I have the best job on the planet. This week I got to talk with Sara who is 18 and Jesse who is 19; and on March 28 they are both going to be baptized right here at The Village. It does not get any better than that when you are a pastor, let me tell you. And here’s why. At the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus made this bold announcement he said: God Spirit has anointed me to bring GOOD NEWS to the poor and the oppressed to those on the edge of things those who are hurting the most. THIS IS WHY I CAME, Jesus said,TO BRING HOPE TO PEOPLE THAT FEEL HOPELESS. Now, if you were to meet Sara and Jesse on the street, you probably would not think they are poor, or oppressed, or hopeless, or any of those things. But think about it. It hard to be a teen-ager, or a young adult these days. Just think about it. The drugs, the violence, the economy, the lack of jobs. This is a HARD TIME to make the transition from child-hood to adulthood. And these two have some added pressures. Sara has gone to eleven schools in her life. Her life with her mom has not been very stable. She very thankful that she came to live with her grandmother, Linda, this past year. And Sara says that coming to The Village has made a huge difference in her life.

Click to read more ...

This month we are doing a series of services on the story in Luke Chapter 4 where Jesus gives what is his first sermon. It’s Luke 4: 14-21 for those trying to follow along at home. In this scripture, at the start of Jesus’ ministry, he gives his first sermon. He goes to the synagogue and is asked to read the scripture. He reads the words of the prophet Isaiah about being anointed to bring good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Jesus then tells the assembled , that he is there to fulfill just that. Now, if you read further, I can tell you the sermon went over like a lead balloon. Thankfully, no matter how bad her sermons are (and they’ve never been in the 12+ years I’ve been hearing them) they don’t lead to people wanting to throw her off a cliff. Jesus came to bring good news to a world of pain and brokenness. Jesus came to bring healing to us all. This week in worship, Joe shared a song, “Any Moment” that he wrote in response to the death of a friend from a drug overdose. Jason (our drummer for those who can’t join us on Sundays) and Joe lost a friend recently to an overdose. They could have just lived in that loss, the pain, the fear. But God moved Joe and Jason to perform a song about not living in that brokenness. Jesus came to bring us all out of those kind of places.

Click to read more ...

Untitled from jkbsmith on Vimeo.

When I started blogging Cheri’s sermons, I never in a million years thought I would have to do one on slavery. I mean, I know the United States has some real issues on Slavery in our past. Millions of men & women were ripped from their homes, beaten, brutalized and shipped to the United States to do work, breed, etc, but that was One Hundred and Fifty or so years ago. Sure, as a Democrat, I have to atone for the fact that the KKK was once a recognized part of my party. As a Methodist, I have to atone for the fact that part of our church supported slavery, and even later, tried to segregate African Americans into a second class form of membership (If you’ve seen the AME church, you’ve seen the African American community’s response to form their own denomination rather than accept this). Both of these moves resulting in a split in the denomination. Fortunately, at the Village, we also have the United Church of Christ’s history, which includes being part of the abolitionist movement (if you’ve watched the movie “Amistad”, you’ve seen our denominational foremothers and forefathers in action trying to free the people who managed to take over the slave ship Amistad).

Click to read more ...

Today at the Village we read part of the Song of Songs, aka the Song of Solomon. Ever read it? It’s in the Old Testament. If not, grab your Bible and read it, you’re in for a surprise. Right there, smack dab in your Bible, is a whole book of love poems. Not love for God or God’s love for us. It’s poetry from one human lover to another, and back again. Be prepared to blush, if you get the imagery, it gets pretty intense. And, there it is, right there in your Bible. One writer describes it as “The book that doesn’t know how to behave”. Ok, for those who haven’t read it before, you can pick yourself off the floor from fainting, and move on.

Click to read more ...