The Super Bowl and the Church in a Culture of Dominance (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)

January 26, 2015 By Odyssey Networks

By Matthew L. Skinner. Facts about violence in America. If what a nation watches on television makes a statement about that nation’s values, then Americans value their football. The Super Bowl spectacle draws huge numbers of viewers, still usually the most watched television event of each year. The commercials and halftime shows certainly boost the numbers as well. At the same time, many find it harder to watch professional football now than ever before. We know more about the damages... Read more

Free Speech, Big Fish, and Calls from God (Jonah 3:1-5, 10)

January 19, 2015 By Odyssey Networks

By Karyn L. Wiseman. Facts about free speech around the world. The Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris last week was an act of absolute evil. The fact that people sitting down for a simple editorial meeting at their work site could be killed due to hate is disturbing beyond words. It is a tragedy for all involved—for those killed, for the family and friends of those killed inside of the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, for the officer killed on the street... Read more

Maye God’s Trying to Tell You Something (1 Samuel 3:1-20)

January 14, 2015 By Odyssey Networks

By H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. Faith leaders speak out on how well the faith community has upheld the tradition of civil rights and social justice activism. In the motion picture adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, Shug Avery leaves Harpo’s Juke Joint, on her way to the church pastored by her estranged father. On a forced march through cotton fields, Shug is accompanied by an impromptu choir, singing on their way, “Maybe God’s trying to tell you something!”... Read more

In the Beginning and In the End: Christians and Climate Change (Genesis 1:1-5)

January 5, 2015 By Odyssey Networks

By Eric D. Barreto. Creatures “mentioned” in the Book of Genesis that are threatened by climate change. In the beginning, God created the world. In the beginning, God drew order out of chaos. In the beginning, God breathed life into every living creature. In the beginning, God crafted and made the world. In contrast, it seems like we as a people are committed to leading the world back into chaos, to recreating the world in our distorted image. We seem determined... Read more

Protest and God’s Presence (Isaiah 61:10–62:3)

December 22, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By Brian Bantum. We asked people on the street about the effectiveness of demonstrations and protests. While every year is filled with its triumphs and its terrors, 2014 has been a year that has felt particularly fraught. It is not because this is a year where evil and terror appeared from nowhere, surprising us in our general euphoria or mundane lives. Perhaps, this year has seemed more fraught as the weight of evil seems to bear down on the lives... Read more

The Self-Righteous System and the Prophetic Task (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16)

December 16, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By Brennan Breed. We asked people on the street if they think our institutions are failing us. On December 8, an Orlando-area police officer shot Cedric Bartee, an African-American man, while he was unarmed and standing with his hands in the air. The Sherriff asked the public to trust that the justice system will discover the “truth.” In the wake of grand juries refusing to indict the police officers responsible for killing Eric Garner and Michael Brown, however, it seems... Read more

You Don’t Want To Be A Prophet (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11)

December 8, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By Eric Barreto. 90-year-old Arnold Abbott feeds the homeless despite a local ban on the practice in public places. You don’t want God to ask you to be a prophet. You really don’t. When God calls you to some holy task, you might expect a contemplative path, a quiet life of service and love of neighbor. You might expect a comfortable life of piety and hopefulness, grace and caring. But true prophets know better. Prophets tend not to have such... Read more

Voices Crying Out: Comfort and Transformation in an Age of Mass Incarceration (Isaiah 40:1-11)

December 1, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By David Garber. Antoinne Murphy shares his achievements since his incarceration. The topic of exile often gives pause to mainline Christians. While many might draw personal analogies to the experience of exile—through individual traumas such as illness, the loss of a family member, or the break-up of a relationship—most of us have not experienced forced migration to a land that is not our own, stealing our personal freedom and thwarting our economic opportunity. The words in Isaiah 40:1-6 address just... Read more

Release. Repair. Restore: Thoughts Beyond Ferguson Toward Racial Healing

November 26, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By Jacqueline J. Lewis. A timeline of the events in Ferguson. I suppose if Ferguson was an isolated context or if Michael Brown’s death was an anomaly, congregations this Sunday might simply pray for the families, for the burning buildings, for the broken glass in the streets and the broken hearts in Ferguson and around the nation. But neither is true. Eric Garner. Marlene Pinnock. Akai Gurley. Trayvon Martin. Emmett Till. The stories attached to these names break our hearts... Read more

It’s Time Again: Depression and the Holidays (Isaiah 64:1-9)

November 24, 2014 By Odyssey Networks

By Barbara Lundblad. Depression hits Americans hard during the holidays. What time is it? Don’t check your watch. This is something else all together. We know it will soon be the end of November and the end of Thanksgiving weekend. In the Christian calendar, it’s the beginning of Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. For many people, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a tough time to get through. There are too many reminders of loss: the empty... Read more