Rev. Zach

One of my core beliefs is that the youth of the church are not the future of the church any more than the elderly are the past. We are the church together, as it is, here and now. This past Sunday was a clear and present example. Worship was designed and led by youth reflecting on scripture, supported by adults, and creating intergenerational opportunities to grow in faith together. The young women who preached sat in chairs around the communion table and began with a sip from a coffee mug. Their sermon begins below. See the whole thing on Facebook Live . Zoe...Hi guys. There’s a lot of things in today’s day and age that makes life really hard. Being younger, we have a lot of stuff to figure out for ourselves while also trying to get wisdom from our elders, without becoming an exact copy of them. These challenges make it easy to give up. Make it easy to walk away. As Christians, we have lots of questions. What is God, really? What is faith? Why were we spared from sin? Kate...1st ...

– The Rev. Zach Sasser 1 Samuel 3:1-11; 19-20       1 Corinthians 12:14-27      John 3:16-17 Before reading the Old Testament lesson, Jeff asked you to think about the roles of Eli and Samuel in listening for and receiving God’s calling. For those who may not know the backstory, this took place in a town called Shiloh, and it happened before the time of Kings in Israel. Shiloh was a central meeting place for the 12 tribes as they divided the promised land and began to expand their territories. It also became a source of power to compete against in the internal struggles between tribes. In the midst of that a barren woman named Hannah, Samuel’s mother, made an oath to God – which was blessed by Eli – that if given a child she would dedicate her child to God. Samuel was eventually brought to the temple, and Eli became kind of a father figure to him. Samuel was still young enough that he would listen to Eli – which was important given t...