“Megazord, Broken for You”

2015.05.17 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

“Megazord, Broken for You”

John 17:6-19

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Leshia’s last sermon of her pastoral internship is a reflection on being like Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ… and the strangest metaphor we’ve had in a long while…

Also, the podcast begins with an introduction to Chrisy Hurn and Meredith Park, Eucharist Church’s Artist-in-Residence for the summer of 2015. They’ll be making amazing art all summer.

The text:

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Practice Resurrection

2015.04.05 - Kevin Makins - The Church Calendar

Practice Resurrection

Mark 16

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Resurrection is incredible not just because it happened, but because it happens.

Featuring a monologue from Terri Drumm and teaching moment from Leshia Knopf!

The text:

Mark 16

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Believing in(to) Jesus

2015.03.15 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

Believing in(to) Jesus

John 3:14-21

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This weeks text includes one of the most familiar verses in all of scripture… however as she learned more about it Leshia realized what this text was actually saying, and then she REALLY didn’t want to preach it.

But we’re all glad she did. Because this is a good, and challenging, word.

The text:

John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Also, this gorgeous piece was created by Hannah as a reflection piece for this weeks text:

Seeing God Down the Mountain

2015.02.15 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

Seeing God Down the Mountain

Mark 9:2-9

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In the ancient world people were used to meeting the god(s) on top of mountains. That was where you expected to find a god!

Jesus also reveals his divinity on a mountain, but what happens before and after this epiphany reveals even more.

The text:

Mark 9:2-9

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

A Pickled People

2015.01.11 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

A Pickled People

Mark 1:4-11

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Throughout history and around the world, people who have had an transformative encounter with the Resurrected Jesus have walked into water, surrounded by their community, and have been dunked under and pulled back up.

So… that’s a bit of a weird thing!

Why do followers of Jesus get baptized? And equally important: why in the WORLD was Jesus baptized?

The text:

Mark 1:4-11 4

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Mary, the Slave

2014.12.21 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

Mary, the Slave

Luke 1:26-38

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As the road to Christmas comes to a culmination, Leshia (our Pastoral Intern) takes us to visit Mary, the mother of Jesus.

And Mary gives herself a title that, to many of us, seems oppressive or wrong. She calls herself “God’s slave”.

How is THAT good news?

The text:

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Church Calendar: God's Redeeming Time

2014.11.23 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

God’s Redeeming Time

Colossians 1

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We’re spending a year doing WHAT?

That’s right! For the next year we will be following the “lectionary readings” of the church calendar.

The church calendar is a tool used by the church for something like… 1700 years! Christians around the world and throughout time have been on a common rhythmn, telling the story of scripture to one another, year after year. It’s amazing, uniting, powerful… and yet foreign to so many of us!

What is the church calendar? How is it useful? How was it developed? And WHY do we feel God is calling us to follow it for a year?

Leviathan on a Leash - The Sign of Jonah

2014.10.12 - Leshia Knopf - The Sign of Jonah

Leviathan on a Leash

Jonah 2

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When Jonah fell into the waters he fell into the one place where a good god shouldn’t be: a place of chaos and death.

And the strangest thing happens…

The Shadow Side of Faith

2014.02.16 - Prayer 2014 - Leshia Knopf

The Shadow Side of Faith

Habakkuk, Romans 8

Leshia Knopf shares an honest and reflective sermon on suffering, lament, trust, and being angry with God. Leshia is a part of the Eucharist Church “Preaching Guild”, a student of theology at McMaster Divinity College, and has spent the last few months driving her mother back and forth to her cancer appointments.

Suffice to say, this is not an intellectual exercise.

Leshia draws from the (little preached on) prophet Habakkuk to present a way of wrestling with God that is both faithful and raw.

Jeff Wynands also lead us in songs of lament, including a remixed version of Psalm 137.

The music starts at 32 minutes.

The lyrics to the song are below:

If I sing it wouldn’t mean a thing

If I dance it wouldn’t prove a chance

If I shout it wouldn’t lift the doubt

But I will if just to trust

We sit in endless sorrow at this river of defeat

We hang our songs in sadness on this tree of memory

Our joys are shapeless shadows these foreign city streets

We’ve fallen prey to mockers and their morbid mockeries

These hands surrender function and this heart it stutters beats

Were I to forget mount Zion my lips would surely seize

The wreck and rubble of a promise now dust upon our feet

We pray the same for the infant of these wretched godless deeds

If I sing it wouldn’t mean a thing

If I dance it wouldn’t prove a chance

If I shout it wouldn’t lift the doubt

But I will if just to trust…

Your will is enough oh God

Father this city’s cursed but you bless it with your name

Oh son this home is exile but you make it all the same