Wearing Christ: Putting on the Foundation
Today is part three of our worship series on the building (or body) of Christ and its foundation. The Christian church is built upon a foundation that is not an idea, not a doctrine, not an ethical standard, but a person – Jesus Christ. Today, we will focus on one of the central rituals Christians practice–baptism. How was baptism practiced in the early church? In our prayers, songs, and sermon, we will reflect on one of Paul’s metaphors that appears to have grown out of the way the early church practiced baptism, namely, “putting on Christ.” What does it mean for us to wear Jesus Christ?
To access today’s worship video please click the following link: https://youtu.be/MXc5SHSQZzk
How to hear the Shepherd’s voice
How do we hear the shepherd's voice? Our speaker today will take the sermon in two different directions: a) First, naming some of the ways our faith tradition helps us to hear the voice: through prayer, in scripture, in creation. b) Then, admitting that we don’t always hear that voice. Yet even then we can trust that God is with us and working in our lives.
To access today’s worship video please click the following link: https://youtu.be/sn1uNSloB8o Please note, only the second half is available due to technical issues.
Touring God’s construction site
Today is part two of our worship series on the building (or body) of Christ and its foundation. The Christian church is built upon a foundation that is not an idea, not a doctrine, not an ethical standard, but a person – Jesus Christ.
Foundations exist to be built upon in ways that are like the way Paul wants Christians to build on Christ. Implicit in Paul’s metaphor of Christ as our sole foundation is the clear summons to build on that foundation. How do we build on that foundation? One of the apostle Paul’s most cherished ways of capturing both the relationships we already have with each other in the church and our calling to foster these relationships is “building each other up.” To build one another up is to participate in the greatest endeavour any of God’s creatures have ever engaged in. It means engaging in the construction of God’s peaceable home, a home in which God lives with befriended and reconciled enemies, with lost children who have been welcomed home, with returned exiles and refugees. To build each other up is to participate in God's plan to restore all creation.
To access the worship video please click the following link: https://youtu.be/WSJJP2T8tPU
