Weekly Metaphors
Each week our worship service revolves around a visual metaphor (seen below). We seek to communicate a message in a language easily understood by our congregation using multiple media including the visual medium. The visual dimension of our service is made possible by four large plasma screens run by a state-of-the-art control system.
Previous Metaphors: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
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Church Unlimited
January 15, 2012 |
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Stories & Songs
January 8, 2012 |
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Bound
January 1, 2012 |
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Stories & Songs
December 25 , 2011 |
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Glory be to God in Highest Heaven Gloria
December 24 , 2011 |
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Flames for the Faithful Angels
December 18 , 2011 |
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Flames for the Faithful Shepherds
December 11 , 2011 |
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Flames for the Faithful Bethlehem
December 4 , 2011 |
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Flames for the Faithful Prophets
November 27 , 2011 |
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Wait, what?!
November 20 , 2011 |
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(Un)Learning
November 13 , 2011 |
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Family Tree Today we remember our sources. We celebrate the lives of those who have gone before us and add their names to the Family Tree of Faith.
November 6 , 2011 |
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Angels and Gargoyles Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil... We can acknowledge the valley, talk about the shadows, name the darkness and all that there is that might scare us. Then, we can learn why the psalmist will fear no evil and why we need not be afraid either. The simple and profound good news is that God is with us, we are not alone.
October 30 , 2011 |
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Declarations of the Heart Extravagant Generosity Commitment Sunday: More than words... Members and friends of Christ Church are invited to particpate in the divine drama of giving. We name on another and claim one another as family and give what represents a personally significant gift... a tangible expression of the declarations of our hearts.
October 23 , 2011 |
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Bucket List
October 16 , 2011 |
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The Art of Love: Relationships Are Matters of the Heart
October 9 , 2011 |
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EKG: Ministry Flows From the Heart What do you love about Christ Church? What excites or warms your heart?
October 2 , 2011 |
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Things that make you go UM...Practice Makes Perfect John Wesley encouraged those who united with the Methodist movement to practice the General Rules not as matter of law but as a way of discipleship. When we practice these rules that are simple and essential, living a Christ-like life will become second nature... like riding a bike. We may never be perfect, but by God's grace we are moving on to perfection in love of God and neighbor. First, do no harm. Second, do good. Third, stay in love with God.
September 25 , 2011 |
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Things that make you go UM...Woven Together
September 18 , 2011 |
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Things that make you go UM...Open Table Our is an open table. For United Methodists, Communion is not only about what you already believe, but the possibility that right there at the table Jesus will meet you in the breaking of the bread. It reflects an understanding of the way God's grace works that is essential to the Methodist movement. God's grace comes to us before we want it, before we ask for it, before we even know what it is. God's grace comes to us before anything else. We call it prevenient grace and it means God is pursuing us with an invitation to come to the table.
September 11 , 2011 |
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Lost & Found: Judas
September 4 , 2011 |
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Lost & Found: Thomas
August 21, 2011 |
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Lost & Found: Thomas The Gospel of Thomas knows nothing of sin and repentance -- it says discover the holy within. This is what gives you that “rest” that peace. This is being saved for this group of Christians... it is was labeled heretical (it just means "other" thinking) Dare to think "otherwise"!
August 14, 2011 |
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Lost & Found: James When the Gospel writers obscured the relevance of Jesus' brothers and sisters in his lifetime and after his death, they also obscured Jesus' jewishness. By taking another look at James, brother of the Lord and first "Bishop" we can redress the balance and remember the whole family and their support, leadership, and often martyrdom, as followers of Jesus' way.
August 7, 2011 |
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Wicked! When Jesus speaks of a sword in today's passage, it is the kind of sword used to draw a line in the sand. The question is: where do you stand? Who will you be? When it comes to decisions both big and small, will you remember who you are and whose you are? To follow Jesus we have to try "Defying Gravity," and to know him will leave us changed "For Good." July 31 , 2011 |
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The Lion King "Remember who you are," Mufasa Once Simba is reminded who he is, he recognizes what he must do and sets off to fulfill his mission. Jesus' baptism is the place where he learns who he is in relation to whose he is and that clarifies how he will fulfill his mission. Today, we remember who we are: God's beloved children. Living out of that assurance, we will be able to do all we are called to do.
July 24 , 2011 |
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South Pacific Jesus was not concerned so much with an after-life as he was with a new life, an abundant life that we would choose and start living right now. Jesus spoke of a kingdom of heaven, but one that was to be known right here and right now, in us and among us. The vision of a new heaven and a new earth on Revelation is not just to comfort us but to challenge us. What happens when the new world collides with the old one... The gospel paradise comes not because we escape to it, but because we engage this world we live in everyday and transform it. July 17 , 2011 |
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Fiddler on the Roof Like the Fiddler on the Roof who tries to keep balance, we must as a community determine what it means to grow and adapt (which involves change), and weigh what is essential about who we are. May we, like Jesus, recognize that loving God and loving our neighbor must be at the heart of all we do-- may that be our tradition!
July 10 , 2011 |
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Gospel on Broadway God calls each of us, the ordinary, to play an extraordinary part in the drama of God's liberating work, God's loving work, God's peace making, justice seeking work. As we celebrate our freedom as a nation, we as a people of faith remember that when God frees us from something, God always frees us for somethig too.
July 3 , 2011 |
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TLC Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control... this is what a life grounded in the Holy Spirit will look like. Our task is to tend to our relationship with the Holy One, the ground of our being, so that the fruit of the Spirit may grow in us.
June 26 , 2011 |
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The Good Parent
June 19 , 2011 |
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Promise, Power, Witness When the Spirit comes upon you it will begin to shape your life in such a way that you will be a witness to God's love in your home, in your school, in your work and play, here in Troy and where ever you live. The Spirit will nudge you and coax you to an engagement with people in places that you may not have been able to imagine otherwise because by the power of the Holy Spirit we are encouraged to draw the circle of God's love wide.
June 12 , 2011 |
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The Gift Inside "...Do not neglect the gift that is in you..." A Celebration of our Sunday School and Music Ministry
June 5 , 2011 |
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Gratitude We give thanks to God for one another, for the perseverance in living our faithful witness in a broken world one act at a time. It matters to the patient, the student, the soldier. It matters to the orphan, the widow, the stranger. It matters to the one who is hungry, lonely, lost. It matters to that one.
May 29 , 2011 |
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Together Getting to Know You... an ongoing project for people who join an ever changing community. As we discover and share our gifts in this growing body of Christ we can stretch ourselves for the purpose of living into the peaceable kingdom, the beloved community.
May 22 , 2011 |
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What did you get?
We can only work out our real and best gifts by using them, testing how they feel and hearing how others react to them.
May 15 , 2011 |
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Getting to Know You
Spiritual gifts are in our spiritual DNA as children of God, the good and generous provider. May 8, 2011 |
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Hands On May 1 , 2011 |
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Jesus' Resurrection: Is There Hope?
An angel meets us in dark and sad and hard places to tell the Easter message of hope. "Do not be afraid." Perched on the stone that would seal us in our suffering, our grief, our despair, the angel assures us: Yes, Jesus has been here... been to whatever depths you may find yourself... but he is leading you on to someplace else. Jesus is moving on to resurrection and new life. Now go and share this good news.
April 24 , 2011 |
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Jesus Death: What About Suffering? We enter into the drama of Jesus' final week, beginning with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with palms and loud hosannas. Through music, readings, communion, and symbolic actions we remember the story of Jesus' passion and death.
April 17 , 2011 |
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What Brings Fulfillment? There are an infinite number of ways to go about it, but each of us is charged with picking up a towel to wash the feet of another. This is the way for those who want to have life and have it abundantly..
April 10 , 2011 |
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Where is God? "We without God cannot; God without us will not." Desmond Tutu Though God does not have a script, God does have a plan. Though God does have a plan, we always have a choice. O Our faith story for the beginning tells of how ordinary people participate in God's work in the world. We are God's partners, doing the work of love and justice and mercy and peace, caring for the earth and for one another.
April 3 , 2011 |
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Am I Accepted? Are we accepted? It is so much better than that. God loves us, unconditionally and abundantly. That is who God is; that is what God does. It is an Amazing Grace, a forgiving embrace, a dance, a welcome home celebration, a surprise party. May you believe it to be so for the people who challenge you the most, and for you and for me as well. So be it.
March 27 , 2011 |
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What Matters Most? Figuring out what is most important frees us from a lot of things that are not, and for that which is big enough to offer abundant life. When we love God with all we have and all that we are and our neighbors as ourselves, then the kingdom of heaven will indeed have come very close.
March 20 , 2011 |
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Who is Jesus?
March 13 , 2011 |
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Strange Light The miracle and mystery of the transfiguration on the mountain isn't about whether it happened then, but recognizing that it still does now whenever we live with mystery. Jesus won't be boxed up and God won't be nailed down and God is still with us but the divine is on the move...
March 6 , 2011 |
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The Healing Touch Jesus was a healer - one of several of his time and place - it was how he became known. But the miraculous today is harder to quantify. A God who seems to play favorites makes us uncomfortable. Yet miracles continue to be part of the mystery of being people of faith.
February 27, 2011 |
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Water to Wine! The story of water to wine is the first miracle and the lesson is always assigned to this season of Epiphany, of manifestation and appearance and a-ha. The miraculous signs in the Book of John always point to who God is and how God is revealed in Jesus. Disciples today don't believe because we see miracles; we see miracles because we believe. Eventually, the miraculous is happening everywhere, as we begin to see signs of God all over the place in the ordinary and extraordinary.
February 20, 2011 |
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Love God's Creation What will the verdict be when the mountains and hills, the oceans and streams offer judgement for choices made to support our consumer driven, carbon addicted lifestyle? What kind of losses can we argue are acceptable in this global village because substantive change is too hard? For clean air, clean water, the lives of vulnerable neighbors, a more peaceful future for our children here and everywhere, what is the price we deem too high to pay?
February 13, 2011 |
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Conflict Resolution Conflict is a part of life. It is not in and of itself good or bad; it just is. How we deal with conflict is the issue. There is a fear that feelings will be hurt by addressing problems and problematic behaviors in the community, but Matthew's lesson challenges us to imagine that some situations must be addressed in order to protect vulnerable people who are already being hurt. When conflict is not dealt with the offenders relationship with the community is in jeopardy as anger and resentment builds. Addressing the conflict exposes the wound so that it can be treated and healing can begin. Matthew would have us remember that the hope in addressing conflict is to regain the brother or sister not to drive them away.
February 6, 2011 |
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Unplugged...For Prayer Prayer comes in many forms but at the heart of each is a desire to get in touch with the holy.
January 30, 2011 |
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Daydreamer The people in Psalm 126 remember a time that was like a dream come true. Daydreamers can look back at what was and forward to what might be. In every generation we are invited to be like those who dream. I pray you will be, as the Monkees would say, a daydream believer.
January 23, 2011 |
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Dreams Deferred The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr dreamed of a revolution of values, a change in the order of the way things were so that the triple threat of racism, poverty, and war could be addressed. He stood in a long line of prophets to whom God spoke in dreams. Joseph was one of them. His brothers thought if they could get rid of the dreamer they could cut off the dream. But, though God's dream is for a time deferred, it will not be denied. God is waiting for us to join in dreaming the dream.
January 16, 2011 |
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Dreams From the beginning, those who encounter Jesus choose what dream to live by, what road to travel by, what kingdom to be loyal to. As we reaffirm our baptismal covenant today, we renew our commitment to becoming the church we dream of... the church God dreams for us to be.
January 9, 2011 |
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Finding Our Way What do we aim for this year? Three gifts: greater access to information - coffee-talks, discussions,classes; greater access to community inside the building and around it; and greater access to our facilities as we take seriously the need to make our space fully accessible to all.
January 2, 2011 |
