Midrash Nyc

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’" These are just three of the roughly 2000 verses about the poor, a topic that the Bible covers more than any other. Pastors preach about them from the pulpit and politicians vow to be allies, but there are still 140 million poor and low-income citizens in the country, so who is actually speaking up for the poor? In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. called for a "revolution of values" in America and what was born from those words was the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Arelis Figueroa and Kelly Smith, two longtime volunteers from the PPC, join the Forefront Podcast to talk about the history and work of this

Did you grow up in a tradition where you went through confirmation? If not, what sort of initiation or religious educational process did your tradition embody? Rev. Josh shares about the sacrament of confirmation, where an adolescent or adult, confirms their baptismal vows and publicly affirms their faith after having gone through confirmation classes where they learn about Christian history, beliefs, and traditions. How might we too benefit from the Spirit of this sacrament and how might it aid us in reconciling with and reforming our faith?

Rev. Josh explores the history, theology, and modern-day implications of the sacrament of anointing the sick. This sacrament started as a counter-cultural practice of extending love and grace to hurting and forgotten people in a Roman culture where the sick or sinners were isolated from the community. What if we embodied the spirit of this sacrament by showing up and acknowledging we often can’t take someones suffering away but we sit with them in their divorce, diagnosis, depression.

Rev. Josh explores the history, impact and modern day relevance of the sacrament of Holy Orders. What if part of ushering in the next 500 years of Christianity means we commit to expanding holy orders to all? What if it means having a healthy respect for pastors while equally valuing the voices and giftings of everyone at Forefront? What might this type of church look like?

Our Sacraments Sermon Series begins with a spotlight on marriage. Rev. Venida talks about the history of marriage, how it has evolved over time, and how we can reposition our ideas about marriage to further incorporate Jesus’s words to love God, ourselves, and others. This can start with marriage partners focusing on the love they have for each other, and then extending that love to intentionally work as agents of change through God’s love, so that double the lives can become recipients of Jesus’s love, healing, power, and joy.

The last time you heard Jonathan Williams on this podcast, he was lead pastor of Forefront Church; now, he's just a dad who raised two kids in the church trying to offer some sage advice to a new dad grappling with questions about raising kids in the church. For many of us who grew up in the church, what we were raised to believe went out the window a long time ago, so despite what we may say, do, or espouse to our kids, there will always be a question lingering in the back of our minds: what if my kids don't believe what I do similar to how I no longer believe what my parents did? This is the theme of the conversation that brings Jonathan back to the Forefront Podcast, where he sheds some light on his own upbringing, why things changed, and what it's like to be a parent bringing a child to church when carrying doubt or questions. ABOUT JONATHAN The co-founder and former lead pastor of Forefront Church, Jonathan is a popular writer who covers religion and spirituality, current trends, and LGBTQIA inclusion an

Kai Ngu speaks on a parable of Jesus on farmers and seeds, and the Hebrew Bible to show us how our Scriptures encourage us to relate to nature - land, animals, plants, stars - as persons and beings full of agency, emotion, and willpower. Understanding this animistic, and arguably indigenous, paradigm is essential towards building an anti-capitalist, anti-colonial ethos.

Mary Obasi explores why it is hard to change even when our circumstances have in the parable of "The Rich Man and Lazarus".

God has lavishly showered on us messages of abundance and hope. Unfortunately, the cares of this world can sometimes be overwhelming and cause us to fall into despair and doubt who we are and our purpose in life. In a continuation of The Parables sermon series, Rev. Venida reminds us of the importance of investing and nurturing those things, again and again, that will allow us to constantly bear good fruit.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Collect

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.

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?!"

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.

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.

NOTE: Due to a recording glitch with the livestream, there are about three minutes missing from this sermon. There will be a brief pause around 11:15, and then the sermon will resume as delivered. The third week of the Communion and the Cross sermon series continues with a look at the restrictions around receiving communion within various faith traditions. The good news is that we can freely come to the communion table, without barriers or restrictions because there is no gatekeeping.