Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Worshiping God, living in community, reaching out to the world.

Tag: The Way of Love

The bulletin insert for December 10, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Journeying the Way of Love—Journeying with Family and Friends

As we continue our Advent walk, we invite you to see the Way of Love as a journey that can expand to include family and friends. Mary said “yes” to the call to birth Jesus, God’s Word, into the world and immediately went in haste to share her good news with her cousin, Elizabeth—a four-day journey into the Judean hills. Isn’t that what happens when we hear good news? We are driven to go and tell others. The Way of Love is good news that demands to be shared.

For more Advent resources related to the Way of Love, visit episcopalchurch.org/wayoflove. There, you’ll find links to the full Advent curriculum Journeying the Way of Love, as well as Living the Way of Love in Community, a nine-session curriculum for use anytime.

Sunday, December 10

WORSHIP
Read Luke 3:1-6. How does the story of John the Baptist fill your heart with hope?

Monday, December 11

TURN
Turn away from the busyness of the world right now. Turn your heart and mind toward giving thanks for this time of reflection, refreshment, and renewal.

Tuesday, December 12

LEARN
Read Luke 1:45. Share your faith story with one new person this week. It can be someone you have known for a while who has not heard the faith part of your story.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.
Luke 1:45 (NRSV)

Wednesday, December 13

PRAY
Pray along with the Collect for Advent 2, found on page 211 of The Book of Common Prayer. As you are out and about for the rest of this week, notice the people you pass. Ask God to bless them in their lives and work. See how this changes the way you go about your week.

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Collect for Advent 2

Thursday, December 14

BLESS
Spend a significant amount of time today discerning if there is a special blessing or gift you can share with your church, a local ministry, or with your community. Ask God to inspire and equip you with the fortitude and tools to make this gift something truly memorable and heartfelt.

Friday, December 15

GO
Go out of your way to have a conversation with someone you might not normally visit with today. Ask God to open your heart to hear this person as God does.

Saturday, December 16

REST
Put your phone on airplane mode and leave it in a dresser drawer for an hour or two. Whatever happens in that time, you can handle later. Give this time to yourself and Jesus, to rest and recharge for the week ahead.

Published by the Office of Formation of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017

© 2023 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 8, 2023
The bulletin insert for December 3, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Journeying the Way of Love—Saying “Yes” to the Journey

As Advent begins this week, we invite you to orient yourself to the coming of Jesus at Christmas through the practices of Journeying the Way of Love. This journey begins by saying “yes” to God’s call to birth new life into the world—a call that is both powerful and gentle, a call that will, if fully embraced, grow beyond our imaginations, spilling out of ourselves and into our family, friends, community, and the whole world. Over the course of this holy season, we invite you to respond to that call using these daily practices, and encourage you to offer them to your friends, family, and neighbors.

For more Advent resources related to the Way of Love, visit episcopalchurch.org/wayoflove. There, you’ll find links to the full Advent curriculum Journeying the Way of Love, as well as Living the Way of Love in Community, a nine-session curriculum for use anytime.

Sunday, December 3

WORSHIP
Read Luke 21:25-36. How do the symbols of the Advent season help you understand the story of Jesus? Where do you see them in your worship today?

Monday, December 4

TURN
Read Isaiah 58. How does this reading challenge you to think about feasts and festivals differently? How might this lesson change the way you celebrate or recognize this holy season?

Tuesday, December 5

LEARN
Read Matthew 4:18-22. How do these verses from Matthew inspire you to read Scripture with new eyes? Try reading several different translations of this passage. See how the language might change your reading of it.

Wednesday, December 6

PRAY
Pray along with the Collect for Advent 1, found on page 211 of The Book of Common Prayer. Set a timer for three minutes to sit in silence and hear what God might be saying back to you.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
Collect for Advent 1, Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, December 7

BLESS
Call or write a letter to a family member with whom you would like to have a closer relationship. Make plans in the new year to chat on the phone or meet over Zoom or in person. Let them know how much you love them and look forward to knowing them better.

Friday, December 8

GO
Read or watch your local news. Ask God to open your heart and eyes to ways you can promote reconciliation and healing in your community.

Saturday, December 9

REST
Spend at least 45 minutes outside today, without doing yard work or fixing lights or redoing bows on the garland. Take some time to just sit outside and let the air wash over you, taking away the stress and worry of the moment. Read Psalm 100 before and after your outside time. See how this psalm may help you rest and recharge your spirit.

1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
     serve the LORD with gladness
     and come before his presence with a song.

2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
     he himself has made us, and we are his;
     we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
     give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

4 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
     and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Psalm 100 (BCP), Jubilate Deo

Published by the Office of Formation of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017

© 2023 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 1, 2023
Journeying the Way of Love
Prepare for the coming of Jesus by practicing the Journeying the Way of Love curriculum.

The Way of Love Advent Curriculum

For the season of Advent, “Journeying the Way of Love” offers four sessions to be explored as we await the coming of Christ by moving through the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. Luke’s gospel provides a pattern for understanding how we can live the Way of Love as individuals, as families and friends, as a community, and out in the world. The sessions are specially designed for use during the Christian formation hour before or after worship. Facilitation instructions accommodate small or large groups. Available in English, Spanish, and French.

Contents of the curriculum:
- Advent One: The Annunciation: Saying “Yes” to the Journey
- Advent Two: Mary and Elizabeth: Journeying with Family and Friends
- Advent Three: The Birth of John the Baptist: Journeying with Community
- Advent Four: The Birth of Jesus: Journeying with the World
- Curriculum Resources: Discussion Questions about Spiritual Practices, Starting a Rule of Life, Scripture Passages
Get the Way of Love: Advent Curriculum

The Way of Love Advent Calendar

To accompany the “Journeying the Way of Love” curriculum, use the Advent calendar, which offers daily suggestions for engaging in the seven practices that encompass the Way of Love: turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. The calendar can also be used as a standalone resource–keep it at your desk or on your fridge and refer to it every day!

Download the Way of Love Advent Calendar

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
November 23, 2023
The bulletin insert for July 9, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Rest

When the scriptures tell us that we should love others as we love ourselves, there is an underlying message that we are allowed to love ourselves. The Way of Love recognizes that one way to love ourselves and to maintain ourselves as useful instruments of God is through the practice of rest.

As Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

Part of the work of a Christian is to take time to put the work aside and be restored. After God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, God rested. In doing so, God created a sacred pattern of work and rest, realizing that making dedicated time – to allow our minds to unwind, for our souls to be comforted and healed, for our bodies to be rejuvenated – ensures we can continue in this divine stream.

Rest is a gift and we are allowed to take it.

Rest gives rhythm to our lives; just as it is the end of one endeavor, so it is the beginning of another. There is no greater reward for those whose labor never ceases than for those who do what they can and rest to come back refreshed to do the work another day.

Rest is not only a blessing to us but a blessing to God, as we demonstrate our faith that God is the primary actor, maker of heaven and earth. And as children of God, we are encouraged to trust that all of creation is held in God’s hand.

Are you willing to submit to the practices that will restore your body, mind, and soul? Will you join with others to encourage one another to observe the regular practice of rest?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Praying at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

July 7, 2023
The bulletin insert for July 2, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Go

As we discover the Way of Love and the practices through which we can follow Jesus more closely, we realize that Jesus did not stay in one place very often.

The pursuit of Jesus can often mean moving out of our circles of comfort and going to other places – geographically, culturally, economically, spiritually. Because if there is one thing Jesus did, it is that he went – out of his home, out of his town, out of his community – to engage with other cultures and people, to listen and dignify their stories, no matter their culture or station in life.

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

Jesus was a listener and witness to outcasts and sinners, drinkers and tax collectors, strangers and foreigners, the rich and the poor. He uplifted women who were considered unequal to men. He dignified people of other faiths or no faith at all, and showed them the values of the Kingdom of God, through his teaching, through his healing, through his listening, and through his meeting them where they were and putting love into action.

The Scriptures teach us that it is also our mission to go out into the world. As the writer of John’s Gospel quotes Jesus, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And as the first letter of John tells us, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

Are you ready to make the commitment to go beyond your boundaries? To listen and talk, to love and serve, to use your gifts in the struggle for dignity and justice for your neighbor and for people who are outside your comfort zone?

Are you ready to challenge yourself to forge new friendships, open yourself up to new perspectives, and build bridges where once there were walls?

The Way of Love challenges us to Go.

As the writer of Hebrews tells us: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” We are called to give freely of our resources, our stories and experiences, our time and our attention. And we are called to invite others into this Way of Love. We bless ourselves in the process.

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Praying at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 30, 2023
The bulletin insert for June 25, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Bless

The Christian tradition calls us not just to believe, but also to bless the world with the Good News that we have learned.

As the writer of Mark’s Gospel tells us, Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” When we incorporate the practice of Blessing others into our lives, we are putting our love into action by becoming the Good News for others.

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

As part of the Way of Love, Blessing gives us a way to follow the example of Jesus. Just as Jesus was a leader and a teacher, he also was a son, a friend, a servant. Jesus understood the need to know and be known by those in his community and beyond. He understood that being seen, invited, and welcomed are ways of sharing blessing.

Likewise, we are called to know and be known, in the name of love. We are called to see, invite, and welcome as living examples of Good News. Just as the apostles were called to give and teach and heal, we are called to give the gifts we have to bless, as God has given so much to us. To seek, name, and celebrate the presence of God’s love in our lives and the lives of others is part of being good news.

We are called to work together as we share this love so that we are not alone in our work, but acting together as the Body of Christ, being his hands and feet in this world, we bring the Good News to life for people here and now.

Being part of a worshiping and serving community is part of the Good News. As the writer of Hebrews tells us: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” We are called to give freely of our resources, our stories and experiences, our time and our attention. And we are called to invite others into this Way of Love. We blessed ourselves in the process. Others will be blessed in the process.

This is how the world will come to know who we are and what we believe: Through the way we bless them.

Will you commit to the practice of blessing others? Are there others you know who are blessing others, who you can join with to multiply those blessings?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Praying at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 23, 2023
The bulletin insert for June 18, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Worship

Throughout the Scriptures, the people of God are called to worship.

As the Psalmist writes, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.” Just as God wants to enter into our lives and meet us where we are, so God desires for us to enter into God’s space together and be present there..

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

Worship is an important part of the Way of Love, the practice that followers of Jesus have traditionally followed. Worship brings us out of our own space to walk on sacred ground. Worship brings us out of our loneliness into communion with fellow worshippers, as we become one Body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Worship reminds us who we are, in light of the God who creates, saves, and sustains us.

In worship, we can bring all of our selves before God, as a kind of offering. We can bring our hopes, our dreams, our joys and sorrows, our thanks and our praise. We can boldly proclaim ourselves to be who we are, and give public voice to what we believe, without reservation.

By coming to the table together, we have the opportunity to break bread together, and in doing so, share a common experience to which all are welcome.

Gathering together challenges us to leave our loneliness behind, and risk relationship with God and with those on our journey who also gather to seek God’s presence. As we join in worship together, we are experiencing the presence and glory and beauty of showing up boldly before God and sharing in the communal life of the multitude of followers of Jesus who have gathered here before us.

And we are one body.

Are you ready to make a commitment to regularly gather to worship?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Praying at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 16, 2023
The bulletin insert for June 11, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Pray

Our day to day lives can be hurried and busy. We have so many things to do and so little time to do them. With devices and media asking for our time, so much to do and hear and say – it can make us feel overwhelmed and isolated. It can make our relationships challenging, as we struggle to connect.

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

The practice of the Way of Love, following in the footsteps of Jesus, tells us that God wants to break through the noise and busy-ness of the world and be able to have a relationship with us – with you. Not as a distant god in a far-off sky, or as a theory or an ideal or a metaphor, but a presence, dwelling with us, here and now. And the way to make that connection is to Pray.

As the Psalmist tells us: “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Jesus taught us that it is nourishing and strengthening to intentionally take time to pray. The daily practice of making time and space to speak with God, to listen to God, or to simply be with God, clears a pathway for God to enter our lives.

Jesus told us how we can talk with God: We can praise God and thank God for all that has been done. We can tell God about our troubles, and God will listen. We can ask God for healing and forgiveness, and God will help restore us. We can ask God for protection, and face the world with courage. Or we can simply receive God’s spirit, in faith that when we make space to pray, God is with us.

We can pray alone and know that we are not alone in this world. We can pray together, whether just two or three of us or a whole community, and find a whole new level of connection with those who are on the journey with us. As Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

The Way of Love is not a static practice, in which we read a book of rules and perform the exercises to become improved people. It is a dynamic practice, and part of the active process of transforming our lives is opening up the channels of communication with God, giving and taking, talking and listening, like electricity flowing through a cable or streams that connect a river to the sea. We create a connective flow with a God who loves and cares about us, who and where we are on a daily basis,and wants to know how you are doing today.

Are you making a commitment to incorporate the regular practice of prayer into your life? Is there a place where you can gather with others in the presence of the divine?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Praying at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 9, 2023
The bulletin insert for June 4, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Learn

As humans, we often think of our lives in terms of stories. So much of the input of our senses, what we hear and what we read – and even what we feel – is processed in terms of story. We are the protagonist, the heroine or hero on a journey, pursuing our goal, facing conflict along the way, and each day is another chapter in our story.

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

When we look to the example of Jesus, we see a life in which God was incorporated in a very real way as part of that story. As we embark on the Way of Love, the practice that leads us in the footsteps of Jesus and those who have followed him for generations, we can invite God into our own stories.

The Way of Love calls us to the practice of learning. As the Psalmist prays, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.”

By reading the scriptures, taking time to study, listen, and absorb what they say, we are entering into the long, deep, stream of humankind’s experiences with God. By taking time daily to engage with the Scriptures, particularly the stories of the life of Jesus, we move beyond pop culture interpretations and quick one-line verses and immerse ourselves into the character, will, and story of God. And by internalizing what we read—meditating and allowing even the most mysterious words to flow over us and work inside of us—we are allowing God to work in our story, too.

Diving into the Scriptures can be daunting for some. The Bible is not a rulebook or instruction manual to be easily digested and applied on first reading. Instead, it is a library of different experiences with God, written or told by many different people in different places for different reasons over generations of time.

Beginning to understand and know the Scriptures is a lifelong practice, and calls for patience, openness, and a willingness not to know every answer. But as we continually study, and discuss with other people who accompany us on our journey, and reflect upon the ideas on the page, sometimes wrestling with them, and sometimes just letting them flow by like a spring breeze, we will grow in understanding, and we will get to know God better, as God becomes more and more intertwined with our own story.

Are you willing to commit to the practice of learning? Are there those around you who can support and join you as you learn?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Turning at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

June 2, 2023
The bulletin insert for May 28, 2023

This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work.

Explore the Way of Love: Turn

There are so many voices in the world, telling us who we are, what we should do, and how we will be fulfilled. They tell us to focus on our desires, on our cravings, on being the best individual we can be. The world, we are told, revolves around each of us.

The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Turn. Learn. Pray. Worship. Bless. Go. Rest.

For many, these pursuits of self-fulfillment can leave us feeling drained, empty, and alone. They can lead us away from our divine calling. Away from the creator in whose image we were made. But if we listen closely, there is a spirit calling us to come back to ourselves, back to our purpose, back to something more meaningful.

When we look to the example of Jesus, we see the way that he followed. This is the Way of Love.

One aspect of this Way and making it a practice in our own lives is remembering to simply to turn toward the voice that calls us. Intentionally choosing our direction, choosing to turn and face the light, is the fundamental shift that puts the Way of Love into action. As Jesus tells us in the Book of John: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”

Turning doesn’t have to change who you are—you are loved as you were created. But it can change where you are going. It can shift you from selfishness to loving the other. It can shift you from hoarding to generosity. It can lead you from sin and distance from God into closer alignment with the One who made and loves you so much.

Obeying this call means recognizing the things we put first in our lives, the things we allow to have the most space in our minds, our fears and hopes and desires. And turning instead toward love.

It can be as freeing as the early followers putting down their fishing nets. It can be as missional as Jesus asking us to pick up our cross and follow him. It can be as simple as paying attention to which direction our feet are facing on our journey.

Turning is not just a one time event, but an ongoing discipline, re-directing our steps as often as we think to, always turning toward the light. And turning toward the light can also illuminate how many there are on the journey with you, emerging from the shadows to walk the same path.

The Way of Love can lead you to discover a community of fellow travelers with whom you share the journey. The Way of Love shows us who we are, it lights the path to where we should go, and it gives purpose to our desires for fulfillment. And it shows us that we are not alone. That like us, there are many who choosing to turn toward the Way of Love. Are you ready to commit to turning and following Jesus?

Learn more about the Way of Love

Learn more about the Way of Love at The Way of Love. You can find suggestions on getting started and going deeper with Turning at Explore the Way of Love.

Weekly bulletin inserts

This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.

Sermons That Work

For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

May 26, 2023

Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2026. Services at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm. Gethsemane Watch Vigil from about 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Good Friday, April 3, 2026: Services at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm.

Holy Saturday worship at 9:30 am.

The Great Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 4, 2025. Service at 8:00 pm. This is the night....

The 2nd Sunday of Easter (Year A), April 12, 2026. Services at 8:00 am (no music) and 10:30 (music). Education classes resume next week.