dares to question God; we meet a prophet with the courage to act as God's partner knowing that it will come at a cost; that it will bring challenge and loss, knowing that she will be denigrated.
It...2022-12-2916 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Stories that Make UsWhose stories get told when we tell the story of “us”—in our families, in our church, in our society? Whose stories get silenced, lost to history? And how does the way we tell these stories—whose is included and what we know about them—reflect our own values, prejudices, and limits? Pastor Eric reflects on these questions as he explores the names of the four women specifically named in the genealogy of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Matthew. The answers of whose stories the story of Jesus includes might just surprise you—and both inspire/challenge you to think abo...2022-12-2920 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastVitalityIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the question of what makes for a vital church? Is it having a large choir and Sunday school attendance? Is it lots of butts in the pews? Or is it possible to have all of these and to still not experience true vitality? Is it possible to be a small and vital congregation?
Similarly, in our own lives, can we experience vitality, true life, even amidst hardship or suffering? If so: what is it that makes vitality possible?2022-12-2920 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastLiving as AncestorsMany of us live our lives seeking to please our parents and ancestors—those who have gone before us. But what if we lived with the awareness that WE are ancestors? How might we live differently if we focused not on pleasing those who have gone before us, but on creating a better world several generations from now? What is the world that we dream of for our grandchildren’s grandchildren? What is it that we could possibly steward—could nurture, sustain, and pass on—that could last that amount of time? Rather than focusing our efforts on specific forms and thin...2022-12-2923 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastFed at Federated to Feed the WorldIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the mission that Jesus gave his disciples just hours before he was crucified: "Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another." In this season of stewardship, he invites us to reflect on how churches have at times lost sight of this mission and focused instead on buildings, membership, dogmas, and/or doctrines. But our mission remains the same: to love one another and this world that God so loves just as Jesus did.
Pastor Eric invites us to reflect on how we've each been "fed at Federated"--spiritually, physically...2022-12-2919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWho’s Coming to Dinner?In this message, Pastor Eric begins our new sermon series reflecting specifically on stories about Jesus that take place at/around the table/meals. Jesus always seemed to be going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal. More than just a setting, it represents a crucial image of Jesus' mission and God's dream for the world. This message reflects on Jesus' parable of the Great Dinner Banquet in Luke 14 to reflect on questions about who is invited, welcomed, and honored at God's Table... and how it might not be who you think it is. In fact...2022-12-2918 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastExperiencing Eternal Life NowIn this message, Pastor Eric explores one of the most famous of all biblical passages—John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world…”)—and the verses surrounding it. This message brings together the new understandings explored in previous messages of this series—a reframing of what it means to “believe” and to be “saved”—in order to explore how Jesus speaks about eternity life. Importantly, deconstructing these words at the heart of our faith in order to see them anew as if for the first time allows us to see that when Jesus speaks of “eternal life” in passages like this, he isn’t speaking about be...2022-12-2922 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastBorn Again, Anew, from AboveIn this message, Pastor Eric deconstructs what most of us have been taught it means to be "born again." In doing so, he invites us to hear it anew, as if for the first time, and the powerful invitation it actually offers us. This is not about accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior so as to secure your ticket to a heavenly afterlife. This is an invitation to a journey of transformation in this life here and now.2022-12-2916 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastSalvation = LiberationIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the concept of salvation in Christianity. Most of us were taught that "to be saved" means that one has accepted Jesus as their Lord and is therefore going to heaven. They are saved from sin and hell.
Whether you cringe at this or agree with it, most of us think that this is the foundation of Christianity; that without this notion of salvation, there is no Christianity.
But there's just one problem... this notion of salvation is nowhere in the Bible!
So...what does salvation mean? What is the hope that it offers...2022-12-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastFaith Beyond BeliefsIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the surprising history of the words “faith” and “belief.” Did you know that they didn’t always mean what they do today? How were they used and what difference does it make? Well, it makes a world of difference! Find out how in this first message of Pastor Eric’s new series: “Meeting Christianity Again…For the First Time.”2022-12-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWrite the Vision—and Run With It!"Don't be a Jerk." That's one way some have said you could summarize the gospel. But in a time of historic disruptions and climate change, in this message Pastor Eric invites us to consider a vision for our faith, our lives, our church--for the world--that meets the magnitude of our moment; the kind of vision that Jesus offered his world 2,000 years ago amidst its own great disruptions.
What dreams and visions does his inspire for you? What does your soul long for in these tumultuous times? How will you give yourself to this vision in the year ahead?2022-12-2919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastRhythms that Restore in a World that DistortsIn this message, Pastor Eric reflects on the kinds of rhythms that undergird our society--namely excessive busy-ness that leads to constant exhaustion--and how these rhythms are leading not to flourishing, but to burn-out; are leading not to better well-being, but rather tearing at the seams of our families, friendships, community bonds and--well, many of those things that actually matter the most.
How is this true in your own life? How are your own daily rhythms shaping you? What do you spend most time oriented around--how does it lead to flourishing, and what does it force you to sacrifice? What would...2022-12-2919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastReorienting a Disordered WorldThis message by Pastor Eric explores how the Book of Deuteronomy describes the call to "honor the sabbath" by recalling how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
What does this experience of oppression and liberation have to teach us about the meaning of sabbath for our lives? Why ground the vision of sabbath and honoring it in a memory of exploitation?
With such questions in mind, Pastor Eric explores how the invitation to "practice sabbath" is not merely about one day a week or individualistic practices or "thou shalt not's!" Rather, it calls us to reimagine ways to...2022-12-2922 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastWhy Christian?In this final message of Pastor Eric's summer sermon series--"What the Faith?!"--he reflects on the question: Why Christian? Why be/remain a Christian in light of scripture's inconsistencies? In light of the fact that the Bible contains texts that are sexist and xenophobic--are violent in various forms? Why be Christian in light of the epic and tragic failures of Christians and churches throughout history, and still presently? Why not just go it alone? What is to be gained by participating in a Christian community?
As Pastor Eric explores these questions, he shares some of his own faith journey--from...2022-12-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastGenocide in the Name of God? — Scripture & the Language of the UnheardIn this message from Pastor Eric's "What the Faith?!" sermon series, he moves from last week's exploration of our individual anger/rage in response to being wounded or violated ("How to Destroy Your Enemy") to exploring collective / communal responses to this, for instance those whose nation or city is invaded by a foreign military, enslaved communities, and other marginalized communities.
Is it OK to be angry/filled with rage? If so, in what was is it constructive and when is it destructive? If we cannot skip over anger in our journey of healing, how do we move beyond anger/rage?
...2022-12-2921 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastHow to Destroy Your EnemiesIn this message from Pastor Eric’s “What the Faith?!” sermon series, he explores Psalm 137 and others that call upon God for violent vengeance. If we believe scripture is somehow instructive and revelatory for us as people trying to follow Jesus, what do we do with such passages? How are we to read them? How are we to understand them when we lift them up alongside Jesus’ call to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” and the many passages that tell us, in short, not to be angry?
To help us understand the harsh words in Psalm 137 an...2022-12-2922 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastA Bitter Curse & Human FlourishingThis is the fourth message in Pastor Eric's summer 2022 sermon series, "What the Faith," exploring pressing issues in our larger culture and the surprising, conflicting things the Bible says about them. How do we read the Bible if it doesn't offer a straightforward answer? How do we live faithfully today as God's people if we can't just do/apply what the Bible says? In this message, preached in the weeks after the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade that made it legal for people to choose to have an abortion, Pastor Eric explores this question in...2022-12-2919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastThe Bible Tells Me So? — Scripture & ‘Godly’ WomenIn this third message in Pastor Eric's "What the Faith?!" sermon series, we read and reflect on what to make of the fact that scripture contains both passages that tell women to remain silent in church, to be subordinate to their husbands, and to have no authority over men with the fact that other parts of scripture describe a reality in early churches where women were encouraged to speak up, were prophetesses and teachers, and did have authority. What do we make of this inconsistency? How have these scriptures been used and abused throughout history to silence and marginalize women...2022-12-2917 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastHow (not) to Read the BibleWere you taught that the Bible is perfect in every way and that, in order to be a "good Christian," you must obey everything in it? Well, in this second message of Pastor Eric's summer sermon series--"What the Faith?!"--he challenges this idea. After all, he asks, "how do we obey scripture when scripture doesn't even obey itself?!"
So... if "obedience" isn't the most faithful way of reading scripture, then what is? Listen in for a fuller exploration, and check out other videos in this series as Pastor Eric continues to explore questions like this.2022-12-2919 minFederated Church Sycamore Sermon PodcastTell the People: I Will Be Who I Will BeIn this message, the first in our summer sermon series, "What the F@!+H?!" (What the Faith), Pastor Eric reflects on the different ways that God is imagined and depicted throughout scripture: As a father, shepherd, and a mighty warrior, but also as a mother, a midwife, and a baker woman; God is our rock and light, a cloud, fire, bread, wine, and water and much more. God is each of these, all of these, and yet none of these. In exploring this vast diversity of images in scripture, Pastor Eric challenges us to think beyond "God the Father," to...2022-12-2920 min