UNIQUE LIVES AND EXPERIENCES OF GOD:
THE CALL September is “Unique Lives and
Experiences of God” month at Cap. Drawing from the
book of Genesis, we will be reflecting on the life of
Abraham, our father in faith, and how he encountered
God. We will also listen to the life experiences of
people from our own community, hearing how God has
been at work in their lives, in both hidden and
compelling ways.
This morning, we are privileged to have Jacob Penner,
our beloved elder emeritus, share parts of his life story
with us. His 90+ years of life have taught him a great
deal about courage, personal sacrifice, loving well, and
the faithfulness of God.
Text is from Genesis 11:27-12:9 (Kim Pierrot)
“By examining as closely and as candidly as I could the
life that had come to seem to me in many ways a kind
of trap or dead-end street, I discovered that it really
wasn’t that at all…there is no event so commonplace
but that God is present within it always hiddenly,
always leaving you room to recognize him or not to
recognize him, but all the more fascinating because of
that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly.”
Frederick Buechner, Now and Then

Sermon was not recorded this week but transcript is available at the link below. Go to bottom of this introduction for link to the pdf file.

During the month of August we‘ve been looking at What is
the gospel? We‘ve looked at: Romans 5 [the gospel is: at
just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly]; the parable of the wedding banquet
[the gospel is: all are invited to a party with God; count
yourself in]; the parable of the unmerciful servant [the
gospel is: God‘s lavish generosity and compassion forgives
huge debt and invites us to receive and imitate that
forgiveness]; the mystery of the Kingdom—Christ in you
from Colossians 2 [the gospel is: you are accepted; you are
forgiven; you have authority to choose good over evil; you
are not alone].
Today we wrap up this series by asking the question what is
the point of the gospel? What outcomes does the gospel
envision? The answer is in the picture on the newsletter
and in this text from Matt 21: 12-15: Jesus went into the
temple and chased out everyone who was selling or buying.
He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the
benches of the ones who were selling doves.
13
He told them, “The Scriptures say, `My house should be called a
place of worship.’ But you have turned it into a place
where robbers hide.”
14
Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the temple,
and he healed them…the teachers of the Law of Moses
were angry when they saw his miracles and
heard the children shouting praises to the Son of David.

(Mike Nichols)

Find the written transcript of the sermon
here

Today we are continuing with our study of the Mystery of
Christ from Colossians chapter 2: Here is the larger context for
the passage today from the Message:

You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re
deeply rooted in him…. You know your way around the faith.
Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the
subject and start living it!

Sermon was not recorded this week but transcript is available at the link below. Go to bottom of this introduction for link to the pdf file.

This month at Cap is about ―getting the gospel—about
embracing the radical grace of God. There are lots of
obstacles to overcome to get the gospel in our culture.
For example if you set out to teach someone who is an
avid TV watcher about forgiveness and conflict resolution,
what lessons would you have to unlearn from following TV
reruns: The Simpsons; The People‘s Court; One Life to
Live; Friends; 24;The Jerry Springer Show; Survivor? Hmm.
Then, which of the following myths would you need to
overcome– To forgive is to forget; or to forgive is to
tolerate. [If you can tolerate it, you don't need to forgive
it]; or to forgive is to say, “You’re forgiven” when the one
who wounds you says “I’m sorry.” [This is only a social
apology]; or to forgive is to help someone see the errors
of their ways, to help them him for their own good. [This
is social vengeance.] Hmm.
Then—what about learning the distinction between
forgiveness and reconciliation? Forgiveness is at its root a
person’s moral response to another’s injustice while
reconciliation is two parties coming together in mutual
respect. Hmm.
And, not finally, but we will stop here—what about
learning the Paradoxical reality of forgiving–It is the
foregoing of resentment or revenge and giving the gifts of
mercy, generosity and love when the wrongdoer does not
deserve them that heals us. Hmm.
―Getting the gospel is not so easy after all.

Find the written transcript of the sermon
here

Sermon was not recorded this week but transcript is available at the link below. Go to bottom of this introduction for link to the pdf file.

WHAT IS ROBERT F. CAPON’S THEOLOGY?
One of Capon‘s primary themes is the radical grace of God.
Capon summarizes his view of salvation as follows:
“The Lamb of God has not taken away the sins of
some — of only the good, or the cooperative, or the
select few who can manage to get their act together
and die as perfect peaches. He has taken away
the sins of the world — of every last being in it
and he has dropped them down the black hole of Jesus’ death.
On the cross, he has shut up forever on the subject of guilt:
“There is therefore now no condemnation. . . .”
All human beings, at all times and places, are home free
whether they know it or not, feel it or not, believe it or not.

“But I am not a Universalist if you are talking
about what people may do about accepting that
happy-go-lucky gift of God’s grace. I take with
utter seriousness everything that Jesus had to say
about hell, including the eternal torment that
such a foolish non-acceptance of his already-given
acceptance must entail. All theologians who hold
Scripture to be the Word of God must inevitably
include in their work a tractate on hell. But I will
not — because Jesus did not — locate hell outside
the realm of grace. Grace is forever sovereign,
even in Jesus’ parables of judgment. No one is
ever kicked out at the end of those parables who
wasn’t included in at the beginning.”

Find the written transcript of the sermon
here

Sermon was not recorded this week but transcript is available at the link below. Go to bottom of this introduction for link to the pdf file.

WHAT IS ROBERT F. CAPON’S THEOLOGY?
One of Capon‘s primary themes is the radical grace of God.
Capon summarizes his view of salvation as follows:
“The Lamb of God has not taken away the sins of
some — of only the good, or the cooperative, or the
select few who can manage to get their act together
and die as perfect peaches. He has taken away
the sins of the world — of every last being in it
and he has dropped them down the black hole of Jesus’ death.
On the cross, he has shut up forever on the subject of guilt:
“There is therefore now no condemnation. . . .”
All human beings, at all times and places, are home free
whether they know it or not, feel it or not, believe it or not.

“But I am not a Universalist if you are talking
about what people may do about accepting that
happy-go-lucky gift of God’s grace. I take with
utter seriousness everything that Jesus had to say
about hell, including the eternal torment that
such a foolish non-acceptance of his already-given
acceptance must entail. All theologians who hold
Scripture to be the Word of God must inevitably
include in their work a tractate on hell. But I will
not — because Jesus did not — locate hell outside
the realm of grace. Grace is forever sovereign,
even in Jesus’ parables of judgment. No one is
ever kicked out at the end of those parables who
wasn’t included in at the beginning.”

Find the written transcript of the sermon
here

BASIC SPIRITUALITY – ‘Becoming a Wounded Healer’

This is the final topic in our ―Basic Spirituality
series. Basic Spirituality is about ―soul-life. At the
beginning of this series I contrasted Basic Spirituality with
Basic Christianity. Basic Christianity is about understanding
faith in Christ. Basic Spirituality is about living with Christ.
We believe that basic spirituality or soul life expresses
itself in at least three vivacities: Solitude, community,
and ministry. Becoming a wounded healer is about
ministry—giving away the life God has given to you so that
others may live.

The phrase ―wounded healer was used by Henri Nouwen
in the title of his book on ministry. He took the phrase
from the ancient Greek legend of Asclepius, a physician
who in identification of his own wounds creates a
sanctuary at Epidaurus in order to treat others.

In 2 Corinthians Paul writes: Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion
and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with
the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also
our comfort abounds through Christ.
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are
comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you
patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.

This is wounded healing. This is our topic today.

BASIC SPIRITUALITY – ‘With God in Our Skin’
Text: Psalm 139

“Here we sit, with our soul tucked away in
this marvelous luggage, mostly insensible to
the ways in which every spiritual practice
begins with the body.” Barbara Brown
Taylor, An Altar in the World
This morning, in our 4th installment of our
series on “Basic Spirituality”, we reflect on
the most beloved of Psalms, Psalm 139,
which is attributed to King David.
Shelley MacDonald-Lin will consider what it
means for each of us to be “fearfully and
wonderfully made” by a loving, ever-present
God who knows each of us intimately.