An audio version of our weekly Sunday messages.
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25 Aug 2024 | Character Matters: The Ways of Wisdom
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The writer David Brooks talks about résumé virtues and eulogy virtues. The Book of Proverbs is deeply concerned with eulogy virtues—with character. It offers some guidelines that we’ll consider together. Learn […]
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18 Aug 2024 | Avoiding Unnecessary Drama: The Ways of Wisdom
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In the imagination of the Hebrew Scriptures, Wisdom is the fabric of the world. When we make wise choices, we have the wind at our back. Learn more about Blue […]
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11 Aug 2024 | A Stitch In Time: The Ways of Wisdom
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The catch all word for the stuff we learn that makes our lives work well is wisdom. We start a new sermon series this week on the earthy wisdom of the Proverbs […]
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28 Jul 2024 | Anchored In God’s Goodness: The Witness of Habakkuk
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Habakkuk came to understand that living by faith meant that, even if he didn’t understand God’s ways or timing, he could rely on God’s character—Their wisdom, love, and reliability. Learn […]
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21 Jul 2024 | Getting It Right is More Important than Being Right
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Guest speaker Lisa Ruby talks about how we can lead responsibly in ways that reflect God’s good realm. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find recordings of […]
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14 Jul 2024 | On Belonging: We Are the Many in One
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Today, we explore Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians on belonging to one sacred body as many members in One. Remembering that we can only be as healthy or as […]
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This week we wrap up our sermon series on Original Blessing by summarizing what we’ve learned and looking at it in light of the Sermon on the Mount. Learn more […]
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God’s desire is for us to both trust Them and show that we can be Trusted. We’re invited to grow and mature, to become discerning of good and evil, to hold grey […]
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16 Jun 2024 | Oh Goodness: A Beastly Reflection
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We look at another Scriptural metaphor that can help us think about how to live lives that reflect goodness and integrity. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can […]
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02 Jun 2024 | Oh Goodness: On Bears and Vampire Creatures
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We look at how the Bible asks us if we’re able to pick up the mandate of Original Blessing. Can we humans be trusted to care for ourselves and the […]
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26 May 2024 | Oh Goodness! Return to Me and I Will Return to You
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We dwell in a good God; a good God dwells in us. Today, we’ll explore how Original Blessing can help us turn away from the arrogance of thinking, “I don’t […]
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On this Pentecost Sunday we talk about the symbolism of the trees and water in Scripture, and how we’re invited to drink from the Spirit to strengthen our souls and […]
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12 May 2024 | Oh Goodness: A Garden of Delights
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We look at the metaphor of the garden in Scripture to explore what it’s saying about Original Blessing. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find recordings of […]
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05 May 2024 | Oh Goodness: Death is Overcome
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We talk about how the concept of Original Blessing is solving a different problem than Original Sin, which leads to a different gospel message. Instead of humans needing saving from […]
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28 Apr 2024 | Oh Goodness! Original Sin Fails Us
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This week we take a closer look at some of the history and shortcomings of Original Sin and why it fails us. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You […]
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21 Apr 2024 | Oh Goodness: Our Incredible Potentiality
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We’re starting a new sermon series on Original Blessing and how this idea impacts how we see God, ourselves, and our role in the world. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]
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14 Apr 2024 | On the Apostle Paul: Love Does No Harm
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Today, we explore two versions of Paul too often used for harm. Then, we consider some new perspectives on Paul, which can transform the meaning of his words. As he […]
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Pastor Ken explores the first three books of the old testament—Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus—to highlight the foundations of harm alleviation in scripture. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You […]
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31 Mar 2024 | Easter: A Time to Embrace New Narratives
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As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we see in his teachings and actions a roadmap for how we are called to live in the world. We orient our own deep […]
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24 Mar 2024 | American Idol: Peace Through Justice
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The story of Palm Sunday offers an invitation to live our lives in ways that bring about peace through justice. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find […]
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17 Mar 2024 | American Idol: Becoming a People of Hope, Not Fear
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As we continue our sermon series on following Jesus during a rise in Christian Nationalism, today we look at a repeating pattern: liberation movements followed by a rise in “stiff-necked” […]
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10 Mar 2024 | American Idol: Rejecting Warrior Jesus
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We talk about the violent militancy of this white Christian nationalism and then look at Jesus for some guidance for how to relate to it. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]
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03 Mar 2024 | American Idol: Gender Hierarchy & Christian Nationalism
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The best predictor that someone embraces Christian nationalism is that they also subscribe to traditional gender norms. We look at how Genesis starts out the Bible narrative with a challenge to gender hierarchy […]
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25 Feb 2024 | American Idol: How Jesus Used Power
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We contrast how Jesus used power with the dominionist theology that’s driving part of the white Christian nationalist movement today. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find […]
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18 Feb 2024 | American Idol: Following Jesus In a Time of Christian Nationalism
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We talk about the deep story driving Christian nationalism, and touch on how that story is counter to the project to which Jesus called his followers. Learn more about Blue […]
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11 Feb 2024 | Good Grief: The Path Toward Healing
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This morning we talk about the path to healing after a loss. Healing doesn’t mean getting back to the person we were before the loss, but rather integrating the loss into […]
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04 Feb 2024 | Good Grief: The Breaking of the Vessels
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We talk about how our emotions often feel like they’re in chaotic disarray in the weeks and months (and sometimes years) following a loss—feeling the feelings is part of the path […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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We talk a bit about our shared human experience of grief, and how to care for each other in times of mourning. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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21 Jan 2024 | Descending Into Winter: Belly of a Beast
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We talk about God’s work in us during the cold, wintery seasons of our spiritual life using Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the sea beast.Learn more about Blue Ocean […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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14 Jan 2024 | Beloved Community: How Are the Children?
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Kim Robinson, Executive Vice President of The Forum for Youth Investment and the Managing Director for the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, guest preaches—incorporating some of her research to talk about […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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07 Jan 2024 | What Can We Learn from the Moon?
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On Epiphany we celebrate the story of the magi. Today, we also look to the night sky in a reflective exploration of what we can learn from the moon, who […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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Pastor Emily, joined by the children of Blue Ocean, shares stories about St. Nicholas of Myra; followed by a performance by the Ypsilanti Youth Choir, led by Crystal Harding. Learn […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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17 Dec 2023 | Advent: Finding Peace and Joy
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Guest preacher Lisa Ruby talks about ways to actively find peace in our daily lives. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find recordings of past services, learn […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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We look at Luke 2 and talk about how Simeon and Anna understood the story they were part of and the role they played in it. They stood in a […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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26 Nov 2023 | Icon-ic Stories: St. Francis and St. Brigid
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We finish up our series by looking at the stories of a couple of saints who embody the longing for a healthy relationship with nature and with people of other […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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19 Nov 2023 | Icon-ic Stories: Queer Icons
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We talk about the mystical stream of the faith that connects Logos and Woman Wisdom and Jesus—remembering that God transcends gender. We also touch on a couple of the icons […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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12 Nov 2023 | Icon-ic Stories: St. Rocco & Saint Olga, Everyday Saints
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We remember these saints to remind ourselves that we don’t have to do anything extravagant to be remembered as a person who shows God’s love to the people around us—we […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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05 Nov 2023 | Icon-ic Tales: Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego
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On this All Saints Sunday we’re starting a new series talking about the communion of the saints and the icons we use in our worship space. We start off by […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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29 Oct 2023 | Shaped by Psalm 23: Prepare a Table
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In the final sermon in our membership series, we talk about the grace and inclusive welcome of the table of God. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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22 Oct 2023 | Shaped by Psalm 23: Paths of Justice
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We talk about how we’re compelled to walk paths of justice on our faith journeys, led by the Creator and in the company of others. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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15 Oct 2023 | Shaped by Psalm 23: Restore My Soul
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We talk about what it means for the Creator to provide basic care, concern, and comfort to us in the midst of life’s many troubles, and how being nourished by […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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This morning we talk a bit about our values of connection and intentional community, and then three congregants share a little of their own story. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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01 Oct 2023 | Shaped by Psalm 23: The Gentle Shepherd
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Jesus taught his disciples, “Blessed are you who are poor“ and “woe to you who are rich.” These challenge our expectations on who is truly blessed and chosen by G-d. […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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24 Sep 2023 | Ways of the Wilderness: Of Deserts & Wanderings & Monastics
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We’ve been talking about how, when religious meta-narratives undergo seismic shifts, people start to gather at the edges of faith because parts of the core don’t work for them anymore. […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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17 Sep 2023 | Ways of the Wilderness: The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM)
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Innovation and the reimagining of Christianity is happening on the margins of our faith tradition. We chat a bit about TFAM and how our church found fellow travelers on our […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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10 Sep 2023 | Ways of the Wilderness: When Stories Crash
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We interact with the work of Rabbi Benay Lappe, who has a framework for what happens when the stories of our faith traditions start to unravel. It’s an invitation to […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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03 Sep 2023 | A Pocket Full of Prayers: Keep Watch, Dear Lord
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In a series where we’re exploring a few well-trod prayers, we look at a beloved compline prayer that offers some tools for praying before bed or during the night. Learn […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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20 Aug 2023 | A Pocket Full of Prayers: Holy Spirit, Comforting Fire
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We talk about the imagination St. Hildegard von Bingen had for how the Divine interacts with the creation, how her imagination informed the prayer she penned, and how it might […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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13 Aug 2023 | Pocket Full of Prayers: The Sarum Prayer
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We give some history and context for the Sarum Prayer to better understand why we pray it together every week during our Sunday services. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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06 Aug 2023 | “On Prayer as Communion with God”
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Research shows that prayer and meditation are good for our brains. Today, we look at meditation and prayer as food for our mind and soul through the lens of two […]By Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
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