For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 For centuries in our country the greatest challenge to justice and peace was not only immoral laws but the tolerance by “people of good will” who idly stood by while racism, misogyny, homophobia, and classism thrived. In his famous letter from the Birmingham Jail, Dr.King wrote to a group of sympathetic white clergy who had urged the Civil Rights leader to slow down progress: But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms…. …Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts. On the basis of them, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation… …The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait." Dr. King’s letter was powerfully persuasive. Decades later my family were members of one of the churches who received this letter, First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. The pastor who received this letter in 1963 responded by convincing the congregation to integrate. The church split and was devastated, for many years…but when we arrived in 2005 it was a multi-cultural congregation with an incredible witness of love. Yet, in our time things seemed to have turned on their head. In the predictable pendulum filled with historic irony, in an effort no longer tolerate the intolerable, like ages past, much of our rhetoric as a society has become intolerant. Jesus shows us a way out of this loop. The solution to intolerance is neither tolerance nor intolerance but love. It is easy to confuse love with docility but in Jesus hands’ it is anything but. Love begins by centering our actions and words in a godly manner. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians wrote the quintessential challenge for our time, not only speaking the truth (which seems hard enough) but “Speaking the truth… in love.” Measure every word, is it a word of love? Or contempt and hatred disguised as righteousness. Just because you are right does not mean you have the right to be censorious, demeaning, and odious in asserting the truth. Today’s headlines are often in order to influence others to a particular point of view distort the truth. But love begins with respect. The philosophical concept of charity of interpretation gives clarity as to how to engage with opposing views. “It urges charitable interpretation, meaning interpretation that maximizes the truth or rationality of what others think and say.” (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Sadly, we have seen the failure of the principle of charity with the conflict between Israeland Palestine. In one article we see people being excoriated as antisemites for even speaking a word of concern for the Palestinian people and in the next article those suggesting Israel has a right to defend itself are labeled Islamophobes. Charity of interpretation means not reading motivations into what others have said that they have not disclosed. Some years ago, I remember listening to one person speak on their opinion that Christians should not rely on the government to feed the hungry. After all they said that Jesus in speaking to his disciples commanded them, “You give them something to eat.” In my mind I quickly (and wrongly) judged their intentions thinking to myself, “That is just their way of failing to care for the hungry while trying to keep the government small.” Thankfully I did not say anything because I later found out they run a meal ministry that feeds 1,500 hungry people each day! My internal response failed to judge their words charitably because of my own biases. Jesus offers us several answers to the problem of intolerance. First, to thoughts such as mine, Jesus issues a warning in the Sermon on the Mount. “Judge not lest you be judge for the measure you give will be the measure you get.” This means be careful in how you assess others for it may easily turn back on you. Second, He challenges us to be more humble and self-aware: …how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. The word hypocrite in the Greek means to play a part as an actor on stage. In this case He is telling us that there is a part of us that knows the speck in our neighbor’s eye is a trifle, but we attack others to cover our own failings. In other words, intolerance can be a cover for facing the truth in ourselves. Third, fighting intolerance means being open to those with opposing world views so that we can grow in wisdom and understanding. In His encounter with the Syrophoenician woman,Jesus shockingly calls her child a dog. When she challenges Him not by attacking Him but pleading, His perspective widens, and He proceeds to heal her daughter. Fourth, He shows us how to not tolerate intolerance, by using love, and standing up for those whom others do not tolerate. Remember when the woman burst into meal with all males, washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair? Polite society was aghast. He not only stood up for her but castigated them. And yet in this castigation although He said she would be first in the kingdom He did not say that they would be left out entirely. In fact, He made it a practice of standing with those whom others would not, women, tax collectors, sinners, and more. He spoke the truth in love when a crowd wanted to stone an adulterer. In saying “the one without sin should cast the first stone” He turned back their fear onto themselves and told the woman He did not condemn her. In speaking the truth to them in love, He turned an angry mob into a self-reflecting group who perhaps realized she was no different than they. Finally, He taught us not to so much tolerate our enemies but to love them…to pray for them. He recognized His enemies were not inherently evil but broken people not only in need of correction, but of prayer and compassion, thus while being murdered by them on the cross, He prayed for their forgiveness. In this sense He fulfilled the fullness of Paul’s challenge to speak the truth in love. In the Greek Paul’s words are even more compelling, the literal translation is “truthing in love.” This means to shape your entire life, your words, and actions, so that it embraces that which is true in order to manifest love. Once again to see how the ethics of Christ can be lived out in our world we turn to that hero of the faith, Archbishop Desmon Tutu of South Africa, who embodied Jesus’ love. This story is shared by Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, whose Christ-centered mission is to eradicate poverty. The former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu used to famously say, “We are prisoners of hope.” Such a statement might be taken as merely rhetorical or even eccentric if you hadn’t seen Bishop Tutu stare down the notorious South African Security Police when they broke into the Cathedral of St. George’s during his sermon at an ecumenical service. I was there and have preached about the dramatic story of his response more times than I can count. The incident taught me more about the power of hope than any other moment of my life. Desmond Tutu stopped preaching and just looked at the intruders as they lined the walls of his cathedral, wielding writing pads and tape recorders to record whatever he said and thereby threatening him with consequences for any bold prophetic utterances. They had already arrested Tutu and other church leaders just a few weeks before and kept them in jail for several days to make both a statement and a point: Religious leaders who take on leadership roles in the struggle against apartheid will be treated like any other opponents of the Pretoria regime. After meeting their eyes with his in a steely gaze, the church leader acknowledged their power (“You are powerful, very powerful”) but reminded them that he served a higher power greater than their political authority (“But I serve a God who cannot be mocked!”). Then, in the most extraordinary challenge to political tyranny I have ever witnessed, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the representatives of South African apartheid, “Since you have already lost, I invite you today to come and join the winning side!” He said it with a smile on his face and enticing warmth in his invitation, but with a clarity and a boldness that took everyone’s breath away. The congregation’s response was electric. The crowd was literally transformed by the bishop’s challenge to power. From a cowering fear of the heavily armed security forces that surrounded the cathedral and greatly outnumbered the band of worshipers, we literally leaped to our feet, shouted the praises of God and began…dancing. (What is it about dancing that enacts and embodies the spirit of hope?) We danced out of the cathedral to meet the awaiting police and military forces of apartheid who hardly expected a confrontation with dancing worshipers. Not knowing what else to do, they backed up to provide the space for the people of faith to dance for freedom in the streets of South Africa. (Jim Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It) Desmond Tutu and Dr. King embodied living the truth and, without compromising justice, showed us how to do it in love. In writing the letter from jail to those clergymen after telling them the hard truth he ended it with the following words which has become my prayer not only for my preaching, but my life and invite you to think of it the same: If I have said anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of my having a patience that makes me patient with anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me. Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Amen.

Submit by Tuesday, March 26th The Women's Association is collecting donations ($30 suggested), to purchase Easter Lilies for the Sanctuary. Make your donation to be included in the Order of Worship on Easter Sunday.

The Brick Church is blessed with many special ministries. One ministry we would like to highlight today is The Brick Church Prayer Shawl Ministry. This special initiative, faithfully led by Linda Simpson, Jaqueline Worth, Karen Fang and Jill Lampe, has been active for ten years. Members of The Brick Church lovingly knit and crochet beautiful shawls and blankets. They then take the time to lay hands on and pray over each shawl before delivering, so that that the recipient is not only in possession of a comforting gift but is also covered in prayers and encouragement. Prayer shawls have blessed over 600 people in the past ten years! Today we invite you to pray with us over some of the shawls that will go out this year. Photos include: 2016 gathering at Jaqueline Worth's office; farewell gift to Doug King made during the COVID-19 pandemic; Oona Elmiger embracing a prayer shawl; and her grandmother, Jean Williams, proudly holding shawls at a meeting in 2016.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 Listen to these recent headlines on poverty in the United States: “Poverty rates soared in 2022 as aid ended and prices rose.” “Long-run decline in US poverty continued in recent years despite pandemic, new report shows.” “Did Poverty Soar Last Year? It Depends How You Measure It” The news on the national level in terms of poverty is often a tug of war between opposing world views, various political positions, and hidden agendas. The facts are shaped to fit the objective of the one presenting them. There is an argument over how bad or good it is, who should solve the challenge, and even over the different nature of poverty in our time verses that of previous centuries. Though important questions, we will explore none of these. Poverty is not an abstract notion in our city. We can see people on the street, the shelters are full, and healthcare, housing, and food prices are stratospheric. The solutions are not clear because the problems are complex. If you and I are pressed by inflation imagine what it means for hourly and gig workers. The greatest increased health risk for those in poverty is not hunger but depression. It is easy to understand the depression for there is also an increased risk for obesity, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and mortality rates. The maze many of the working poor have to navigate to obtain medicine and food is staggering. Compound that with lack of transportation and lack of flexibility at work, the mere thought of dealing with a crisis would be enough to drive me into immediate despair. As Christians in some ways, we aren’t called to debate the data, for as long as there is one person who experiences the debilitating effects of poverty Jesus’ heart steams and bleeds. More than anyone, Jesus understands perhaps the greatest harm of poverty: it erodes the human not only in body, not only in mind, but in spirit. It erodes a sense of self-worth and most tragically can lead one to feel neglected and judged by God; to believe their life is less valuable in the eyes of society and the eyes of God. The belief that the poor are either inferior or cursed by God has been a common thread through history. Phrases like “God bless you” and “It means so much to know that someone cares” from those receiving help disclose the deep pain it causes. One of Jesus’ answers to poverty came in Luke. He described a key part of his mission in Luke 4:18 – bring “good news to the poor.”  Thus, in the Sermon on the Mount He tells the crowd that the poor are blessed, that they are loved and treasured by God, not cursed, not inferior, but loved. In that sermon He laid out a vision for a world in which earth reflects the values of heaven and made it the heart of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In fact, this is Jesus’ answer to all the challenges in the headline news: build the Kingdom of God here on earth; and His Kingdom-shaped answer to poverty is generosity. Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms the journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, to eternal life runs through love of neighbor. In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus tells the lawyer that eternal life is found through love of God and love of neighbor. Then He proceeds, through the parable, to explain our neighbor is anyone in need. We note that the Samaritan did not do the least required, to bandage the man and get him to safety, but he put him on his donkey, brought him to an inn, took care of him some more, then promised enough money for even more care. He was generous with his own safety (after all the robbers may not be far), with his time, and with his money. Of course, part of the point of this story is the Samaritan knows the man in the ditch does not like him, in fact likely has contempt for him and despises him, and the Samaritan may despise the man in ditch as well. Listen to a little bit of the history between the two: “When the Samaritans wanted to join in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, their assistance was rejected. You will find this in the Book of Ezra, Chapter Four….” “According to John McKenzie in his Dictionary of the Bible, the Samaritans later allied themselves with the Seleucids in the Maccabean wars and in 108 B.C. the Jews destroyed the Samaritan temple and ravaged the territory. Around the time of Jesus’ birth, a band of Samaritans profaned the Temple in Jerusalem by scattering the bones of dead people in the sanctuary." This means Jesus has redefined neighbor to include everyone – even our enemies! In fact,it was one of the reasons the authorities sought to kill Him. In Luke’s gospel Jesus explains the times when God sent His prophets to heal those outside of Israel and this was the response of the people in the temple: “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” (Luke 4:28-30) We see the same judgement in today’s politics when someone joins with the other team to bring about change they are excoriated by their own people. But compassion knows no boundaries as St. Augustine said, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” As a congregation we have sought several paths to live out St Augustine’s sentiment. We give grants to key organizations that combat poverty like Common Pantry, Grassroots Groceries, and we have a meal ministry on Tuesdays. The impact is considerable, but is there another place Jesus is calling us to be generous? Something to create a more systemic shift? I remember on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We helped with medical care (I did surgery!) and education, but the path to education did not always bring a better job. One year a businessman went on the trip. He befriended one of translators and they shared a bit about their backgrounds and family situations. This Dominican apparently had family land but with no resources to develop it had lain fallow for years. Fast forward five years. That land was producing an abundance of avocados with a market in the United States. That businessman did not know how to administer medicine or dig ditches, but he did know how to start a business. And his Dominican friend is now employing others to help work his land. And the prosperity is spreading. It was a conversation two years ago with Ruben Nuno, the former pastor of Church of the Living Hope, that reminded me of this story. He was so appreciative of the people of Brick helping construct a lovely garden, to sort food, to paint a fence. He truly was but he also said, “What about your people’s real gifts?” After all, he knew we are not a congregation of painters but of entrepreneurs, educators, and financiers. That comment has stayed with me. Jesus’ call to be generous is not only about money (it is about money but not only money!) but to be generous with our gifts. The Brick Church, perhaps as much or more than any other congregation in the country, has an enormous pool of people who have learned how to successfully navigate our society: how can we share that? It can be hard for us to imagine how our gifts can combat the great challenges of our times. Admittedly our most frequent response to poverty is to throw up our hands, close our hearts, or assume someone else is conquering it. But as you can imagine from Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, this is not acceptable. It is a frightening indictment. Am I a sheep or a goat? Have I clothed the naked, fed the hungry? Have I been good news to the poor? Frankly this parable scares me. And I think that is what Jesus wanted. For me and you to know how important this is. But He does not want us to stay in fear. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, an evangelical organization devoted to combatting poverty, delivered the baccalaureate address at Stanford University several years back. In it he said, “I believe the real battle, the biggest struggle of our times, is the fundamental struggle between cynicism and hope. For those of us who believe in the good news of Jesus Christ we must always choose hope. Hope that people can be better. Hope that we can get along as a planet.” Wallis said, “The antidote to cynicism is not optimism but action. And action is finally born of hope.” Knowing your gifts and your generosity I am filled with hope that God will use all of us in ways yet we cannot see to follow the path of our Lord and to become good news to the poor, all in the name of His grace and His love. Amen.

Shared during Sunday Worship on February 11, 2024. God who Creates and Re-Creates- As we gather together as a community, we remember that you meet us exactly where we are—on the mountaintop, in the valley, or even somewhere in-between, on the streets of Manhattan.  We pray to you today, bringing you our pain and the pain of our families, community, and the world.  We pray today with the hope and belief that you can transform anything and that you bring light into even the darkest situations. As we reflect on our calling as Christians, we hear your urgent calling for all of us to see the humanity in each other and in all those we encounter.  We admit that it would be more comfortable to think of you as only one thing, to think of you as only a translucent being on a mountaintop. But you remind us that you also are present in the brokenness that we encounter all around us.  You are in all things and in all people, on the mountains, in the valleys, and everywhere in-between. God who redeems and transforms, help us follow your calling to love humans.  Help us to feed those who are hungry.  Help us to give water to those who are thirsty.  Help us to clothe the naked.  Help us to welcome foreigners and those who don’t belong.  Help us to care for the sick, in mind, body or spirit.  Help us to visit the prisoner.  And God, for those of us who feel the weight of the world, who feel broken ourselves, help us to feel your presence in us and around us.  And allow us, O God, to receive the care that we need from people you send into our lives. God, we thank you for chances, over and over again, to transform our pain as we learn what is to surrender to you. Quite simply, we ask you to help us to be human with other humans. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, who was transformed and who transforms all of us with his love.  Amen.

Saturdays | February 10th, March 2nd, and April 6th Every Saturday, Grassroots Grocery rescues over 10,000 pounds of produce from Hunts Point Produce Market partners and with the help of volunteers distributes it to more than 1,100 families! Please join us as we work alongside Grassroots Grocery to serve a community in need.

On Sunday, February 11th, please bring some extra cash to donate and support our Confirmands' annual Souper Bowl Sunday. During this event, Confirmands research organizations that serve people in need and then have a debate on which organization(s) should receive the funds. Thank You!

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16 We are embarking on a series that will explore Jesus’ approach to our nation’s challenges. When we read the news, we find conflicts in multiples areas: politics, violence, the environment, poverty, economics, intolerance, and death. As individuals we have great interest in solutions to these thorny problems. As a church we have taken the middle path not aligning ourselves with one particular party or another. I would agree with that approach, for our ultimate faithfulness is to God in Jesus Christ. One of the things that the news and political parties try to do is to pit people of faith against each other, convincing like-minded people that the good Christians vote for this party and the bad Christians vote the other way. It is true that each of us might gravitate to one political party’s solution and in our hearts believe it is more aligned with the will of God. But The Brick Church has a diverse array of people and we have found a centeredness in not being tossed about by the latest political fads of our respective parties. And yet, as a community of faith we have a responsibility to be engaged with these issues. Why? Because Jesus was… and He is our guide, our Lord. But He had a very particular approach. Rather than try to reform institutions from a structural point of view He sought to recreate individuals so that they would be empowered and empower others. He did not align Himself with a particular movement of day: the Zionists, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priesthood, or the rabbinical culture. Rather than choosing a particular political solution He sought to reshape the way people related to each other, to themselves, and to God. With the proper values varied solutions could work. Jesus assiduously avoided accruing political power…twice He refuses to become an earthly king. Once when Satan tested Him in the wilderness and another after the feeding of the 5,000. After this miracle the crowd can tell He is a powerful prophet, so they seek to make Him king…Jesus’ reaction? Get away. He literally makes for the hills. Now we know Jesus is smart, He ran from office as fast as He could. It was because He sought to transform people’s hearts; it was there He believed there was the greatest leverage to grow the Kingdom of God; the land in which values of faith are woven into all aspects. And yet, just because He avoided political power does not mean He avoided controversial topics. His love drove Him to confront religious authorities whose rules were making it hard on the hungry and the sick. He encountered a man with a withered hand in the synagogue and the authorities were waiting to see what He would do so they could accuse Him. Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3:4-6) Jesus taught people to view the law not as ultimate principles but as a way to guide us into love. That is all the laws can be summed up thusly: love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. He challenged people to serve everyone. If a Roman soldier asks you for your coat, give him your cloak as well. The Romans were their enemies! He drove into the religio-economic machinery and power when He turned over the temples; and He angered and threatened their livelihood when He told people forgiveness does not come through cultic practices but through a contrite heart. So, He was anything but a tame spiritual leader; He inflamed wherever He went but gave special sympathy for those who found themselves on the margins whether it was because you were poor, sick, or simply hated for being a tax-collector! His goal was not to establish an earthly rule but to establish a set of rules or guidelines for living as God would have us. Jesus preached on a new kingdom; no longer the realm of the Caesar; nor of the religious elite of His time; rather than establish a new regime Jesus sought to elevate all humanity to become personal agents of this radical kingdom. Poverty would be cured through radical communal sharing; violence through people turning the other cheek; alienation through radical forgiveness; economic inequality through ensuring a base level of life. Thus, the early Christians were called people of “The Way”. It was the way they operated, the way they occupied the world that set them apart. At the center of this way is a goal to reshape the world to reflect the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ aim is found in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This whole section of Matthew, known as the Sermon on the Mount, serves as Jesus’ prolegomena for a world that looks like God’s world. If you want a quick read, Matthew chapters five through seven serve as an outstanding encapsulation of Jesus’ aim to reshape the world after the Kingdom of God. Listen to some of His Kingdom-shaped values found in this section of the Bible: Store up treasures in heaven, Turn the other cheek, Forgive one another, Go the extra mile, Give to all that ask, Love your enemies, Do not be anxious, Judge not lest you be judged, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you As we look beyond the Sermon on the Mount, we find more principles: Clothe the naked, Be generous, Feed the hungry, and be servant of all. Servanthood is a fundamental principle of The Way; the kingdom should be one in which all seek to be servants of others, especially those in positions of power and influence should seek this path.  This was a radical departure from the culture of his day, in which it was presumed that people of higher social status were to be served by those lower. The leveling of social strata was critical to this movement. Kings, priests, and the wealthy were presumed to have greater favor from God but Jesus made it clear that if you serve those who were so called “lower” in the social strata and those in need you were in fact serving God. Jesus wanted all people in whatever place they found themselves laborer, sacred, government, land owner, all of them to follow his principles. It is surprising that if we use our power and our gifts with love and passion that kingdom becomes clear. If people live according to the WAY, the Kingdom of God…we will see glimpses of it! and we will find ourselves in the most wonderful of worlds. But it takes work! Louis Armstrong showed us how. Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, into a poverty-ridden section of New Orleans nicknamed “the Battlefield.” His father abandoned the family when Armstrong was a child, and his teenaged mother was often forced to resort to prostitution to make ends meet. Young Louis spent much of his boyhood in the care of his grandmother, but he also found a second home among the Karnofskys, a local Lithuanian-Jewish family who hired him to do odd jobs for their peddling business. The jazzman would later write that the Karnofskys treated him as though he were their own child, often giving him food and even loaning him money to buy his first instrument, a $5 cornet (he wouldn’t begin playing the trumpet until 1926). As a sign of his gratitude to his Jewish benefactors, Armstrong later took to wearing a Star of David pendant around his neck. (History.com) We all know he had this phenomenal musical gift but there was something more to him. It was reported that on a visit to the Congo, there was a internal war at the time, that  “the two sides in a secession crisis called a one-day truce so they could watch him play.” Armstrong mostly stayed away from the politics of his time which led to criticism from his fellow musicians. (History Channel) But at a critical time during the crisis of the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas he spoke out against segregation and the president. “The comments caused a sensation in the media. …but the controversy soon blew over after Eisenhower sent soldiers to desegregate the schools in Little Rock.” who knows perhaps it was his words that spurred President Eisenhower to intervene. Louis Armstrong did not always live in a wonderful world or have a wonderful life but when I listen to him sing that I song, I feel the truth of that wonderful world that God intends for us all. Amen.

This week, we begin a new sermon series: "Jesus Answers the Headline News." When we pick up the newspaper or turn on the news, we see an array of crises, from war to poverty, disease, politics, and more. How should followers of Christ respond to such challenging headlines? Jesus came not to create a political dynasty but God's kingdom on earth. Through this sermon series, we are going to explore Jesus’ blueprint to change the world through transforming hearts.  The core of this teaching can be found in Matthew 5-7 known as the Sermon on the Mount, and the heart of this message is outlined in part of the Lord's Prayer: "May your kingdom come; may your will be done; on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-13). These are the values Jesus wanted to instill in his followers and wants to instill in our hearts. The purpose of this series is not to provide all the answers but to open a dialogue on what Jesus calls us to do as individuals, members of society, and members of Brick Church. You might find things you agree with or disagree with in the sermon, but I hope you'll enter a conversation with us on Wednesday evenings so that together, as we wrestle over what it means to be a faithful disciple of Christ, we can grow stronger in our vision as a community to be Jesus' light for the world. Amid the noise of the headline news, I hope you will hear the words Jesus came to broadcast, filling your heart with hope and God's vision for your life. Join us every week: Sundays | 11:00 AM Wednesday Worship | 6:00 PM Wednesday Bible Study | 6:30 PM Click here for more information on Brick Church worship services and Bible Study.

Shared during Sunday Worship on January 28, 2024. "We Thank Thee" by Robert Louis Stevenson Lord, behold our family here assembled. We thank thee for this place in which we dwell, for the love that unites us, for the peace given us this day, for the hope with which we expect the morrow; for the health, the work, the food, and the bright skies that make our lives delight, and for our friends in all parts of the earth. Give us courage, gaiety, and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavors. If it may not, give us the strength to endure that which is to come. May we be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath and in all changes of fortune, And down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another. As the clay to the potter, As the windmill to the wind, As children of their parent, We beseech of you this help and mercy for Christ’s sake.  Amen.

Shared during Sunday Worship on January 21, 2024. All-wise God, our hearts overflow with gratitude because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Together, we thank You, God, for being so intentional in forming each of us, particularly for these little ones who have received baptism before You today. At this time, we don’t take for granted the love of family and friends, the laughter in this space, and the leadership that our Brick community continues to show. Through these young ones and each of us present here, may we see Your hand move in our lives to the glory of Your name! You are doing new things in our world today, God. For all who defy this season’s wintry conditions to get primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors of the world’s economies running, we are thankful! Compassionate God, in many places, there is darkness and despondency. Quiet all destabilizing forces and sources of hurt. Lord Jesus, you came to us as a child, would you fill the hearts of this world’s young with your cheer and care in these times? Invade all war-torn territories, especially Ukraine and Gaza, with Your comforting peace and filling provision. Likewise, we bear up Israel and Russia and ask that You reign through and through in our world, God! O God, may the faith we hold and the joy that fills our hearts percolate this space and the streets of our nation. May our lives and relationships not miss your restoration and rest, Jesus. And may we know You more than we have ever done. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

High School and College Students are invited to join us for an unforgettable and life-changing experience in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Mission Trip is an incredible opportunity for us to come together as a community, united in our shared purpose of service, learning, and personal growth. Register by February 15, 2024. Register here | Pay here