Midrash Nyc

Integrity starts with being grounded in yourself. Sarah Ngu reminds us that Jesus sees us as more than the worst decisions we’ve made or things we’ve said. In Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he tells us that words matter and that truth matters. Integrity means not just saying what we really mean, but also realizing when we don’t really mean what we are about to say. This starts with being grounded in ourselves and recognizing when we are not in the right mind to speak honestly. This is the second sermon in our “Be” series.

God is on your side. Jonathan Williams tells us that when Jesus delivered the Beatitudes during his Sermon the Mount, Jesus was saying that God is on your side -- even when you're in the midst of a crappy year and it doesn't feel that way. God doesn't need you to believe in certain principles, policies, or social agendas -- God just needs you to believe that God is on your side. This is the first sermon in our “BE” series.

Saying yes to new experiences brings about radical equity | Sermon 1/3/21 Jonathan Williams unveils the final of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: Radical Equity. Same is safe, different is dangerous -- or so the saying goes. We're afraid of new experiences because they take away our control and power, but God's kin-dom only comes when we're able to say "yes" to that which feels different. Our faith should always evolve and feel a bit dangerous, and we can only bring about radical equity when we're willing to say "yes" to that which feels different. This is the fourth sermon in our "Make A Joyful Noise" series.

Believing we're worthy reimagines worship. Jonathan Williams unveils another one of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: Worship Reimagined. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the first preacher of the New Testament, and by believing she was favored by God, she reimagined worship. Just like Mary, when we truly believe we're already favored by God, we can reimagine worship as well.

Building a community through uncommon kinship. Sarah Ngu unveils one of Forefront Brooklyn's new core values: uncommon kinship. Common kinship often focuses on taking care of people who are in the center, but what makes kinship uncommon is taking care of people who aren't in the center of their community, and how it's worth having a community that will take a risk to ensure those who aren't typically centered feel loved, valued, and elevated.

Why Forefront Church is as radical as Jesus. In a time when duality and division is at an all time high, Jesus preaches a message about the radical love for all God's children. In the process he pisses everyone off. Perhaps we should do the same? Pastor Jonathan Williams begins our “Make A Joyful Noise” series by sharing how Jesus’s first sermon changed his life and profoundly shaped Forefront.

Why does the concept of heaven and hell play such a powerful role in Christianity? Our beliefs about heaven and hell originate from our inability to make sense of suffering in our present lives. Heaven and hell used to be ways to help us cope with suffering today. But when Christianity became an empire, they morphed into tools to make people suffer today. Do your beliefs about the afterlife help you or prevent you from living your life presently? Sarah Ngu walks us through an enlightening perspective and an emotional story about the limiting effects of living out of fear of hell.

The death of Christ on the cross does not change God's mind about us. In this 5th sermon in our "How We Got Here" series, Jonathan Williams reveals a provocative view on the traditional fear of God. We believe that God is upset with us and needed the blood of Jesus to make things right. The good news of the cross is that God is not angry with us at all. The cross isn't so that God changes God's mind about us. The cross happens so that we change our minds about the goodness of God.

Rethinking the role of the Bible in our faith. In our fourth sermon in the "How We Got Here" series, Sarah Ngu presents an engaging perspective on the Bible and how we've interpreted scripture over the centuries. Biblical interpretation is not something to be afraid of but that is baked into our tradition. Wherever there is divinity, humanity is mingled in with it. We ourselves are living testaments. In fact, we are living Scripture.

The incredible meaning of Communion. Jonathan Williams reminds us of the origins, meaning and importance of communion. Communion is especially relevant today, as we fight to bring all people to the table of peace and prosperity. Communion is the reminder that we've never been separate from God, rather we've always been seen as sacred and holy. Communion is used too often to exclude. It's not a dividing line rather a unifying feast that reminds all of us that we're unequivocally qualified to be in the presence of God. Our activist, justice, and continued political work is a beautiful reflection of the communion table. Our work is holy.

How we got God and the holy trinity. In the second sermon of our "How We Got Here" series, Jonathan Williams tackles the big question: How we got God. God is largely a construct made up of time, place, and culture. So why are we here? Why church? Why even bother communing with God? Deep down we know that God is something greater. In finding out how God came to be, perhaps we find out that God is actually living in us.

Sarah Ngu starts off our new series: How We Got Here. It begins with a closer historical look at the organizational structures of the church. Sarah touches on the commissioning of deacons in the book of Acts and shares her personal story as a queer person growing up in the conservative church and what it means for them to be appointed as a deacon for the first time as an openly queer person.

What does it mean to make peace in divisive times? In this final sermon in our Fruits of the Spirit series, Jonathan Williams speaks about peace. Peacekeeping is the ultimate form of gaslighting. It does nothing to address injustice and does everything to make sure that the status quo remains just that, the status quo.

Self-control: the meta-fruit empowering all Fruits Sarah Ngu makes the case that self-control is kind of a meta-fruit: it helps you do all the other Fruits well. To be able to ensure that when you are exhibiting the other Fruits of the Spirit you are doing so in a way that is rooted from within and carried out by the power of the Spirit. In Christianity, at the core of self-control is actually surrendering to the Spirit. The gift of self-control: We focus on what we can control especially in the midst of oppressive systems.

Gentleness is power under control. In this 4th sermon in the Fruit of the Spirit series, Jonathan Williams delves in to the superpower of Gentleness. We are a powerful people with potential to harm our enemies or to break down harmful systems with great care. What if being gentle is not a personality but rather a perspective?

"How can you hate me if you don't even know me?" That's the question that drives Daryl Davis' life's work and it's the genesis of the question and the pursuit of its answer that is the focus of the documentary, "Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America." To answer this question, Daryl goes straight to the source: the people that hate him. Daryl has dedicated the last few decades of his life to befriending white supremacists and Klan members in an attempt to break through their racist worldview by extending them courtesy and showing them that there is an individual human on the other side of the conversation. His work is controversial, drawing criticism, ire, and hostility from all races and even the Southern Poverty Law Center. "I've been called every name under the sun except my own," Daryl says. But undeterred, he continues his anti-racist work. ABOUT DARYL Daryl experienced most of his childhood overseas. As the son of a diplomat, he was used to being surrounded by racial diversity and it was

Speaking truth to love. The vitriol and divided discourse is at an all time high. We've lost the art of speaking truth to one another. What if speaking truth means having empathy for the pain and fear of others before anything else? Would it change our country? In this third sermon in our Fruit of the Spirit series, Jonathan Williams talks about love, the greatest fruit of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 13 1: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

What does it mean to be successful? In the book of Galatians 5:22-23, Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Many of us measure success by the actions and accomplishments in our lives. However, it is what lies behind these, or even lies far away from these things. It is one's character. Success is really about how well you live out the fruit of the Spirit. If you consider what people would say about you at your funeral, do they speak of your character? Is what you are doing today in line with what you find is truly important? In this confronting and intense sermon, Jonathan Williams delves into these questions and in so doing celebrates the immense opportunities that lie ahead for us all.

The renewal of all things. What's the first thing you think of when you think of God? Is that word "pleasure?" Yeah, probably not. But what if that's exactly who God is? God is a pleasure hound. God is not angry, wrathful, filled with rage, but rather taking pleasure in the way that we work to bring restoration to all things and to tell stories of renewal. Pastor Jonathan Williams talks of restoration and renewal in this first sermon of our "Fruits of the Spirit" series.

Is poverty inevitable? Sarah Ngu leads our fourth and final sermon in our Work & Capitalism Series. Reflecting on Matthew 25 and 26, Sarah brings theological light to the struggles more and more of us face these days with debt, eviction, homelessness and poverty. Sadly, capitalism enables these injustices to exist. Jesus says the poor are always with you because you have made it so. Why do we insist on spending a billion dollars a year on shelters rather than placing our families in affordable housing?