The One of God's Own Choosing 3/7

Jesus attracts losers. The guest lists at parties in Jesus’s honor are full of inappropriate people – maybe because he lets people like Levi (like us?) make the guest list. Rev. Sarah Almanza join us for her #firsttime guest-preaching at Galileo!

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

The One of God's Own Choosing 2/7

Jesus wants you to go home. That “follow me” invitation isn’t for everyone; some people who get what Jesus has got just need to go on home. Or to the synagogue. Whichever he discerns is the restoration of relationship they need more than anything.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

The One of God's Own Choosing 1/7

Jesus is a bully. Jesus has no patience for demonic possession (and they’re everywhere! v. 25, v. 34, v. 39). There’s no negotiation, there’s no compromise, there’s no “both sides.” 

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's on First? 7/7

Cultivation of spiritual gifts: “I am the true vine,” John 15:1. And we are the branches, intended to “bear much fruit,” i.e. be useful in the field! How can the church help each branch flourish? What ways do we have of recognizing and encouraging the giftedness of each other? This is the day that we say “yes” to the co-conspiracy, commission our leaders, and celebrate our 8th birthday!

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 6/7

Presence, physical and emotional, at gatherings of the church: “I am the resurrection and the life,” John 11:25. Katie and Remi engage in a dialogue about what it means to be present in gatherings of the church in the age of virtual connection and community. In part they’ll riff about Martha and Mary’s accusation of Jesus: “If you’d’ve been here, our brother would not have died.” 

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 5/7

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Discernment for our next steps together: “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. Let’s imagine our life together as a journey rather than a destination, the same way that following Jesus is meant to make us light on our feet rather than stuck in static doctrine, practice, and tradition. If our life together is meant to be progressive, moving us toward God’s beautiful future, we need some lookouts for the blaze that marks the trail.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 4/7

Gracious receipt of care: “I am the good shepherd,” John 10:11. We literally get the term “pastoral care” from the work of shepherding. What would it look like for the whole church, the body of Christ, to take up this work of shepherding, in a turn-taking model that means some of us, some of time, are receiving care while others are giving it? What does it mean to give in to our sheepy-ness, sometimes?

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 3/7

Extension of the church’s welcome: “I am the gate,” John 10:9. Jesus here describes himself as a threshold, an opening in the boundary between “us” and “them,” a way in. How does the church emulate his “open door” way of being? How can Galileo Church continually prop our door open, so that we are a gateway to God’s own heart? I.e. it’s not about getting people in the church; it’s about generating access to God.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 2/7

Jesus knows who he is, and who he isn’t. Jesus knows whose words matter, and whose don’t. Whose words will you choose to listen to? The Rev. Dr. Irie Lynn Session brings us a word from John 8, and Apprentice Evangelist Remi Shores shares some communion thoughts. You would do well to listen.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Who's On First? 1/7

The sharing of resources: “I am the bread of life,” John 6:35. Jesus insists that wherever he is, everyone has enough (and more than enough). It’s about resources both physical and spiritual – food and mercy. He ties this abundance to the practice of the eucharist (6:51), the eating of his flesh. In the church, we practice a “eucharistic economy” by sharing resources so that everyone has enough, an economy that inspires both generosity and gratitude.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 6/6

Afraid. Mark’s gospel ends so weirdly, with nobody saying anything about that empty tomb because they’re afraid… So we should contemplate what got them from fear to proclamation – how were they eventually prompted to tell? How do we ourselves move from fear to confidence in our announcement of the gospel? (What are we afraid of?)

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 5/6

Saturday in lockdown: shhh. A question we rarely dare to ask or answer: has God ever disappointed you? It is the right question for Holy Saturday, that desolate day between crucifixion and resurrection. It is the day that we seriously wonder if maybe, maybe, all really is lost. Our journey with God is punctuated with Holy Saturdays – days between the worst and the best, days spent in quiet hiding, dealing with (or avoiding) the deep terror that maybe this time it won’t get better. There is no gospel text for Holy Saturday – surprise, surprise. But there are biblical expressions for it… 

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 4/6

Worst Friday Ever. “The crowds” who have, up to now, been with Jesus, take a turn in this chapter. Taken together, they magnify each other’s worst instincts to violence, disloyalty, and scapegoating. The chapter can be read as a growing consolidation of opposition (crowds, friends, soldiers, VRPs), until even the co-crucified criminals are taunting him – and, in a horrifying turn, until even God abandons Jesus. Could it be that his perception of divine abandonment is a result of the multiple defections of humans from his defense? 

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 3/6

Thursday is for dinner, prayer, and the longest night. Before the fracas-to-come, Jesus will take a time-out for (a) a meal with the people he loves most in the world, and (b) somewhat argumentative communion with God’s own self. He seeks comfort, solidarity, release; he receives none of that. What do we learn here about the nature of friendship? And about God’s own positioning, relative to our suffering?

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 2/6

Midweek is for fig-cursing, table-turning, fight-picking. The way Mark tells it, Jesus does not go to Jerusalem until he’s ready for the fight that’s waiting for him there. He signals in every way that he is up to the challenge, that his ministry is not about compliance or cooperation with the powers that be for his own comfort or elevation. How have his followers in this age gotten this so wrong? When did we become puppets of the U.S. American empire?

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

One Helluva Week 1/6

Sundays are for palms and protest. The ride into Jerusalem is a satire of militaristic commanders-in-chief returning from battle to receive the accolades of their citizenry. Jesus declares a new empire, a new citizenry for any who will receive him and his way of being – more like a colt than a steed, more like a children’s pageant with makeshift props than a well-orchestrated, red carpet affair. He’s mocking their (our) collusion with domination by violence; he’s challenging our sense of what “good society” looks like.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Once Upon a Time: Meet the Ancestors 6/6

God remains and God restores (and still we wait). The restoration of Jerusalem and its temple after exile is something short of the city’s former glory. A remnant returns from exile and what they are able to effect shows their diminished status on the world stage. This “second temple” in Jerusalem under Roman occupation is the “Israel” Jesus knew; the people were hungrier than ever for a messiah to usher in God’s reign and overturn centuries of suffering.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Once Upon a Time: Meet the Ancestors 5/6

God opened God’s hand to relinquish (or smack?). The Bible has an argument with itself here: as one empire after another takes bites out of Israel’s land and people, are we to understand that God has engineered their destruction? or that this is the grain of the universe, and those who go against the grain bear the consequences? In other words, does God punish the Israelites, or simply release them to their fate? The biblical prophets report variously on the primary cause of Israel’s exile. But they are agreed that God “waits to show mercy…”

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Once Upon a Time: Meet the Ancestors 4/6

God fulfilled the promise of land (and the people built an empire). It’s problematic to us that Israel’s armies have to obliterate other people to settle in their “promised land.” But more problematic, biblically speaking, is their wannabe empire status. The more settled they become, the more they want to play the militaristic, consumeristic, power-tripping game their neighbors play. King David’s family is an allegory for the whole nation – his house is in disorder, even as he’s “winning” the day.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

Once Upon a Time: Meet the Ancestors 3/6

God heard, remembered, looked, took notice – and liberated Israel. The groaning Israelites catch God’s ear, and God launches Operation Deca-Plague with Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as God’s agitators. The family-specific covenant now expands to the new nation they are becoming – if only they had somewhere to settle.

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 PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.