Acts 2: 1-21 This Pentecost Sunday Melissa Florer-Bixler preached on the connection between the enormous changes that have recently taken place in our church life and membership, and the changes that took place with the fledgling Church on the day of Pentecost. The crowd didn't just hear a translation of God's message, they heard it in the language of their home (and heart), and thus the Holy Spirit knitted together of new community of believers that shared a new common identity while still retaining their own unique selves. In much the same spirit, Melissa reflected on how we have added new p ..read more

2 Timothy 3: 14-17 In the RMC sermon series "I'm Not So Sure About That," which addresses questions offered from the congregation, Melissa Florer-Bixler helps us to understand why there are so many disturbing stories, deeply flawed servants of God, and appalling deeds that appear in the Bible. Melissa shares with us that as Christians, we are a people of the Book and as Anabaptists, we share with each other on a regular basis where we hear from the Holy Spirit. The Bible is critical to our faith but does not achieve its function in isolation from shared context and interpretation. The stories ..read more

Genesis 1: 26-31 Our recent societal and political experiences with the concept of gender are highly charged, to say the least, and often the insistence of a black and white interpretation of God's word is used as a club to injure others who do not share our viewpoint. Sarah Neff, a student at Duke's Divinity School, guest preaches today at Raleigh Mennonite on the topic of God's gender in our ongoing sermon series, "I'm not so sure about that." Sarah asks us to give the book of Genesis room to breathe and some well needed pauses to separate verses we have unwittingly entangled when we speak o ..read more

Matthew 6:24-34 The third topic Melissa takes on in the series exploring questions, wonderings, and themes that come from our congregation, focuses on our relationship as Christians to other faith communities and religious groups. Serious sports fans may be the most ardent religious fanatics, forming around a common belief in something bigger than themselves, sharing a devotion that changes how people spend their money, time and energy. The Christian life will demand a particular allegiance, a form of life that requires setting aside other allegiances, including our allegiance to money. Meliss ..read more

Luke 24:36-48 In this second in a series exploring questions, wonderings, and themes that come from our congregation, Juliet joins Melissa to bring today's message. After Jesus' resurrection, he keeps showing up. Jesus meets their doubt with what they need and gives it to them. Jesus helps us know that we all are special. What do you need for God to be in your life ..read more

Colossians 1:15-23 Melissa started a new sermon series this week, "I'm not sure about that," focusing on questions that we have. The most frequent submission was around the subject of hell. We live our whole lives bearing consequences, around retribution and punishment. If you make a bad choice with money, no one is coming to bail you out. If you break the law, you go to jail. We want bad people to get what's coming to them. But that should also give us pause. Just a few months ago, Pope Francis was asked what he thought about the afterlife. "I like to think hell is empty," he told an Italian ..read more

John 20: 1-18 Happy Easter to everyone! In this sermon Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on the resurrection and the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene at his tomb. Jesus asks Mary, "whom are you looking for?" This is a loaded question, however, as Melissa shows us. The question asks us to look into our own selves, our own motivations, and our hopes when we seek out Jesus, who asked this probing question of Mary, his disciples, and also (tellingly) Judas. Whatever you come seeking for from Jesus you will find it, for even Judas got a quick payout. Ultimately, Melissa asks us to consider how we ..read more

John 12: 20-33 Note: At 2:19, ten seconds of audio was lost due to a technical problem during the live recording. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on a time in Jesus' life where there is no time left for ministry, but only to speak to those present of his imminent demise and fulfillment of God's plan. The Jesus who has constantly upset our comfortable balance with life and often called us to the do opposite of what we instinctively think correct, again reminds us that if we choose to follow Jesus faithfully, our path will lead to the cross. But the wheat that dies bears a field of fruit, albeit ..read more

Numbers 21: 4-9 John 3: 14-21 Our perspective on the trials and tribulations of life can have a profound effect and how we formulate our understanding of God's character and our own place and purpose in God's creation. Melissa Florer-Bixler preaches on the long and arduous Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt and how their focus on the harsh environment, dangers, and discomforts of the wilderness caused them to doubt the truth of God's love and divine plan for their rescue. God's response to their criticism wasn't to send snakes as a punishment but to let them go: to remove some of the many ..read more

John2: 13-22 Melissa Florer-Bixler preached on the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus. From this gospel we learn that the existence of an economy for selling sacrificial animals and exchanging currency was not what angered Jesus, being necessary for travelers to participate in rituals, but rather the proximity of these activities, within the holy space that God comes to inhabit and meet us. Melissa uses the destruction of the Temple and the Crucifixion of Jesus, Earthly places God has inhabited, to wrestle with the question of what kind of home does God make among us now? Without these touchston ..read more