Forefront Podcast

Parables | Discovering Your Light

Sometimes we're met with moments that speak to our character and defines us as individuals. Then there are moments that show the light within us! In this exciting sermon, Preacher bootcamp alum, Theon Freeman explores the Parable of the Lamp and what it looks like to discover God's light.

Parables | Sheep and the Shepherd

Rev. Josh queers the parable of the shepherd and the sheep in John 10 by connecting how we can often be led astray like new sheep to believe dehumanizing theologies. However, we can attune our ears to the tender and loving voice of The Good Shepherd who leads us to greener pastures amidst confusion and disillusionment.

Parables | The Unjust Judge

Rev. Venida continues our sermon series with the Parable of the Unjust Judge. This sermon allows us to reflect upon who the heartfelt pleas for justice all around us and how we can answer the call.

Parables | The Sheep and the Goats

Jesus proclaimed that his liberation was tied with the liberation of the least of these because he was the least of these. And if Jesus, God made flesh, was the least of these, then certainly we are too. And so when we feed the hungry, we are feeding Jesus and ourselves. When we set the prisoner free, we are setting Jesus free and setting ourselves free. Maybe that is what it means to be the Body of Christ.

Parables | Wheat & Weeds in Our Lives

Rev. Josh makes modern-day connections to our lives from the parable of the wheat and the weeds. He highlights some of the people in his life who felt like a weed, or perhaps not the people as much as the beliefs they held that seemed to get in his way or take nutrients from his life. He shared how he is often tempted to pluck them, shame them, and cast them aside. As we start PRIDE, might we give people the grace and space to learn how to love us, accept us, and eventually affirm or celebrate us.

Forefront Conversations with Austen Hartke

There is a freedom that comes with the realization that you are not who the world says you are -- but there is also destabilization. Like many of you, Austen grew up in a church environment that had narrow views on what men and women look like and how to interpret the whole "created in His image" thing. When he realized that his gender identity didn't sync up with either his birth certificate or what the church believed, there was a certain existential quake that reverberated through his life and faith, but that deconstruction led to a reconstruction into a more full and beautiful concept of how being created in the image of God is not limited to an inflexible dichotomy. It's these experiences as well as biblically based scholarship that Austen presents in the latest edition of his book, Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians to help usher readers into a vision of a more inclusive Christianity. 

ABOUT AUSTEN
Austen is the founder and Executive Director of Transmission Ministry Collective, an online community dedicated to the spiritual care, faith formation, and leadership potential of transgender and gender-expansive Christians. He is a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies, and is the winner of the 2014 John Milton Prize in Old Testament Writing from the same institution. From 2015 to 2018 he created one hundred videos for the Transgender and Christian YouTube series, which sought to share parts of the Bible that relate to gender identity and the lives of transgender individuals.

Purchase Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians.

Why Communion and the Cross | Life More Abundantly

The Pentecost Sunday sermon allows us to consider living life more abundantly through the power of the Holy Spirit. It allows us to think critically about the “what do you do?” question, and consider reframing the answer with a response, other than a job title, that is affirming and encouraging.

Why Communion and the Cross | What The Hell

Jonathan Williams returns to Forefront to teach on one of his favorite subjects, Hell. In this sermon, Jonathan tells us that Hell is not biblical and that what seems to be a pillar of the Christian faith is not something Jesus believed. And that we could actual thank Christian nationalism for Hell rather than God. He hopes that we come out of church with a different idea of what Hell means. We may even exclaim, "What the Hell?!"

Why Communion and the Cross | Making Space for Tears & Grief

Rev. Josh highlights how Mary was the first to see the Resurrected Christ and amidst her grief and fear that someone had stolen his body, she didn’t even recognize him until he said her name. But Jesus wasn’t concerned first and foremost with proclaiming his identity or status but instead, he was concerned with her tears and tending to her pain. In a world that is quick to move from tragedy to triumph this story can serve as a reminder that we are called to sit with people in their pain and offer them support, even when we would rather offer solutions.

Why Communion and the Cross | Born Again: The Remix

Our Communion and Cross sermon series explores what it means to be Born Again. We take a look at the story of Nicodemus and the way he was intrigued by Jesus life’s life – the way he touched and healed people who were deemed unlovable and untouchable, and the compassion he showed for everyone regardless of their status. Jesus helped to broaden his understanding of what it means to be born again, and perhaps this sermon can guide us in exploring the same.