Creation: St. Francis & Wendell Berry

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Creation: St. Francis & Wendell Berry
Ben Conachan

During the long stretch of the Christian year from Advent to Pentecost, we are invited to ponder the mysteries of Christ: incarnation, atonement, resurrection. The remainder of the year, Ordinary Time, turns to the generations of every day saints, the Jesus-followers who keep pushing the Divine Story forward. In an age where American Christianity seems to have lost the plot, we can turn to the stories and examples of mystics and poets, women and outsiders who have kept the way of Jesus alive in times ancient and modern. This series will explore pairs of saints whose lives and writings inspire us to keep moving forward today.

This week, St. Francis and Wendell Berry guide us into a different kind of Christian imagination—one where creation isn't a backdrop to human salvation but belongs to it, and where learning to love the world around us turns out to be some of the most ancient and most human work there is.

Ask, Seek, Knock (Matthew 7:1-12)

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Ask, Seek, Knock (Matthew 7:1-12)
Ben Conachan

At the center of the sacred story we tell, week in and week out, is the mystery of Resurrection: life from death, light from darkness, creation from chaos. This story has occupied a central place in the Christian imagination because it points to a new way to live. In this series, we are exploring the way of life Jesus sets forth in his Sermon on the Mount. Resurrection speaks over every life, “You, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, you are blessed because Divine Love is with you.” This vision of the resurrection life opens up new ways of being such as belonging, love and trust in community, and non-anxious relationship with one another and with the Divine. This series will suggest practices for living Christ’s wisdom within the texture of our ordinary lives.

Practices of Belonging (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-24)

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Practices of Belonging (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-24)
Ben Conachan

At the center of the sacred story we tell, week in and week out, is the mystery of Resurrection: life from death, light from darkness, creation from chaos. This story has occupied a central place in the Christian imagination because it points to a new way to live. In this series, we are exploring the way of life Jesus sets forth in his Sermon on the Mount. Resurrection speaks over every life, “You, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, you are blessed because Divine Love is with you.” This vision of the resurrection life opens up new ways of being such as belonging, love and trust in community, and non-anxious relationship with one another and with the Divine. This series will suggest practices for living Christ’s wisdom within the texture of our ordinary lives.

Palm Sunday: Our Many Animations

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Palm Sunday: Our Many Animations
Jen Johnson

At Pearl Church, we seek to express a sacred story and extend a common table that animate—move, motivate, inspire—our lives by Divine Love. Very often we find ourselves animated not by love, but by all-too familiar counterfeits like shame, fear, guilt, duty, and control. In this sermon series, we look to the life of Jesus, who turns a gentle and compassionate face toward people caught up in these animations, creating space for us to listen for the voice of love that beckons even in our deepest wounds and darkness. For love is strong enough to embrace and integrate all these animations, making us whole.