Author: Community of Christ Indianapolis

[03/03/19] Aaron Black brought our message on Sunday.  In keeping with last week, we have his prepared thoughts to share for your reading and study. The Temple and the Mount Today’s scripture from Luke 9 covers Jesus and some of the disciples ascending a mountain where Christ then meets with the spirits of Elijah and Moses and is transfigured into a glorious divine being briefly before the disciples eyes. The journey up the mountain to be tested or to be brought into an encounter with divinity is an old one and played out in mythology across the world. Mountains especially in the mythology and world view of ancient residents of… Read More

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[02/24/2019] James Stytle brought the message and was gracious enough to allow me to post in its entirety.  If you take the time to absorb his words, I’m sure you’ll find God speaking to your heart. Last week, we began Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain.  We covered Luke, Chapter 6, verses 17-26.  Jesus taught that the poor, hungry, sad, and hated would be blessed and the rich, satiated, laughing, and well liked would be full of woe.  Today, we continue Jesus’ Sermon with verses 27-38, where Jesus gives us instructions.  As I have mentioned before, one of my teachers said that a good sermon should upset people; otherwise, you are… Read More

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[02/17/2019] Alisha shared with us this morning from Luke 6:17-26 (message above).  Alisha shared that there are two paths in life. A path that leads to being vulnerable and sharing Christ’s love.  Or an alternate path where we sit in our own comforts, money, and extras – and we ignore the needs of others. In her message, Alisha asks “why am I not going?” Why am I not being a representation of God’s love?  Why am I not embracing the love that God gave me? Then Alisha concludes by encouraging us to be there to walk with, motivate, and encourage each other – to truly care and be an expression… Read More

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[02/10/2019] The message for today was given by Bob Rugg.  Bob referenced a number of scriptures in his talk, including the lectionary scripture from Luke 5:1-11.  Faith can be like a roller coaster.  Sometimes our faith is strong and sometimes it is not, but it is personal to each one. Jesus’ ministry was often shared one-on-one, which is the same way we often have opportunity to tell others about it (one-on-one). Whether we realize it or not, we each have a story that others would benefit from hearing.  We need to be aware of and ready to share that story…the story of what God has and is doing for us.… Read More

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[2/3/2019] Following a short video clip from The Wizard of Oz that featured the cowardly lion, Bob Brennan brought our message.  He shared the lectionary scripture from Luke, giving context ot Jesus’ message to the Jews in Nazareth.  Jesus’ message of God’s love for everyone is still the Good News today.  No one is excluded from God’s grace.  Bob challenged us to share and live out that message each day.

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After two Sundays of bad weather, it was wonderful to be together again to share in worship.  We explored the theme “Christ’s Mission Is Our Mission”.  Cindy Rugg used a focus moment to remind us of the meaning of the five mission initiatives of the church: – Invite People to Christ – Abolish Poverty, End Suffering – Pursue Peace – Develop Disciples to Serve – Experience Congregations in Mission Our message was brought by Zac Harmon-McLaughlin.  We were blessed by his talk “Embody and Live” through Witness the Word.  You can watch it here:

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Today is the first Sunday of Advent and we focused on hope.  Instead of a speaker, we listened to several readings from Max Lucado that focused on hope and the congregation was asked to respond to the following prompts: – Share a time in your life when your hope was restored. – Think about somebody you know who is always hopeful.  What is it about them that makes them that way? – Describe what hope looks like, feels like, feels like and acts like to you. Spend some time considering these this week and consider also how you can focus on hope this Advent season.

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Cindy Rugg brought our message today based on the theme “LIsten to the Voice”.  Using Doctrine & Covenants 162, Cindy asked us to share how we experience “the Voice” of the Holy Spirit. …Listen to the Voice that speaks from beyond the farthest hills, from the infinite heavens above, and the vast seas below.  …Listen to the Voice that echoes across the eons of time and yet speaks anew in this moment. Listen to the Voice, for it cannot be stilled, and it calls you once again to the great and marvelous work of building the peaceable kingdom, even Zion, on behalf of the One whose name you claim.  Each… Read More

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We were blessed to have our Field Support Minister, Carrie Welch, sharing with us today.  She brought the message focusing on the lectionary scripture from Mark and the theme “Love Your Neighbor”.  In the United States today, it is less common to know our neighbor than it was 30 or 40 years ago.  If we do know them, it is even less common to know them well enough to have them over for dinner. Google the story of the “turquoise table” and you’ll find one of the examples that Carrie shared to show how we can get into and go deeper in relationship with our neighbors and others. She challenged… Read More

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Bob Rugg brought the message today: Jesus is calling you ___ to what? His message emphasized that you’re not being called to anger, or to pain and suffering.  Instead, he suggested, you are a being called to bring about Hope and Peace. Bob used every day examples about how life’s circumstances do not always lead us to where we ‘think’ we should be at in life.  Sometimes we struggle and wonder ‘Why Me’ – but the answer is that we are put through those circumstances so that we can better share with others.  So we can understand what another has gone through and be there to provide hope and peace… Read More

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