Marching Donations Till End of Year
As we are seeking to reach our ministry goals here at the end of 2024, we are excited to share that all donations to Renewed Heart Ministries for the remainder of year will be matched! Every dollar you give will have twice the impact, helping us further expand the work of Renewed Heart Ministries in 2025. Join us in making a difference—together, we can maximize our collective impact!
We want to take this moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our supporters for your invaluable role in the Renewed Heart Ministry community and for your dedication to our mission of fostering love, justice, compassion, and healing. Your support is the bedrock of our work. Your support empowers us to do what we do. At a time when ministries like ours are being asked to achieve more with fewer resources, your support is incredibly important, and we want to simply say thank you. Whether in our larger society or within our local faith communities, Renewed Heart Ministries remains committed to advocating for change, working towards a world that is inclusive, just, and safe for everyone, and being a source of love in our world. From all of us here at Renewed Heart Ministries, thank you for your generous support. We deeply appreciate each and every one of our supporters.
If you’d like to join them in supporting our work, please go to renewedheartministries.com and click on “Donate.”
We are excited to announce the return of our annual Shared Table event!
This year, we invite you to become one of our monthly sustaining partners for 2025. By selecting the “Check this box to make it a monthly recurring donation” option when you donate online, you’ll receive a special thank-you gift: a handmade Renewed Heart Ministries Shared Table Pottery Bowl crafted by Crystal and Herb.
Becoming a monthly sustaining partner helps RHM plan and budget for our ministry projects throughout the year. To sign up, simply visit renewedheartministries.com/donate and choose an automated recurring monthly donation of any amount. If you prefer using PayPal, you can also select the “Make this a monthly donation” option. As a token of our appreciation, we’ll be sending out these beautiful pottery bowls to our all of monthly partners at the start of the new year. Our hope is that these bowls, whether displayed or used, will serve as a reminder of Jesus’ message of love, care, and shared table fellowship. They also make wonderful gifts or conversation starters! If you’re already a sustaining partner for 2024 and you would like to continue your support for 2025, we deeply appreciate your ongoing support and you will also receive one of our Shared Table Pottery Bowls as a thank-you gift, as well.
aRegardless of how you choose to support Renewed Heart Ministries at the end of this year, we are profoundly grateful for your partnership in furthering Jesus’ vision of a world rooted in compassion, love, and mutual care. Together, we strive to create a safer, more compassionate, and just world for today and for eternity.
The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth
by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
“Who could argue with the message the authors draw from the Bible’s Christmas stories? Light in the darkest time of the year, hope in a period of creeping despair—these are powerful and universal themes that can give everyone a stake in Christmas.”
—USA Today
In The First Christmas Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan—top Jesus scholars and authors of The Last Week—help us see the real Christmas story buried in the familiar Bible accounts. Basing their interpretations on the two nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Borg and Crossan focus on the literal story—the inner truth rather than the historical facts—to offer a clear and uplifting message of hope and peace. With The First Christmas readers get a fresh, deep, and new understanding of the nativity story, enabling us to better appreciate the powerful message of the Gospels.
Last Week’s Social Jesus Posts
Articles posted each week at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/
Advent of Us, Part 1
That ancient passage was intended to offer a vision for the advent of liberation, to inspire hope when the people had very little to hope for.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/advent-of-us-part1/
A Passage of Liberation (Part Two of The Advent of Us)
Our passage takes this image and looks forward to liberation and restoration for a people who had also experienced harm.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/passage-of-liberation/
We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For (Part Three of The Advent of Us)
I know what is coming won’t be easy. But this Advent, I’m holding on to the hope that we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/advent-we-are-ones-weve-been-waiting/
New Episode of “Just Talking
Season 2, Episode 38: Luke 21.25-36. Lectionary C, Advent 1
Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be “just” talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week we’ll be inspired to do more than just talking. If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out.
Watch at:
The Social Jesus Podcast from RHM!
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
Last week:
Season 1 Episode 33: Advent of Us
Luke 21:25-36
“This Advent season I’m reminded that Advent is about something finally showing up. We are the ones, especially at this moment, who must show up. We are the ones we are mutually depending on right now. Jesus taught about the power of community to survive and transform the world around us even in the most difficult of times, shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. Jesus taught us not to isolate and rely just on ourselves, but to come together. No matter what the future brought, we could get through it together, knowing we had each other’s back. And, once again, this is now the time to renew our commitment to making sure everyone is taken care of. I know from the last time that what is coming won’t be easy. But this Advent, I’m choosing to hold on to the hope that resistance and survival is possible as we renew our commitments to each other. We are the one’s we’ve been waiting for.”
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/advent-of-us
Upcoming Events
December 21, 2024
Good News Fellowship (via Zoom)
Toronto, Ontario Canada
For info: 304.520.0030
Weekly Zoom HeartGroup on Wednesday Nights
Each Wednesday evening, Glendale City Church will be hosting a Zoom-HeartGroup led by Herb Montgomery. Our discussion each week will focus on the content in Renewed Heart Ministries’ weekly eSight articles, The Social Jesus podcast, and RHM’s Just Talking YouTube show. The time of each Zoom session will be on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Pacific/10:00 p.m. Eastern.
For more information and for the link to participate each week, contact RHM here.
Audiobook Available Now on Audible
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels (2nd Edition)
by Herb Montgomery, Narrated by Jeff Moon
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity. Readers will journey through the Gospel narratives, discovering the ways in which the Jesus of these stories challenged the political and religious establishments of his time. Herb Montgomery draws parallels between the societal issues faced by the people of Jesus’ era and the challenges of the present day, sparking reflection on the role of faith in addressing contemporary political and social issues. Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
Available now on Audible.
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