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Loop Church Chicago

61 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratings

Weekly Sermons from Loop Church Chicago.

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Episodes

Maundy Thursday Tableside Liturgy

April 14, 2022 12:00 - 13 minutes - 9.42 MB

A Liturgy made by Anne Fennema as we remember the events and invitations to serve and feed one another. 

Maundy Thursday Tableside Liturgy

April 14, 2022 12:00 - 13 minutes - 9.42 MB

A Liturgy made by Anne Fennema as we remember the events and invitations to serve and feed one another. 

A Reading of Psalm 32

March 25, 2022 20:00 - 3 minutes - 2.1 MB

For the Fourth Sunday of Lent we will be reading and meditating on Psalm 32. -With the song "Svo Hijótt" by Sigur Rós from the Album Takk...

A Reading of Psalm 27

March 11, 2022 21:00 - 4 minutes - 3.39 MB

For the Second Sunday of Lent we will be reading and meditating on Psalm 27.  -With the Song Avalon by Sigur Rós

Eyes Wide Open: Bartimaeus and Abuse Awareness Sunday

October 02, 2021 14:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MB

 Sunday,  September 29 was the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and Abuse Awareness Sunday. Our scripture reading came from Mark 10:46-52;  the story of Bartimaeus' encounter with Jesus read through the lens of identity, marginalization, restoration and faith. Thank you to Tim for providing the original music. 

On The Way (Mark 10) + Song

September 25, 2021 17:00 - 8 minutes - 5.73 MB

 Sunday, September 19, 2021 was the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost and the last Sunday of the 'official' summer season.  Our scripture reading came from Mark 10:32-45, another pericope from the Gospel's 10th chapter that explores the themes of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, the disciples' desire for greatness, and the kingdom's insistence on service as an alternative to dominion. The passage inspired Pastor Derek to write the following poem and our Musician, Andy, to set the poem to mus...

THIRST

March 24, 2021 13:00 - 6 minutes - 4.69 MB

The Fifth Word from the Cross: "I Thirst"  The following is a short reflection created by Tim Fuchtman  created for the Lenten Art series at Loop Church, Chicago, 2021. This series contemplates the last words of Jesus on his journey to the cross.   The call for the artist/maker/writer/singer is to put something together that reflects to you the way Jesus' words connect to your own journey. In this piece Tim reflects on his hike down the Rio Grande Canyon near Taos and the words of Jesus on...

Marked by Ashes, Marked by Christ

February 18, 2021 02:00 - 7 minutes - 4.92 MB

This Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent, a six-week journey of walking with Christ to the cross. On Ash Wednesday many Christians will be “marked” by a cross of ashes to be reminded of their mortality, humility, and intimate connection to the earth: “From the dust of the earth you were created and to the dust of the earth you shall return.”  What do these ashes mean to you this year? 

The Nativity of Our Lord!

December 25, 2020 14:00 - 12 minutes - 8.52 MB

The following podcast is a telling of the Christmas story taken from "The Jesus Story Book Bible" written by Sally Loyd-Jones, Illustrated by Jago, and published by Zonderkids. The music features the Piano Guys' rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High" and Joshua Cele's instrumental of "Go Tell it on the Mountain." 

Advent Week 4: Don't Be Afraid...

December 20, 2020 04:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MB

It is the Fourth Sunday of Advent and God draws closer wanting to be with us. The Holy Presence has a way of sneaking up and startling us: speaking to us, silencing us, spiriting  new life within us. The first Chapter of the Gospel of Luke retells the story of how God came to be with two Galilean women, Elizabeth and Mary. We hear that story again today, waiting to see how God will show up in our hearts and lives.  "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee ...

Advent Week 3: Restore Us O Lord!

December 12, 2020 16:00 - 10 minutes - 7.06 MB

We are now approaching the Third Sunday of Advent and the Fortieth Sunday since we last worshipped together in the Sanctuary. What a season of waiting this has been! Come, Thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free! This week the lectionary Scripture readings come from Isaiah 64, Psalm 125. A Big THANK YOU to Andy Deboer who put together an awesome soundtrack to listen and meditate on these Words from the Lord. "The spirit of the Lord GOD has fallen fresh upon us, and this is ou...

Advent Week 2: Prepare The Way of the Lord

December 05, 2020 14:00 - 11 minutes - 8.05 MB

This will mark the Second Sunday of Advent, a season of waiting, watching, preparing, and praying for God's Presence to be active among us. This week we explore the lectionary text from Isaiah 40, Psalm 85, and Mark 1. Three Passages that speak to a people who are to prepare a way for God's justice and peace come to earth. "A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountai...

Where Are We to Buy Bread??

March 24, 2020 21:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MB

This Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, (and our second Sunday livestreaming..) we will continue our exploration of the Gospel of John in our sermon series, "The Questions Jesus asks." Our Scripture reading is John 6:1-13,  a passage not about "flattening the curve," but about "feeding a crowd." Jesus and his disciples have "hunkered down" on a Galilean mountainside retreat, when a hungry crowd interrupts their best attempts at "social distancing." Like today, this is a situation of great ...

Will You Give Me a Drink??

March 10, 2020 17:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MB

This Sunday, the Second Sunday of Lent, we will continue our exploration of the Gospel of John in our sermon series, "The Questions Jesus asks." Our Scripture reading is John 4:1-10,  a passage in which Jesus is leaving Judea and heading back to Galilee. On his way back home, Jesus travels through the region of Samaria and stops at a well outside of a small town. While the Disciples all go into town to get something to eat, a Samaritan woman carrying a water jar approaches Jesus at the well...

What's this got to do with Me?!

March 05, 2020 20:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MB

This Sunday, the First Sunday of Lent, we will continue our exploration of the Gospel of John in our sermon series, "The Questions Jesus asks." Our Scripture reading will come from John 2:1-11,  the fantastic story of what happens when Jesus gets invited to a wedding and the wine runs out (the wine always runs out eventually). It is a "sign" story that reveals who Jesus is and what God's glory looks like. It is a story about a God who is not too pious to party and who is more than willing t...

From There to Here

February 25, 2020 20:00 - 21 minutes - 15.1 MB

This Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, we will continue our exploration of the Gospel of John led by Guest Preacher, Richard Mayo.  Our Scripture reading will come from John 1:14-18,  a passage that eloquently explores the mystery of the incarnation. While John's Gospel does not make explicit reference to Jesus' transfiguration up on the mountain, John boldly speaks of the glory revealed in the transfiguration of the Word becoming Flesh. It is not a transfiguration of going up into glory, but...

What do you Want?!

February 18, 2020 19:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MB

This Sunday, the sixth Sunday after Epiphany, we will begin a new sermon series exploring the Gospel of John. The series is called "The Questions Jesus Asks." Our Scripture reading will come from John 1:19-42,  a passage that opens with the question: "Who are you?" And is quickly followed up with another question, "What do you want?" The passage breaks down into four scenes as these questions are explored:  The one who knows and who acts The one who sees and who speaks The one hears and...

Concern that Goes All the Way

February 13, 2020 17:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MB

This Sunday, Loop Church welcomed Pullman Christian Reformed Church to celebrate a joint worship service. Pullman's Pastor, the Rev. Gary Foster,  preached from Luke 15, a text that has become known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. The sermon explores themes of compassion, reconciliation, and restoration.

A Servant Called, A King Seen

January 24, 2020 15:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MB

This Sunday, Loop was invited to Pullman CRC for a joint worship service to remember and celebrate the witness of God's servant, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The worship service included special litanies, selected readings from Dr. King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail, unison prayers, and special music.  The Scripture reading was from Isaiah 49:1-7, a letter written by Second Isaiah from Babylonian Exile. A song of freedom and testament to the God who names, calls, restores, and s...

Who is Your High Priest?

January 15, 2020 20:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MB

This Sunday we explore Hebrews 4:14-16, a letter of encouragement written to a faith community in crisis. 

Who is Your High Priest?

January 15, 2020 20:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MB

This Sunday we explore Hebrews 4:14-16, a letter of encouragement written to a faith community in crisis. 

Epiphany for Whom?

January 09, 2020 21:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MB

This Sunday, Epiphany Sunday, we will hear the story of the Magi from Matthew 2:1-12. By now it is a familiar story to most: Wisemen bearing gifts, a bright shining star, and a baby born in Bethlehem leave few surprised. And yet, all these familiar elements are in many ways radical and subversive: outsiders understanding and insiders not caring, a king spurned and a child worshipped!   Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S...

Epiphany for Whom?

January 09, 2020 21:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MB

This Sunday, Epiphany Sunday, we will hear the story of the Magi from Matthew 2:1-12. By now it is a familiar story to most: Wisemen bearing gifts, a bright shining star, and a baby born in Bethlehem leave few surprised. And yet, all these familiar elements are in many ways radical and subversive: outsiders understanding and insiders not caring, a king spurned and a child worshipped!   Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S...

A Sign for Faith in Times of Fear

December 29, 2019 21:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MB

This Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Advent, we will continue our sermon series from the Book of Isaiah. The series is entitled Envisioning the Impossible.   The text we will explore together is Isaiah 7:1-16, an enlargement of the lectionary reading, allowing us to hear Isaiah's word in context. By starting at the beginning of Chapter 7, we see that Isaiah's words are spoken to a king (and a people) who is scared. Jerusalem is threatened by its Northern neighbors and the shadow of Assyria loo...

Active Listening // Active Waiting

December 19, 2019 21:00 - 31 minutes - 21.7 MB

We continue our Advent Series in the Book of Isaiah with a message that allows the community to actively listen and actively wait for God to act. We hear the prophetic words of Isaiah spoken between times of silence and meditative reflections. Take time to slow down as your listen to this message. Take time to pray. Take time to envision the new thing God is about to do! Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S. Michigan Ave...

Hope for a Preferred Future

December 05, 2019 20:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MB

We begin our Advent Season at Loop Church with Rev. Michael Hooker leading us in worship and meditating on Isaiah's bold vision for a preferred future found in Isaiah 2:1-5. Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S. Michigan Ave. in the Fine Arts Building. 

The Law, a Song, and a Blessing

November 26, 2019 18:00 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MB

This Sunday, the twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, we will finish our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   We will explore three texts from the closing passages of Deuteronomy. Each text presents a different form that Moses uses to offer his last words to the people on the border: the law, a song, and a blessing.  Deuteronomy is a book that often makes us uncomfortable because it refuses to let go of the tension between God'...

Moses: Great Leader, Good Chaplain?

November 21, 2019 19:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MB

This sermon, presented on Chaplain Sunday, explores Deuteronomy 30:11-20 as a Verbatim, an educational tool used during Clinical Pastoral Education. Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S. Michigan Ave. in the Fine Arts Building. 

Moses: Great Leader, Good Chaplain?

November 21, 2019 19:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MB

This sermon, presented on Chaplain Sunday, explores Deuteronomy 30:11-20 as a Verbatim, an educational tool used during Clinical Pastoral Education. Loop Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and worships in Chicago, IL at 410 S. Michigan Ave. in the Fine Arts Building. 

Tied Together, Tithing Together

November 07, 2019 18:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MB

This Sunday, the twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 14:22-29; a passage that begins a much larger section on Sabbath regulations and social legislation. The text we will be considering deals with the command to tithe a tenth of the annual harvest by bringing it to the centralized place of worship where YWHW dwells.  For what has b...

Tied Together, Tithing Together

November 07, 2019 18:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MB

This Sunday, the twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 14:22-29; a passage that begins a much larger section on Sabbath regulations and social legislation. The text we will be considering deals with the command to tithe a tenth of the annual harvest by bringing it to the centralized place of worship where YWHW dwells.  For what has b...

Untitled Episode

November 02, 2019 15:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MB

This Sunday, the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 10:12-22; a passage that Walter Brueggemann describes as "a bid for Israel’s most serious and most willing obedience to YWHW with the central motivation being who YWHW is and what YWHW has done.” The passage opens with a simple statement of what God requires of this people on the bor...

The Power of an Imperative

November 02, 2019 15:00 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MB

This Sunday, the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 10:12-22; a passage that Walter Brueggemann describes as "a bid for Israel’s most serious and most willing obedience to YWHW with the central motivation being who YWHW is and what YWHW has done.” The passage opens with a simple statement of what God requires of this people on the bor...

Living Between Two Tables

October 24, 2019 16:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MB

This Sunday, the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 8:1-19; a passage that catches the people on the border between the realities of wilderness and promise, scarcity and abundance, dependence and complacency. In each reality God was with and would be with the people, but Moses fears that the people may just forget God. Moses fears th...

The Will to Love

October 17, 2019 17:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MB

This Sunday, the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 6:1-9; a passage that includes the Shema, a Jewish prayer that serves as the centerpiece of Jewish Spiritual and Ritual life. The prayer invokes the people to hear (shama), to keep (shamar), and to recite (shanan) the command God has giving them, principally, the command to love God...

Making a Nation Great (Again?)

October 17, 2019 16:00 - 24 minutes - 17.2 MB

This Sunday, the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 4:1-14; a passage in which Moses exhorts the people to hear, keep, follow and observe the decrees, ordinances, and laws that God has given them. And as the people observe the law, the other nations will observe that God is near to them and just relations are practiced. And it is th...

Looking Out from the Mountain Top

October 03, 2019 17:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MB

This Sunday, the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text we will explore is Deuteronomy 3:21-29; a passage in which God commands Moses to climb to the top of Mt. Pisgah and look out over the land to the East, West, North, and South. God tells Moses to take a good long look because he will not be able to cross over and enter that good land. Rather, Moses should commissio...

Encountering An-other

September 18, 2019 18:00 - 29 minutes - 20 MB

This Sunday, the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.   The text(s) we will explore together come from Deuteronomy 1:20 - 3:3; chapters in which Moses recounts Israel's journey in the wilderness. The historical narrative recounts three times in which the people encountered "other" people and an "other" land. In each encounter God speaks and the people act. Sometimes they act i...

These are the Words

September 12, 2019 16:00 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MB

This Sunday, the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will begin a new sermon series on the Book of Deuteronomy. The series is entitled Words for People on the Border.  Caught between wilderness and promised land, the community is confronted with a 'borderland' moment in which they must be "redefined in terms of their origin, purpose, and destiny" (Brueggerman, Deuteronomy, 24). The book is thought to have several authors, with one narrator writing from the border of Babylonian Exile. With ...

M.A.G.A.

September 05, 2019 14:00 - 12 minutes - 8.63 MB

This Sunday, the twelfth  Sunday after Pentecost, we will finish our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit. Former Loop Intern, Rev. Antonia Coleman will return to Loop as our guest preacher. The text we will explore together is Acts 19:23-31, in which Paul's preaching disrupts the idol industry in Ephesus. Silversmith's concerned about shrinking profit margins stir the people to revolt, accusing a foreigner like Paul of robbing Artemis of all her divine majesty. Only a pinch of fe...

God and the Great Debaters

August 28, 2019 16:00 - 29 minutes - 20.1 MB

This Sunday, the eleventh  Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 17:16-34, in which Paul finds himself in Athens surrounded by political and culture ideals, as well as, stone and marble idols. It is an interesting place for the Jewish Apostle of Jesus Christ to find himself and it doesn't take long for Paul to speak out in the synagogue and make a scene in the market square. His whole Athens ad...

When Bodies Become Bridges

August 21, 2019 18:00 - 35 minutes - 24.5 MB

This Sunday, the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 11:19-30, in which the borders between regions are crossed, the church grows with unlikely outsiders, and two congregations meet each other in a moment of need. At the center of all this work are people whom God calls to cross the borders, people who share the good news, and people who connect one congregation to the other. More than...

A God Who Crosses the Line

August 08, 2019 17:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MB

This Sunday, the Eighth  Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 11:1-18, the pivotal moment in the book of Acts and story of the Church. Over two chapters God's Spirit moves to set Peter, a Jew, and Cornelius, a Gentile, on a collision course that will blur the boundaries between clean and unclean, insider and outsider. As Peter enters into Cornelius' house, the law is broken, a prohibited intim...

Saul and a Scandalous God

August 01, 2019 16:00 - 27 minutes - 18.8 MB

This Sunday, the Seventh  Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 9:1-9, a dramatic scene in which Saul's program to persecute the church is interrupted by a voice from heaven. With a blinding light, Saul is knocked to the ground and humbled by the intimate question: "Why are you hurting me?" Arrested by God, Saul is found guilty. He has abused the body of Christ.  As we await Saul's sentencing ...

Messengers of Hope

July 30, 2019 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.6 MB

This Sunday, the Sixth  Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit. Loop Church is excited to welcome Rev. Shannon Jammal-Hollemans as our guest preacher. The text we will explore together is Acts 8:26-40, a scene in which the Spirit leads Philip down a desert road and an unexpected encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit moves and the Ethiopian official invites Philip into his chariot to read the Scripture. The whole trip down the des...

The Church Scattered and Sown

July 16, 2019 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MB

This Sunday, the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 8:1-4, a scene in which the new community is faced with great persecution, beatings, and imprisonment. The church is scattered and the Word of God is scattered with them. The Word carries the disciples through the time of persecution and the disciples carry the Word over borders and boundaries. The Word will not be silenced; violence...

Division, Provision, Diaconal Vision

July 11, 2019 16:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MB

This Sunday, the Third Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 6:1-7, a scene in which the new community struggles to live out the practice of redistribution so that all needs are met. Divided over cultural differences, the needs of the most vulnerable are overlooked, and an institutional change is required. While the Apostle's remain devoted to the teaching and preaching of God's Word, Deacons a...

The Cast and Crew Share the Props

July 03, 2019 19:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MB

This Sunday, the Third Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 4:32-37, a snapshot of human community transformed by the Holy Spirit of a generous God. The Spirit blows and the tight grip people have on their possessions is loosened. An economy of the commons is established where resources are shared, needs are met, and resurrection living is witnessed.  Is this economic model of Christian Commu...

Stepping, Walking, and Leaping on Stage

July 03, 2019 19:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MB

This Sunday, the Second Sunday after Pentecost, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 3:1-10, the beginning of the church's mission of witness in Jerusalem. In this scene, Peter and John head over to the Temple for daily prayers when they encounter a paraplegic begging for money outside. The two disciple's stop and offer the man some change; they don't put any coins in his cup, but in the name of Jesus they share the ...

Caught in the Story, Cut to the Heart

July 03, 2019 18:00 - 25 minutes - 17.6 MB

This Sunday, Trinity Sunday, we will continue our sermon series, Acts: Stories, Scenes, & Spirit.  The text we will explore together is Acts 2:36-41, in which Peter comes on stage to deliver the story's opening monologue. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter, steps into Israel's prophetic tradition and begins preaching to the crowd. Peter's words give witness to Jesus Christ, the one who the people crucified and who God raised up as the Messiah and Lord of Life.  It is a sermon in which the ...