Raleigh Mennonite Church

Extravagant Action & Extravagant Stillness – May 10, 2026

Scripture: Luke 10:25-42 [https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=480509100] Guest speaker Chris Rice [https://chrisriceauthor.com/] brought the message this Sunday. Every age has its signature affliction, according to Byung-Chul Han. Ours is the age of the burnout society. We're in captivity to our activity. The story of the good Samaritan is about allowing our lives to be interrupted by the stranger by the side of the road. The story of Bethany is about our lives being interrupted by extravagant devotion. Extravagant action cannot be separated from extravagant stillness in this time of anxiety and burnout. We need to get God's love into our bones! The Psalmist did not write, "Be busy and know that I am God."

Not Overwhelmed – May 3, 2026

Scripture: Acts 16:14-40 [https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Acts+16:14-40&vnum=yes&version=nrsv] Susan shared the story of Paul and Silas being jailed in Philippi. They were charged, beaten and imprisoned after the owners of a fortune telling demon-possessed slave girl lost their revenue from her when Paul cast out her demon in name of Jesus Christ. When you mess with people's source of money, you're asking for trouble! Even when in prison, however, Paul and his companions continued to pray and sing praises. They knew that God was still at work, even in difficult circumstances. It's a spiritual practice that we can learn from. But it takes practice and regular exercise to build that muscle.

Invitation, not Imposition – April 26, 2026

Acts 2: 42-47 [https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=644734240] Susan Scott preached on the Acts 2: 42-47 as a natural extension of the Gospel of Luke. Jesus performed many miracles in Luke, and now his followers through the power of Holy Spirit are doing the same, if a little less perfectly. The testimony of their ministry begs questions of our own walk as Christians. How much forgiveness and love should I offer to difficult people? How much money should I give away? How much risk should I take to help the disenfranchised? Am I doing all of this well enough? Instead of framing this situation as an imposition that we should try to navigate in terms of minimum acceptable performance, we should be looking at service in God's Kingdom as an invitation. Susan Scott explores these questions by looking at them not in terms of the fear that we often pose them, but rather in the context of love. How is the love of God inviting you to be a vessel for his presence in the world?

A Walk with Jesus – April 19, 2026

Luke 24: 13-35 [https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=644161967] RMC's Hans Linnartz preached this week from the Gospel of Luke. Luke tells of the mysterious appearance of Jesus walking with his followers Cleopas and Mary, his wife, just outside of Jerusalem, fleeing the city following Jesus' crucifixion. Editor's note - below are the slides mentioned in the sermon in the order they are referenced. Much like the other post crucifixion appearances of Jesus, Cleopas and Mary, fully in grief over his death, do not initially recognize Jesus among them for some unspecified reason. However, at the end of their journey, Jesus corrected and guided the pair out of their grief through scripture, revealed his true self, and left them in a state of joy and understanding, equipped to rejoin the other Apostles and carry on with spreading the Gospel. Remember this mysterious Jesus when we are in our deepest despair and pain. Jesus is still walking alongside to guide us, bring us joy, and help us spread the Good News, even if we don't recognize his presence yet.

Whimsical Faith – April 12, 2026

John 20: 1-18 [https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=643376727] Trey Ferguson preached on Holy Humor Sunday at RMC via Zoom. Editor's note- at the beginning of the sermon Trey played a CLIP [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4HV8p6PGtc] - please click on the link to the left to watch- from a David Blaine street magic performance where he gets a person to pick a card and reinsert it into the deck. David throws all of the cards against a window and the person's card appears stuck to the BACK of the glass while the other cards fall to the ground. The audio of this illusion was deleted from the recording for copyright concerns and due to the visual nature of the trick not translating well to an audio format. Trey ponders in his sermon on the connection between the joy David Blaine took in instilling a sense of wonder in strangers and the real wonders that Jesus performed during his time on earth and how those around him struggled to interpreted their meaning and veracity. We know that some of the disciples were full of doubt, and others didn't believe Mary when she reported an empty tomb and a living Jesus. The biggest question for the disciples and followers wasn't can Jesus be raised from the dead, for they had seen Jesus do this, but who had the power to raise Jesus while he was dead. Of course Jesus knew this was going to be the Holy Spirit. But Jesus cared enough about Thomas's doubt to appear inside the locked room a second time, and took pleasure in turning doubters into believers, inviting them to experience shock, wonder, and awe. In turn we musk ask ourselves how we plan to share the whimsy of our faith with others who doubt. Jesus has sent us out into the world like God sent him to share this wonder.