Physical growth happens by nature. We are born. We learn to walk. We learn to read. We develop skill and personality. We go to school. We get jobs. We age. Day by day the body moves in one direction. It's unavoidable.
Spiritual growth is less a given. There are experiences that demand an engagement of faith. The first time to you stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon, or the first time you really pause and look at the pictures from the Webb telescope. The first time you fall in love, hold a child, or say the 23rd Psalm for someone you have loved a long time. These and other experiences become part of our faith journey. But these alone will not develop faith as it could be. If you desired your faith to grow and to be in a different place a year from now, to make the coming year a year of spiritual journey, what would you need to do? How would you start? This series will reflect on some practices and possibilities for such a journey. For our faith journey to continue, sometimes, we need to ask for directions.
Sept. 11 Part of an Old, Old, Story – Rev. Tom Are
Sept. 17 Out Came This Calf! (Of course, that’s not the truth!) – Rev. Tom Are
Sept. 25 The Power of Prayer – Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 2 Journey to Find God – Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 9 Mission – Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 16 Holy Friendship – Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Spiritual growth is less a given. There are experiences that demand an engagement of faith. The first time to you stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon, or the first time you really pause and look at the pictures from the Webb telescope. The first time you fall in love, hold a child, or say the 23rd Psalm for someone you have loved a long time. These and other experiences become part of our faith journey. But these alone will not develop faith as it could be. If you desired your faith to grow and to be in a different place a year from now, to make the coming year a year of spiritual journey, what would you need to do? How would you start? This series will reflect on some practices and possibilities for such a journey. For our faith journey to continue, sometimes, we need to ask for directions.
Sept. 11 Part of an Old, Old, Story – Rev. Tom Are
Sept. 17 Out Came This Calf! (Of course, that’s not the truth!) – Rev. Tom Are
Sept. 25 The Power of Prayer – Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 2 Journey to Find God – Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 9 Mission – Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Oct. 16 Holy Friendship – Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Holy Friendship
Oct. 16, 2022 - Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
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We close the series “Sometimes We Need to Ask for Directions” with a focus on friendship. We have said many times: Our faith shows up in our relationships. Like the other practices we have considered in this series, friendship is also something we practice. Friendship shows up not only in your heart, but also on your calendar. Our scripture reading is 2 Timothy 4:9-22.
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On Being Commissioned
Oct. 8, 2022 - Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
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Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores Jesus' last words to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew—his words that are called the “Great Commission,” when he sends his disciples out into the world to baptize and to make disciples and to teach. That's part of Village’s practice, too. Rodger explores what it means to be the church in mission in these days, what it means to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, with persons all around us. Our scripture reading is Matthew 28:16-20.
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Journey to Find God
Oct. 2, 2022 - Rev. Tom Are & Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
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Sometimes we speak of a faith journey, and sometimes we take that journey in a literal fashion by going on a pilgrimage. Today we will reflect on the importance of pilgrimage as a means to discover the vast expanse of God’s love. Our scripture readings are Acts 10:1-16 and Acts 10:27-33.
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The Power of Prayer
Sept. 25, 2022 - Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka
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As the disciples journey with Jesus, they see and hear him praying and ask him to teach them to pray. His gift to them and to us is what we now call “The Lord’s Prayer.” So, we join every Sunday with believers in every time and place in heaven and on earth to pray as Jesus taught us. There is great power in this. There is power in speaking directly to God. There is power in joining with one another. Yet even when words fail us, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray, even praying on our behalf. Our scripture readings are Matthew 6:7-13 and Luke 11:1-4.
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Out Came This Calf? (Of course, that’s not the truth!)
Sept. 18, 2022 - Rev. Tom Are
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Jesus talked about truth, and even identified himself as the truth. One reason Jesus talked about truth so much is he knew that no community can live together apart from truth. Our scripture reading is Exodus 32:1-6, 15-24.
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Part of an Old, Old Story
Sept. 11, 2022 - Rev. Tom Are
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The Bible is an old book, or better said, a collection of books—a library. It’s not magic. Both writers and readers are captured by the limits of their own time in history. Yet, the experience of the church has been, through the ages, that inspiration has been found in these old, old stories. We come again and again to the same words and discover new meaning. The impact of scripture is not simply what it teaches us, but what happens to us and through us when we discover its light. Our scripture reading is Luke 4:16-30.
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