The Progressive Christian Voice

2 Timothy 4:1–8, Luke 11: 1-13. God wants us to persevere in our prayers, just as God wants us to persevere in life. Our message lifts-up God’s call for persistence in prayer knowing that God will give us what we need for our journeys, and in our persistence – our shameless perseverance before God – in our un-modest conversations in our life with God, we will eventually come to know a better reality. As we begin to work through one of the most crushing issues of our day, we will learn how our persistence in prayer can motivate the world to become a more perfect embodiment of the beloved kingdom if not through our deepened, individual understanding of God’s motivations for our lives then through the benefits our brothers and sisters realize from others who are serving God through their prayers and vital work for what is good and right and just.

Romans 8: 26-30. If our God knows everything, is everywhere, controls creation, why in the world would we need to, or dare to, feel the privilege to or even want to acknowledge that we’ve asked for or lifted up prayer? The Holy Spirit hears us in our weakness and interprets our weak thoughts and translates them from common words into prayers brimming with hope and possibility. This has the radical effect of holding the world together. This has the potential effect of healing for us all.

Gal 3: 23-29. A Worship Service of GLTBQ Pride. Celebrating our oneness in Christ by the Rev Holmes, a tireless advocate for GLTBQ rights and marriage equality. May it be so.

Hebrews 11: 8-11, 39-40; Acts 17: 26-28. Life is a journey, not a destination. Sometimes on our journey we have to recalcuate where we are heading, but God beckons us on a journey today to be in God's presence.

Luke 7: 11-18. Jesus commands each of us to break through the procession of injustice and exploitation with compassion for the most vulnerable and be a people of hope for the world.

Mark 12: 28-34. Jesus' command "to love your neighbor as yourself" also means to work to put an end to gun violence everywhere.

Mother's Day. Proverbs 31: 10-31 and Colossians 3: 12-17. Once we accept the truth that the ideal is not real – perfection is not any more possible than it is to do everything trying to measure up – we can more faithfully stay the course on our endeavor for “ideal” to be sought.Just do your best to love them anyway, and the love that binds the world through our God who is love can affect for us all a world of hope in our very real world in need of hope today.

John 14: 22-29. If we want to have peace in the world, we must first have peace in our hearts.

Act 11: 1-18 and Rev 21: 1-6. To suggest that all of the problems of the world will be solved if we all love one another is to pronounce that we're willing to work hard for love in this complex world - working especially hard to love all of God's creation equally.

Psalm 30, Acts 9: 1-20 and 1 Peter 3: 18-22. Celebrating that there is no place Jesus won't go to meet us and calls us into oneness with him forever.

John 20:19–31. Doubt and Forgiveness. A celebration of Miriam's Kitchen's ministry at Western Presbyterian Church.

Lk 24: 1-12. Dare to believe in the greatness of our Lord who brings resurrection hope to heal the great losses of the world in as many ways as there are is loss. Dare to embrace the resurrection of our Lord, resurrected and resurrecting in as many ways as there are people in need of a renewed life today.

Palm Sunday. Psalm 118, Luke 19: 28-40. Resting on the bedrock of our faith in Jesus Christ, let us live out our call by God to live our lives with integrity for who we are and what we believe.

Lk 13: 1-9. What would you do to the glory of God if you knew you could not fail?

Is 65: 17-25 and Lk 13:31-35.Do you view the world as an economic system or as a community (ref: Jos. Stiglitz)? This is not an economic concern nor a partisan concern.This is our vital concern as people of the church. And there is nothing more vital than the body of Christ.