Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor Sunday Sermons

Congregant Bruce Umpstead shares about how he came to a more inclusive faith, and the meaning he’s found in practices like Lectio Divina. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. […]

We inhabit a world filled with love and with possibilities for love: opportunities to meet one another with freedom and presence, to take one another’s joys and sufferings seriously, and […]

As we continue our sermon series on the Song of Songs, we will be considering the importance of beauty, how beauty leads us to wisdom and love, and how it […]

Leadership is the Spirit-given work of helping a community live into its calling. Pastor Emily weaves in the voices of several people with a leadership gift to highlight some godly […]

We’re starting a new sermon series this morning on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We talk about how the stories between Easter and Pentecost point to a God whose Spirit […]

We talk about the Road to Emmaus, and the invitation is to keep walking on a journey of faith. To stay attentive. To remain open to the possibility that there is more happening […]

On this Easter Sunday, as we remember the story of Jesus’s resurrection together, it might be surprising to consider that Easter doesn’t take place outside of the wilderness. Easter happens right in the […]

Wilderness tales often include tests of character in the Bible; it’s probably clearest in Jesus’s story. In the wilderness God realized he could trust Jesus to use his authority and influence with […]

We look further at the story of Elijah to help us navigate questions around burnout, rejuvenation, and discerning what’s ours to carry and what’s not ours to carry.  Learn more […]

Using the story of Elijah and the ravens, we talk about how God provides for us and sustains us in the hardest times of life.  Learn more about Blue Ocean […]

The wilderness is a common image in scripture. It signifies the places in life where God feels absent and it seems like we’re alone. The story of Jacob offers us […]

Using the story of Joseph we talk about hard-won survival wisdom gained in the wilderness. The boy who had big dreams becomes a man who can manage a crisis. Learn […]

We open our new sermon series and talk about how remembering God’s faithfulness and other ways we get through hard times builds resilience. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. […]

In 1937, while leading a seminary declared illegal by the Nazis, the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote one of his most famous books: The Cost of Discipleship. In the book, […]

We look at the ending of the story, focusing on some of the comic elements, and talk about how the story of Gideon is trying to teach us that friendship with God […]

Bishop Tim Wolfe teaches from the story of Gideon to encourage us that God can use us to change the world for the better. He highlights the verse that talks […]

When it seems like everything is on fire and God has abandoned the world, Gideon’s story reminds us that we are not alone. God is with us, inviting us to […]

We open a three-part sermon series on friendship with God using the story of Gideon in Judges 6–7. Who does God say you are? What does it mean to build […]

We use the story of Ruth as scaffolding for talking about care and concern for immigrants. Our message also includes a presentation by Amanda Schwartz, a staff attorney at the […]

The Christmas season ends on January 6th with the celebration of Epiphany. On this day we remember the story of Herod, an insecure king, who was visited by magi from […]

The night Jesus was born, some shepherds were playing a role that would have been familiar to anyone shaped by the Hebrew Scriptures—the role of the watchmen. We talk about […]

From Board Member Lisa Ruby: Pivoting away from quiet anticipation to rejoicing and elation as we light the candle of joy. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can […]

In the second week of Advent, as we continue our series on the legacy of the watchmen, we are invited to consider the story of Ezekiel the Prophet. Ezekiel was […]

It’s the first week of Advent, the season when we wait in the darkness with hope that God’s presence will break through. We talk about how the watchmen of Scripture provide a […]

Using a story from the Gospel of Luke, we offer a few thoughts on gratitude this Thanksgiving week. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find recordings of past […]

Today we reach the edge of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus brings everything to a choice. There are different ways to live. Which story will we trust? Which foundation […]

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us not to judge one another and not to get caught up worrying about other people’s issues when we have plenty of […]

We continue in our series on the Sermon on the Mount and then have a little chat about the church in lieu of our normal membership series. Learn more about […]

This week we take a closer look at The Lord’s Prayer to help us better understand this prayer we say together each week and how it shapes our hearts. Learn […]

The part of the SOTM we’re talking about today is about rivalry-reducing practices. These are spiritual practices that can help shape us to have the kind of character that helps us […]

This week we continue our Sermon on the Mount series by considering two of Jesus’ most challenging teachings: nonviolence and enemy-love. We explore the logic behind these teachings and consider […]

We look at how Jesus diagnoses the things that most often trip humans up and keep us from being our best selves, and the practical advice he gives to help […]

What does it mean for salt to “lose its taste”? We talk about the part of the Sermon on the Mount that encourages us to keep our “flavor,” be light, […]

Many people see the Beatitudes as high moral ideals we’re supposed to live up to, but that approach makes us focus on our own effort instead of God’s grace. We […]

Pastor Emily opens up a new series on the Sermon On the Mount by setting the stage for Jesus’s most famous teaching. The Sermon on the Mount begins not with a […]

In Luke 14, Jesus responds to the crowds in a surprising way: If you want to be my disciple, be prepared to give up everything. What feels like a harsh […]

From Guest Speaker Kim Robinson: Based in developmental science about how learning happens, I make connections between the process of learning and the process of working toward God’s good realm […]

From Guest Speaker Tom Seiple: The Bible has a great deal to say about money and debt, mentioning money, wealth, and debt over 2,300 times. Given that frequency, these are clearly […]

How do we pray when it seems like the world around us has lost its way? Incorporating insights from indigenous teachers, we explore the world of Psalm 82 and learn what it […]

Best-selling Christian books to the contrary, cognitive and emotional empathy is the ethical heart of the teaching of Jesus and the Law of Moses. Pastor Emeritus Ken Wilson provides guidance […]

From Special Guest Speaker Dr. David Gushee: Drawing from Luke 12:13–21, a family inheritance dispute is the occasion for a teaching moment. Dr. Gushee has been a special friend to […]

From Guest Speaker Nancy Ogilvie: There’s no question that growing old can be a process of loss and diminishment; and when we embrace aging as a spiritual practice, we can turn […]

From Pastor Emeritus Ken Wilson—The manosphere is calling for a return to 1950s gender roles and masculinity. There are other options. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can […]

Emily and Javan have a flock of about 60 sheep, daily they teach them insights about themselves and God—enlightening the words of Scripture. Drawing from Ezekiel 34, they share some […]

Guest speaker Lisa Ruby discusses the challenges of living, and especially growing up, in a society dominated by laws and punishments meant to control our behavior, and the invaluable role […]

We wrap up our series on the dragon theme in the Bible by talking about how Jesus gave us tools for fighting the Chaos Monster. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]

We explore the story of Deborah and Jael in Judges 4 as a dragon-slaying story, and talk about the invitation for all of us to participate in the story of […]

We continue our series exploring the dragon-slaying stories in the Bible by revisiting the story of Exodus where Moses leads the Israelites to freedom while Pharaoh and his army are […]

This week we open up a sermon series where we talk about the dragon slaying stories in the Bible and what they’re trying to communicate. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]

Pastor Emily interviews our new Associate Pastor of Community Life, Daniel Reaume, so we can get to know him better. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can find […]