word for the week
 
WORD for the Week for August 20, 2017
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
Come and Worship!
WORD for Summer Dojo: "God in America" | 9am Carlson Hall
 
Join Pastor Nate, Pastor Judy, ELI Intern Joe, and your friends to watch the documentary series God in America all summer long. This well-made co-production of PBS Frontline and American Experience spans four centuries with faith and civics topics as relevant as ever for our nation today.

FINAL WEEK: Religious Pluralism - In the modern era, the United States must confront its own identity as a pluralistic society and choose how to be multi-religious and multi-cultural. How did we get here?

"Dojo" is a Japanese word for "Place of the Way." Often referring to a training place for martial arts, "dojo" also has a broader use as a term for a place where people learn a "way" to go out and do. This year, our Summer Dojo sessions have seen 10-20 people engage in our videos and discussions each week. Grab your coffee, grab your seat, and see what grabs you!
WORD for Sabbath Beginnings | 8am Sanctuary Alcove
 

Worship Leader: Rev. Dwight Haberman

Holy Communion: "Even if the world as we know it comes to an end, that ending is also a new beginning. Whatever happens, God will be faithful and the way of Christ - a way of love, nonviolence, compassion, and sustained fervency--will triumph." Brian McLaren
WORD for Sacred Journey | 8:30am Art Gallery
 
 
Reflection: "The Story of God's work in history has never been about escaping Earth and going up to heaven. It has always been about God descending to dwell among us. The river of life is flowing now." These words of Brian McLaren's take us into a reading from Revelation 21:1-7, 22:1-2, 17. At Sacred Journey we will explore the Spirit of Hope that is offered in these evocative and often confusing images from the Bible's last book. What gives you hope? If the future is unknown and unknowable, what can we hope for? We will celebrate communion together, always a glimpse of hope.
WORD for Traditional Worship | 10am Sanctuary 

 
Worship Leader: Rev. Nate Melcher

Reflection: In our second-to-last chapter of Brian McLaren's We Make the Road by Walking, we reach the final book of the Bible, the Revelation to John. To say the relationship between the Church and Revelation has been "complex" is an understatement! Whatever your relationship with this writing has been, it's time to decide what you want that relationship to be.

The main question I get asked about Revelation (after I'm told it's a scary story!) is if it's a sign of the end, of humanity's doom. Likewise, is this letter about the way things have to be, set in stone, or is it a glimpse of what we can be a part of, a future we write with God? McLaren puts this question in a particularly delightful way: "Did God create a closed and predetermined universe, or a free and participatory one?" Frankly, I'm inclined toward the latter.

As you lean into this Sunday, pray for God to reveal all the ways you can partner with your Creator. God calls you to start something new, and something old, do more of a good thing, and less of a bad one. You and God know your heart, now may this be a day of new beginnings for how you may serve Christ, to helpbthis king of kings building a beautiful city of cities, shining on the hill with the love of the Holy Spirit.
Podcast Ministry

Subscribe ( iTunes), stream, or download Sacred Journey & Traditional Worship sermons.


Worship Bulletin Archive



The Bible is in your hands...

You're invited to "dig deeper." Here are a handful of resources:

Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church resources:
Worship Bulletins | online archive of HAUMC worship bulletins
Podcast Ministry | HAUMC Sacred Journey and Traditional Worship sermon podcasts
Devotional Ministry | HAUMC seasonal daily devotional ministry
The Life Mosaic | Rev. Nate Melcher's blog about faithful, creative, intentional living
Pause | Rev. Sally Johnson's blog about the contemplative spiritual journey

Scripture exegesis and commentary resources:
Bible Gateway | the Bible in hundreds of translations (NRSV, CEB, The Message, etc.)
BibleHub | parse out the original Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT)
David Lose | commentary from the renound preaching professor and Mt. Olivet Senior Pastor
Enter the Bible | historical/cultural context for each book of the Bible from Luther Seminary
Oxford Biblical Studies | historical/cultural context for each book of the Bible from Oxford
Working Preacher | read and listen to lectionary commentary from Luther Seminary faculty

Art and Music resources:
Art in the Christian Tradition | The Jean and Alexander Heard Divinity Library at Vanderbilt
Hymnary | a resource for both modern and traditional worship music and hymns
Sing for Joy | a worship music and hymn resource from St. Olaf College

 
 

Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church
511 Groveland | Minneapolis, MN 55403 
612.871.5303  |  spire@haumc.org  |   hennepinchurch.org