First Presbyterian Church Of San Anselmo

Lesson: Matthew 18:15-20. "Jesus promises to be with us as two or more of us gather.[1] To “Gather” is not the same thing as to “agree.” When we do the holy work of building community based in God’s inclusive love, God promises to be right there in the midst of our struggles."

Lesson: ! Corinthians 12:12-14, 27

Lesson: Matthew 16:13-20. "Who do you say that Jesus is? This is not a test. You don’t have to have a great answer this morning. The church, the community of Jesus, gathers this morning, and off and on all week, and every year, and every century, so that we can help each other answer that question, and figure out together how it will shape our lives and even our world."

Lesson: Matthew 15: 21-28. "John's Gospel says it this way, 'On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." There seems to be a dwelling within us and if we can hear thyself, we've got to be on the right road."

Lesson: Luke 10:25-37. "For Christians, we should walk in the sandals of Jesus. Inside his ministry of love. After all that was what his ministry is all about. We are not meant to be martyrs, but we must filter our actions not through judgment and fear, but through the love and grace as shown us by our Christ.

Lessons: Psalm 62: 1-2, 5-8; Romans 5:1-5. "We can engage in Real Hope because we know that God can be trusted to handle our hope gently and with great compassion."

Lessons: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. "We all have shame. We all worry, at one point or another - if not most of the time -- that, "I'm not good enough." So we hide who we really are. But in order for connection to happen -- true connection -- we have to let ourselves be seen."

Lesson: 2 Corinthians 3:7-18. "In communion with Christ and one another, we see with eyes anew the promise of the glory of God yet redeeming all things around us, and we are called to reveal the glory of God—with unveiled faces ablaze—by participating in this redemptive trajectory ourselves."

Lessons: Matthew 13:1-9, 16-23. "These parables are subversive – they are about the present and coming reign of God – they are about an end to oppression and violence – and they are about an emerging world of justice and peace. They are prophetic, and they are political."

Lesson: Psalm 23; Acts 2:42-47. "In life and in death, 'Thou art with me' - God is with us. In life and in death, the Lord is our shepherd. Thanks be to God for God's presence with us, spoken so powerfully in the Twenty-third Psalm, this touchstone of our faith."

Lesson: Luke 24:13-35. "Thanks be to God for the village of the community of faith, and for gifts of music, our voices, our tradition of singing hymns, and the mystery of the way they work together to make us signs of the resurrection."

Lesson: Psalm 24:1. "And that’s all the news from San Anselmo, where everyone is spiritual, a few people are religious, and the Presbyterians strive to be holy."

Lesson: John 20:1-18. "Through all we do and through our relationships, we, the ekklesia, the called out ones, are called to unbind, set free, release, and renew; to overcome helplessness with hope – one food package at a time, one meal served to a homeless guest at a time, one olive tree planted at a time, one visit to the hospital at a time, one graciously hosted memorial service reception at a time; one child of God welcomed, loved and included at a time. Thanks be to God for this church."

Lesson: Mathew 26, 27 "Die Sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz" - Music conducted by Daniel Canosa, organist John Parfitt.

Lesson: John 11:1-45. "Thanks be to God for this church. May God continue to help us all to claim our faith as a present-tense invitation to live our promised salvation now."

Lesson: John 4:1-41. "May we learn to live courageously in the face of shame and love ourselves and our neighbors for who they are in this moment standing before us. For to practice love this way may take all that we can do to recognize and respond with grace and love."

Lesson: Lesson: John 4:1-30. "May we be such witnesses; may that living water bubble up and pour out through our saturated spirits, so that everyone we come in contact with can’t help but get soaking wet as well."

Lessons: Joel 2:1-2, 12-13; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. "Break open your hearts to each other, to the stranger, to the suffering in God’s world, to the healing God offers, to hope and possibility, and especially, to the hope of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven."

Lesson: Matthew 5:38-48. "Loving the way God loves might sound unrealistic, but there is no shortage of real life stories of people who have been able to love their enemies in creative and constructive ways, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela to combatants in armed conflict to the victims of racism and oppression to Anne Lamott to ordinary folks, like you and me.

Lessons: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 5:21-37. "May God guide each of us in doing the right thing, the holy thing, the Christ-like thing, for the people who need it most. May God help us to choose life."