Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor Sunday Sermons

Dr. Harold Trulear from Howard University speaks on Psalm 23, the paralyzing effect of fear, and God’s presence with us in the midst of turmoil—all in the context of the […]

  The incarnation is a mystery that pulls us in to awe and wonder. Christ entered in to experience humanity in all its vulnerability. Mary, the archetype of the feminine […]

  Today, we continue our discussion of bedtime prayer rituals, and explore a Jewish prayer that begins in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord Our God is One.” A […]

We are preparing for a “long, difficult winter ahead”—a time when Advent takes on more significance. Advent is a season of spiritual practices that offer a portal into hope. Today […]

One of our more complicated national holidays is coming up this week. It can be hard for us as followers of Jesus to figure out how to handle a holiday […]

Ken gives an update on newcomers and becoming a members during our virtual mode and we hear a faith journey story from Amy MacNeil, connecting to Blue Ocean from Indiana. […]

We enjoy a lighter sermon today, talking about how to help our bodies process emotions that lead to exhaustion and burnout. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org, watch […]

Trees figure prominently in indigenous and Hebrew spirituality. Those who “don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked” are regarded as trees by streams of water whose roots run deep, […]

We all have election distress. Much election talk is analysis, and doesn’t help us metabolize the anger, fear, hope, and other emotions that we carry. For that an ancient prayer, […]

Environmental scientist Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild, on The Greatest Story is that All Life is One. At the end of Dr. Safina’s talk, join Cassie in a […]

With such a strong anti-Empire streak, it’s not surprising that our most common ritual speaks to that. We talk about various ways it does so. Learn more about Blue […]

The idea of apocalypse (which means, “unveiling”) is used most often in the Bible in relation to the fall of Empires or to significant historical shifts. We talk about how […]

When religion seeks power and tries to use Empire to further its gains, it becomes counter-Jesus. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org, watch virtual service recordings, and […]

The voice from the burning bush was a God of Becoming: I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. Just what Moses and the people of Israel needed—a dynamic, not a […]

National religious-cultural politics created a hostile environment for Jesus in his village and in his family. He had to cut off family ties for a time and experience kinship with […]

We talk about why we use the term kin-dom of God instead of kingdom of God, influenced by Mujerista and indigenous American theologians. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at […]

Offering midrash on Jesus’s response to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan,” AnaYelsi asks us to ponder what it means when traumatized people and groups interact with one another, and […]

The ancients told certain truths in myth form—like the truths that come to us in dreams, which don’t abide by the rules of the waking world. And one of the […]

When Moses saw a bush burning in the wilderness, his whole life became about freeing an enslaved people from oppression and reimagining a world away from injustice. His questions and […]

In prayer we hear the voice of the Divine telling us that we are enough. Telling us to trust and to rest in the Creator. Telling us that we are […]

From Cassie, our worship pastor: “This pandemic and its effects are taking a toll on all of us. How can we envision a reality beyond our current circumstances?” Learn more […]

James refers to Torah and the Exodus liberation story as the “law of liberty” He likens it to a mirror we need to look at long and hard, lest we […]

Exodus is the oldest story of liberation we have. And while the particulars are very different, the dynamics of oppression and liberation are very much the same. The Exodus story-teller […]

This week we take a look at the prophet Miriam and how she was on the alert, looking for God to act to liberate the oppressed. Learn more about Blue […]

Midrash is the Jewish way to tell stories about the stories of Scripture and connect these stories to our story today. It’s an expansive and Spirit-led way to engage sacred […]

Five sisters demand they be allowed to inherit their father’s land. Moses concedes but later bows to existing power structures. The sisters surface in the narrative again two books later, […]

Having a close relationship with Jesus means we come to understand him as a person who cared deeply about justice. Too often empire dresses Jesus up as a harmless, detached […]

We draw inspiration and encouragement from the brave midwives of Exodus 1, Shiphrah and Puah, who stood up to the Pharaoh when he ordered them to kill all the baby […]

The President’s photo op was a revelation of the un-exorcised White Supremacy in so much White-Washed Christianity. Embracing Sinai’s vision of equal justice is an essential part of engaging this […]

Pentecost is about receiving the powerful gift of empathy, the absence of which, in so much of White America, enables White Supremacy and the assault on black and brown bodies […]

From our worship pastor, Cassie—”The Evangelical Purity Culture caused me to deny my intuition, my agency and my autonomy. How I have used breath and embodiment meditation to reconnect with […]