Rodrigo Marcus, October 25, 2009 – Persuading God
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
“Persuading God“
Click the link above for the MP3 file of the sermon!
Readings:
Psalm 126
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev. Read more…
“Persuading God“
Click the link above for the MP3 file of the sermon!
Readings:
Psalm 126
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negev. Read more…
Rodrigo Marcus – October 11, 2009 – Loving the Giver of the Gifts
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Readings (printed at end of document):
Job 22:12-28, Mark 10:17-31
Swedenborg: True Christian Religion n. 504
The rich man in the gospel is indeed wealthy. He has not murdered, not committed adultery, not stolen, not given false testimony, not defrauded, and has honored his father and mother. He has an abundance of spiritual wealth. Yet, Jesus said he lacks one thing. What could this thing be, when he has followed the commandments he thinks God has asked of him? Read more…
Readings (printed at end of document):
Job 22:12-28, Mark 10:17-31
Swedenborg: True Christian Religion n. 504
The rich man in the gospel is indeed wealthy. He has not murdered, not committed adultery, not stolen, not given false testimony, not defrauded, and has honored his father and mother. He has an abundance of spiritual wealth. Yet, Jesus said he lacks one thing. What could this thing be, when he has followed the commandments he thinks God has asked of him? Read more…
“Samson’s Riddle” – Rev. Jim Lawrence, October 4
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Judges 14:1-14 (New International Version)
Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”
His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her Read more…
Judges 14:1-14 (New International Version)
Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”
His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her Read more…
Rodrigo Marcus – September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
“Stone Soup“
Click the link above for the MP3 file of the Stone Soup sermon!
Numbers 11: 25-29
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, Read more…
“Stone Soup“
Click the link above for the MP3 file of the Stone Soup sermon!
Numbers 11: 25-29
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, Read more…
Rev. Kim Hinrichs – September 20, 2009
Monday, September 21st, 2009
“Why Isn’t it Just Easy? Some Thoughts on the Mandorla, Misfits and Paradox.”
Numbers 14:1-4
Matthew 5:1-12
Swedenborg
People uninformed about human regeneration suppose that a person can be regenerated without temptation, and some that he has been regenerated after he has undergone a single temptation. But let it be known that no one can be regenerated without temptation, and that he suffers very many temptations, following one after another. The reason for this is that regeneration takes place to the end that the life of the old man may die and a new, heavenly life may be instilled. From this one may recognize that conflict is altogether inevitable; for the life of the old man stands its ground and refuses to be snuffed out, and the life of the new man cannot enter except where the life of the old has been snuffed out. From this it is evident that fierce conflict takes place between mutually hostile sides, since each is fighting for its life. Arcana Celestia #8403.2
Check back — we hope to post the video of Kim’s sermon on Wednesday!
“Why Isn’t it Just Easy? Some Thoughts on the Mandorla, Misfits and Paradox.”
Numbers 14:1-4
Matthew 5:1-12
Swedenborg
People uninformed about human regeneration suppose that a person can be regenerated without temptation, and some that he has been regenerated after he has undergone a single temptation. But let it be known that no one can be regenerated without temptation, and that he suffers very many temptations, following one after another. The reason for this is that regeneration takes place to the end that the life of the old man may die and a new, heavenly life may be instilled. From this one may recognize that conflict is altogether inevitable; for the life of the old man stands its ground and refuses to be snuffed out, and the life of the new man cannot enter except where the life of the old has been snuffed out. From this it is evident that fierce conflict takes place between mutually hostile sides, since each is fighting for its life. Arcana Celestia #8403.2
Check back — we hope to post the video of Kim’s sermon on Wednesday!
Rodrigo Marcus – September 13, 2009
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Following God’s Three-Step Program
September 13th, 2009
Readings: Proverbs 1:20-33; Mark 8:27-38
Jesus tells us in three steps how to not only save our soul, but also to embrace true spirituality.
Step 1: Deny Yourself
Step 2: Take up your Cross
Step 3: Follow Jesus
What does Jesus mean by these three steps? What must we do to not “forfeit” our souls? We can find some sense of them in Jesus’ words about his fate that he highlights prior to these steps. He says he must be rejected, suffer, die, and rise again. He is sharing the steps that he, the Christ, will model. Read more…
Following God’s Three-Step Program
September 13th, 2009
Readings: Proverbs 1:20-33; Mark 8:27-38
Jesus tells us in three steps how to not only save our soul, but also to embrace true spirituality.
Step 1: Deny Yourself
Step 2: Take up your Cross
Step 3: Follow Jesus
What does Jesus mean by these three steps? What must we do to not “forfeit” our souls? We can find some sense of them in Jesus’ words about his fate that he highlights prior to these steps. He says he must be rejected, suffer, die, and rise again. He is sharing the steps that he, the Christ, will model. Read more…
Rev. Jim Lawrence – September 6, 2009
Monday, September 7th, 2009
The Short Version
September 6, 2009
Hillside Community Church
Rev. Dr. Jim Lawrence
Mark 12:28-34
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him: ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’” –Mark 12:28
The ability to summarize judiciously and to extract the essence is perhaps the highest form of wisdom. Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith, for example, come to mind as significant wisdom figures in the modern era due to their ability to look deeply into the spiritual philosophies across the world and across the centuries and to draw out skillfully the nectar from the core. Read more…
The Short Version
September 6, 2009
Hillside Community Church
Rev. Dr. Jim Lawrence
Mark 12:28-34
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him: ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’” –Mark 12:28
The ability to summarize judiciously and to extract the essence is perhaps the highest form of wisdom. Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith, for example, come to mind as significant wisdom figures in the modern era due to their ability to look deeply into the spiritual philosophies across the world and across the centuries and to draw out skillfully the nectar from the core. Read more…
Carol Anne Fusco – August 9, 2009 – Spiritual Diversity
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Widening the Conversation
When I lived in Maine, my then-husband and I sometimes went up to T3 R9, one of the unincorporated territories that had numbers rather than names. The only roads had been put in by the paper company that owned most of the land. It was wilderness and walking in the unlogged woods was wonderful. It was so vibrant. It being a Northeast forest, there lots of different kinds of trees and ground vegetation, as well as animals sharing the same space. Read more…
Widening the Conversation
When I lived in Maine, my then-husband and I sometimes went up to T3 R9, one of the unincorporated territories that had numbers rather than names. The only roads had been put in by the paper company that owned most of the land. It was wilderness and walking in the unlogged woods was wonderful. It was so vibrant. It being a Northeast forest, there lots of different kinds of trees and ground vegetation, as well as animals sharing the same space. Read more…
Joy Barnitz – May 17, 2009 Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Rev. Kim Hinrichs – Mother’s Day Sermon
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
“Flesh and Bone, Body and Blood: Spirituality and Motherhood”
Hillside Community Church
May 10, 2009
Rev. Kim Hinrichs
Gen. 18:1-15; Luke 1:39-45; AC 3628
I’d like to share with you five scenes about motherhood that I have recently encountered.
Scene 1: My 8-year-old daughter announces to me at the dinner table that she is not sure she believes in God. “I mean,” she says, “I think that things in this world just are the way they are, nothing more. I don’t think that God made them or is making things happen.” I gaze at her, all skin and hair and intelligence and beauty, and I know that the entire miracle of her own existence is all the proof she would ever need. How can I tell her that she came from seemingly nowhere into being, that her complexity fascinates me, that her love and affection take my breath away? Read more…
“Flesh and Bone, Body and Blood: Spirituality and Motherhood”
Hillside Community Church
May 10, 2009
Rev. Kim Hinrichs
Gen. 18:1-15; Luke 1:39-45; AC 3628
I’d like to share with you five scenes about motherhood that I have recently encountered.
Scene 1: My 8-year-old daughter announces to me at the dinner table that she is not sure she believes in God. “I mean,” she says, “I think that things in this world just are the way they are, nothing more. I don’t think that God made them or is making things happen.” I gaze at her, all skin and hair and intelligence and beauty, and I know that the entire miracle of her own existence is all the proof she would ever need. How can I tell her that she came from seemingly nowhere into being, that her complexity fascinates me, that her love and affection take my breath away? Read more…
