The various scriptures for this Sunday are HERE.  The sermon is from the Luke with touches from the Psalm and the (unread) Jeremiah.  

I wonder if the title doesn't give the big idea to us:  "Blessed to be a Blessing."  

Ephesians 4: 1-16

The body of Christ needs to be in unity.  That doesn’t mean unanimous but at the same time, unity.  I am not sure of the classical distinction on unity versus unanimity, but ‘whole body’, ‘knit together’ ‘every ligament’ are comments I think about religion and what binds us together.

Bind us together Lord. 

Ephesians 1: 3-14 

Sermon one of seven from Ephesians.  Will introduce a "rule" per week.  

This week:  "Love your congregation where they are."  

Ephesians 1 -- this is Mother's Day and we look at being a parent as a church.

This is Acts 10 where Peter is surprised by what God is calling him to do, set aside almost everything he has previously known.  What is it that we have previously held as true and God has surprised us with what we need to do?  

Scripture is Acts 4: 23-33 and the focus is on how the early church was in unity.  I proffer that they were in unity in terms of mission, vision, and values.  The Resurrection is the engine that drove the growth in of the early Church.  

The focus here is on people, not buildings, or denominations.  This is an initial exploration of changing our belong, believe, become to something new and different.  Hospitality, helping, hope and healing.  There is a both an inward and outward focus simultaneously:  Caring for their people and carrying the story into the world.  

Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (Taken from Eugene Peterson's The Message) 

This week during our Unafraid series, Pastor Dennis asks the question: Do we trust each other enough to be able to deal with our differences in a way that does not lead to schism? How much is due to a lack of trust in God and between one another. Paul's call to the community is to be reminded that if God is for us, who can be against us? We are reminded and comforted, that although challenges are always before us, it's nothing new under the sun. 

Text: Ephesians 2:1-10

Join us this week as Susan Dunlap reflects on Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus and how reconciliation looks in the chruch as they serve a world that is diverse, but beautiful. 

Because of Christ, we are not only reconcilied with the Father, but we can now also be reconclied with one another. 

This series springs from the well dug by the Reverend Adam Hamilton, Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, Kansas. 

This is getting started with the idea of Unafraid.  We actually live in a time of borderline irrational fear.  The numbers are good.  We are healthy, wealthy, and longest lived people and for some reason, we are more and more afraid.  

Sermon draws from Isaiah 41: 1-10, Psalm 56: 3-4 and Philippians 4: 6-7.  

This starts a six week series on Fear.  The first sermon is on how much of fear is more imaginary than real.  Question is "what are you afraid of".  I know FDR is not Jesus but "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself" is part of the idea if not the message. 

FEAR can at times be False Events Appearing Real.  At times we live in a world where smoke detectors are going off but it is because their batteries are low, not because there is anything to really fear.  Topical sermon so form will roughly be:  The element of the human condition we are going to look at (Unnecessary Fear), exegete that element of the HC, what does scripture say about it (the Isaiah, Psalm, Philippians and of course Jesus (sermon on the mount)), and then application. 

We do live in times where Auden's "Age of Anxiety" is incomplete and for whatever reason we live in an "Age of High Anxiety."  Real? 

The Reverend Mario Alejandre returning to Hilltop to close out our Stewardship Campaign for 2017.  Mario is a Lutheran who sounds like a Methodist.  Gifted.  Truly.