Shalom Mennonite is one of two English-speaking Mennonite churches in Indianapolis. We were planted in 1992 by our sister church, First Mennonite. We are a small but active congregation, with some members living in the immediate neighborhood and others spread as far as Noblesville, Greenwood, and Richmond, Indiana. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you are welcome to visit us, worship with us, and even join us in our quest to follow Christ in a broken world.
Pastor Brian discusses the rise of false teachers and "anti-Christs" in the church, which has been a problem from the end of the New Testament era to the present day. With so many voices telling us what God wants and what the Bible means, Christians have to be skilled at reading the Bible, listening to the Spirit, and gauging the "fruits" of people's teaching to discern truth from error.
1 John 4:1-8, Jude 17-25
Pastor Brian reflects on the most momentous decision made by the young church: to include Gentiles in their fellowship without requiring them to adopt all Jewish customs. This major decision still has implications for us today as we continue to think about how God calls us to relate to our brothers and sisters from other cultures and backgrounds.
Acts 15:1-29
Gemima Trochez, with Laura Harms translating, introduces us to Act VI of the Story of the Bible: The Church. This act begins with the powerful story of the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus' disciples in Jerusalem.
Deuteronomy 16:16, Acts 2:1-9, 1:8
Pastor Brian considers how the resurrection is not only a source of hope for each of us as individuals but a major turning point in the Story of the Bible.
Ezekiel 37:1-14, 26-28; Matthew 28:16-20
Pastor Brian preaches about how the disciples lost hope in the world following Jesus's crucifixion but found renewed faith in the resurrection.
Luke 24:1-35
Pastor Brian speaks about how Jesus' crucifixion flipped the script on Roman society's concepts of honor and shame.
On this Palm Sunday, Pastor Brian preaches about one of the most important events in Jesus' life: his arrival in the temple, where he confronted the corrupt religious and economic forces of his day and laid claim to being the Jewish Messiah.
Luke 19:28-44, Matthew 21:12-17
Pastor Brian discusses Jesus' first "great commission" in Matthew 10, which was directed not to the Gentile nations but to the people of Israel. Israel had not lost its identity as "the Chosen People," but there is an element of voluntarily joining yourself to God's community. This goes beyond simply inheriting an identity - something that modern Christians who descend from Christian families need to remember today as much as the Jews needed to hear in Jesus' time.
On this first Sunday of Lent, Pastor Brian reflects on the moment when Jesus confirms to his disciples that he is the Messiah, but also reveals that the salvation he brings involves and requires a willingness to suffer. Pastor Brian encourages us to think about the suffering we all tend to avoid and consider what God may be calling us to do with it.
