Awaken Community

Every year, we come back to the basics of what we want Awaken to be. Obviously, this year has had a major impact on our community. It's changed a lot of what we do and what our new rhythms have become. Our goal is that it doesn't change who we are.

What are the quid pro quos you grew up hearing? Was one of them pulled from Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"? Maybe it means something different than what we were originally taught.

Psalm 139 says “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Which begs the question, does God get mail in both Heaven and in Hell? Micah talks through the history of heaven and hell, and what the psalmist is really saying here.

“Sex is really fun! And good!” Becky Patton and Micah continue the conversation talk-show-style from last week about Song of Solomon, sex, Christianity, and how we got here.

For the first time, Micah teaches from the book of Song of Songs. Known by many to be the Sexiest Chapter in the Bible, chapter 7 has been hotly debated across the spectrum of Christianity. From some saying it's an allegory to others saying it's a love letter, there's a lot to talk about. 

This week, Micah discusses Psalm 51 and the value of confession in community. The word confession can bring a lot of other words to mind, mixed feelings, and for some, memories. What does this Psalm show us about what biblical confession can look like?

Micah tackles the book of Ecclesiastes and this seemingly bizarre verse giving license to pursue food, money and wine. 

Some of us can really relate to Job right about now. As Pastor Jenna puts it, life can feel like grief on grief on grief. How can we read the story of Job seemingly being a pawn in a game between Jesus and Satan differently? Jenna brings a whole new perspective to the table.   The video sermon is not available this week but will be back next week!

This morning, we start with a question: "How can I trust the Bible when there are so many contradictions and discrepancies in it?" Maybe the answer is in how we read the bible and the fundamentalist Evangelical filter we've seen it through.

Have you ever seen those lists of names in the bible and proceeded to the next page to the "important stuff"? Been there, done that. Pastor Jenna brings another side to the lists that may make you want to go back and read them. Sometimes it can seem like a dry accounting of male figures in history. But there's much, much more to those seemingly endless lists.