Palm Sunday: Our Many Animations

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.

Ecclesiastes' Light

The tradition of wisdom is expansive. On the one hand, conventional wisdom provides insights into living when life goes as it’s expected to go. On the other hand, radical wisdom provides insights into living when life takes surprising turns. Then there’s stages of wisdom—pre-rational, rational, and post-rational—which offer unique insights into our many phases of development. And of course, in our Christian tradition, there’s Christ, who is called, “The wisdom of God.” This sermon series will plumb the depths of wisdom’s complexity, seeking light capable of holding us, grounding us, and inspiring us, no matter the circumstance or stage we find ourselves in.

Perfectionism, or Transformation?

If the Bible isn’t a rule book or a clear-cut moral guide for every decision that we need to make, how do we go about discerning what is good? Perhaps you’re in the midst of making a big decision, or perhaps you wrestle with knowing how to discern what’s best when making decisions, or perhaps, as you’ve come to realize that the Bible doesn’t definitively direct particular judgments that you need to make about life and godliness, you’re looking for a thoughtful way to make wise decisions. If any of these statements speak to where you’re at, then we’re hopeful that this sermon series, centering around a series of questions to guide our discernment, will inform, support, and encouragement your flourishing, especially now, when discerning goodness is increasingly important.

Chaos, or Creation?

If the Bible isn’t a rule book or a clear-cut moral guide for every decision that we need to make, how do we go about discerning what is good? Perhaps you’re in the midst of making a big decision, or perhaps you wrestle with knowing how to discern what’s best when making decisions, or perhaps, as you’ve come to realize that the Bible doesn’t definitively direct particular judgments that you need to make about life and godliness, you’re looking for a thoughtful way to make wise decisions. If any of these statements speak to where you’re at, then we’re hopeful that this sermon series, centering around a series of questions to guide our discernment, will inform, support, and encouragement your flourishing, especially now, when discerning goodness is increasingly important.

A Trellis for the Animation of Divine Love

Pearl Church exists to cultivate three rhythms—Sacred Story, Common Table, and Divine Love. In fact, these rhythms work together. We often say, “At Pearl, we express a Sacred Story and extend a Common Table that animate life by Divine Love.” But how exactly do we cultivate these rhythms? And is it possible to cultivate these rhythms outside of Pearl? This sermon series will explore the metaphor of a trellis to help us thoughtfully discern the sacredness of our stories, commonality of our tables, and animations of our lives as we seek to cultivate robust living marked by flourishing.