Message from Bob Henderson              Friday, July 19, 2019

Dear friends,

This week's sermon topic, "Faith And Vulnerability," brings to mind the fact that the majority of churches in our country, including this one, host a group called Alcoholics Anonymous which gathers in the church weekly, usually in the basement where attendees can slip in and out without fanfare.

Every week, these folks roll in riding their motorcycles, driving their BMW's, or second-hand cars, and for two hours they sit in a circle and share what trial of the soul they've endured since they last met. The rituals of shared vulnerability give them the strength they need to go on for another week. It's remarkable in both its simplicity and power.

An article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine some time ago cited the fact that the people who meet downstairs rarely break through the social barriers to come up the stairs and into the sanctuary. But that model -- strength found in shared weakness - is entirely at home in the church, which knows vulnerability as the foundation of our community. At the center of Christian faith is not a mighty warrior but a crucified foot-washer. 

This vulnerability sets the standard for the most important dimensions of our lives. In marriage, vulnerability to and with one another becomes the strength upon which the relationship deepens and becomes strong. In the church, infants brought for baptism symbolize that we are all utterly dependent on God's care. In our own lives, we find that as we give ourselves to others in love, hammering nails at Habitat for Humanity, serving spoonfuls of hash with a dash of hospitality and hope at the Men's Shelter, or tutoring a struggling child, we receive so much in return that it far exceeds all that we have given. It is conundrum of faith: when we are weak, we are strong.

We'll explore this counter-intuitive truth of the Gospel by diving into this fascinating portion of Paul's correspondence to the early church.

Come, and bring a friend.




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