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

RRNBE • Week 14

Religious Loopholes: The Danger in Claiming Spiritual Exemptions. n this cluster of scripture from Mark, Jesus is letting the community know that those with religious/cultural power have been nullifying scripture, twisting commandments to benefit themselves and those who serve their purposes, and in 2024, this is a relevant message. Loopholes have always existed to protect the interests of certain groups, special groups that often need protecting, but we all know there are corrupt loopholes. Loopholes that have been integrated into most systems to protect and provide for those who created them; sadly, the church is no different. But, in Matthew 15, where this moment is also recorded, Jesus, in reference to these corrupt spiritual leaders, says, “Leave them alone. Let the blind lead the blind.”  This passage is not about using our time and energy to talk about other churches or church leaders (unless it is a call to action). Jesus is speaking to us. It is not wise to take “religious loopholes” or “claim spiritual exemptions.”  We want to be all in for the sake of our own interior lives.

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 13

The Armor of Each Other. The "Armor of God" has often been used as a weapon against us, and as a tool of empire. Is there a way to draw meaning from it still? Is there a useful ethic for approaching these militant texts in the midst of a violent empire? As always, we do it together. Josh Bridges-Hickey 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

RRNBE • Week 12

Which Jesus is on the Menu? How do the frequent metaphors in the scripture help us to transcend the literal and go deeper in our relationship with God. David specifically examines Jesus’ invitation to eat the bread and become intimately engaged with Jesus for our own growth and to better represent love and justice in the world around us. David Clarke 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

RRNBE • Week 11

What’s your reason? We are required to love, serve, forgive, etc., well, all that good stuff is impossible when our “reason” is temporal, not organic or authentic, not focused on being an offering to God. We get tired when the energy behind our reason is solely our own and not God’s. What is your reason? Rev. Yevette Christy 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