The Dangerous Work of Worship 2/8

Pray. Bowing our head, bending our knee, pledging our allegiance – this is the subversive work of prayer. Corporate prayer in worship is a stay against idolatry. We remember again that our time here is for the re-ordering of our lives: “God is God, and we are not. (And nothing else is God, either.)” The counter-narratives say that our lives depend on capitalism, work, the military, government, our own capacities. Even the simplicity of the Lord’s Prayer says otherwise.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

The Dangerous Work of Worship 1/8

Arrive. King David, having recovered the Ark of the Covenant, dances his way home. He is essentially bringing God’s Presence back to Israel, and his enthusiastic showing-up dance is unnerving to some (his wife!) who wish for more decorum, more “demure”, in worship. But it matters how we arrive for worship – do we bring our whole (exposed) selves, or do we hold back? Additionally, there are many “Psalms of Ascent” in Israel’s hymnal, designated for climbing the temple mount in Jerusalem – meaning that our ancestors gave some thought to how we gather for worship. As do we. (parts of worship: video prologue, welcome, query)

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 8/8

Simeon, Anna, and I can die now. Simeon is our final singer. He and Anna have waited many years, decades of waiting, for the fulfillment of one small piece of God’s big promise to redeem Israel and save the world. Waiting is a virtue, a practice, a skill that becomes a disposition for we who are tracing the long arc of the moral universe... (Carissa Robinson is preaching.)

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 7/8

Angels, shepherds, and all that had been told them. The angelic announcement (the third of four arias in this opera) stokes the shepherds’ curiosity, and they are the first “come and see” invitees. Do we imagine the angels only sang to these shepherds? Or did their song perhaps go to others who were not quite interested enough to drop everything and go?

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 6/8

Jesus: born under the boot of empire. Luke here situates Jesus’s birth in its political and economic contexts. Babies born now could be similarly announced: “When So-and-So was president, and So-and-So was governor of Texas; when interest rates were thus, and employment was such...” And what would it mean? If Jesus’s nativity happened now, where would it likely take place?

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 5/8

John, Zechariah, and being filled with God’s Spirit. The songs we sing to our children matter. What are the melodies and lyrics we fill their imaginations with? Songs of longing and lament; songs of empowerment and good cheer; songs that transport our spirits into God’s good future – these are the songs we must sing for generations to come.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 4/8

Elizabeth, Mary, and the strength of God’s arm. The story of sisterhood, and the subversive lullaby that rumbles up from Mary’s spirit after some time spent soaking up Elizabeth’s company, are scenes that ignite our own communal spirit. What happens, what becomes possible in your imagination, after spending time with someone who can help you see God’s future? Cultivate those relationships. (And be that sister/friend for someone else, too.)

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 3/8

Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, and nothing is impossible with God. If Mary’s virginity means anything, it means that God bounds over obstacles to get what God wants. At the same time, God seeks consent for this particular intervention; Mary’s yes is imperative to the forward motion of the story and God’s incoming Presence. (Note: this is a very Mary-centric story, compared to Matthew’s Joseph-centric story.)

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 2/8

Zechariah, Elizabeth, and what the Lord has done for me. Elizabeth’s “barrenness” was a source of shame (“disgrace”), the brokenness that we associate with bodies that don’t behave as they should according to norms we have inherited. Scripture often speaks of shameful bodies being liberated/received by God – eunuchs in Isaiah 56, for example. The incarnation itself is God’s display of solidarity with our embodiment, and the grace God intends for our bodies as well as our souls.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Singing in the Dark 1/8

Luke, Theophilus, and the well-ordered account. Luke’s gospel is epistolary, with an intended (if imagined) recipient, Theophilus (“Friend of God”). Luke acknowledges that there are competing narratives of “the events that have been fulfilled among us,” and offers his reporting as “well- ordered.” This is an important assertion: that Theophilus (and the whole audience) deserve an account that assumes their intelligence and their right to know. We who follow Jesus are engaged in this learning/understanding project all the time, in order to guard against those who would twist it to mean other than it does.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 8/8

Love. The Sunday after our national elections, how does it look to proceed in the love that God calls us to, and upon which God’s empire is built?

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 7/8

Give God what belongs to God. The Sunday before our national elections, let’s reflect on what we’re meant to release to the empire vs. what we give only to God. “Do not put your trust in princes” from Psalm 146 becomes “Do not put your trust in politicians.”

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 6/8

The Son of Humanity in service. There’s no escaping the upside-down power structure of Jesus’s campaign (or God’s reign). Finally, it gets down to really small things, like who takes the trash out at the end of the night.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 5/8

Beware of wealth, and redistribute it to dispel its power. In the tradition of the prophets, Jesus was suspicious of accumulated wealth, and urged his followers not to be trapped by it. Money demands loyalty (sweat, time, relationships, wellbeing...). God’s reign competes with money for our dependence and loyalty. Carissa Robinson is preaching.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 4/8

Light up each person’s dignity. In a training for non-violent, peacekeeping poll chaplains, a rabbi instructed us to “light up the dignity” of both perpetrators and targets of abuse. Jesus’s reversal of blindness sounds ableist to our ears, but what if we can see his work as lighting up the dignity of the shushed Bartimaeus? And what if that is Josh’s work, too, in hospital chaplaincy? Josh’s ordination!

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 3/8

Collaboration across difference. There’s no need, Jesus says, to fence off good work to ensure our exclusive claim to power. Good work happens in lots of places, apart from us, and it’s the goodness that matters, not who gets credit. Also, side note: stay salty, disciples.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 2/8

Generational thinking. It’s not only trauma we pass on from generation to generation...it’s also the sequoias we’re planting now that will come to fruit only for our descendants. Jesus’s time is short, but his vision is long, and it begins with the snot-nosed kids right in front of him.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

Jesus for President 1/8

Abundance, abundantly clear. The age-old question regarding material resources: is there enough? or should we hoard and hand-wring, worrying that we’ll be left empty-handed? In the world Jesus is building, there is always enough if we trust God’s provision.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

RRNBE • Final Week

Getting Low, Saying Thanks. Real gratitude requires vulnerability. Paul alllllmost didn’t make it in his thank-you note to the Philippians. Rev. Dr. Katie Hays is back!

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060

RRNBE • Week 15

Did Jesus Really Call the Syrophoenician Woman a B****? Or was something profound taking place as Jesus ceded power in the conversation to this foreign woman and allowed a historic breaking of glass ceilings and agency for all who are marginalized in the church and beyond.

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: info@galileochurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or Zelle (generosity@galileohurch.org), or just send a check to P.O. Box 668, Kennedale, TX 76060