The Table Church, D.C. - Sermons: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

They Asked the King Where's the King

Shae Washington — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 10:30:00 +0000

They Asked the King Where's the King

Series: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

Preacher: Shae Washington

DC Bilingual

Date: 4th January 2026

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Fear has a way of convincing us that silence and compliance will keep us safe—but what happens when staying quiet means cooperating with harm? This sermon explores how fear gets weaponized to control us, especially in times when oppressive power seems to be winning. Through the story of the Magi, we see what it looks like when an encounter with something true makes compliance intolerable.

Shae Washington unpacks four questions that might help us resist letting fear dictate our choices: Where are we focusing our attention? What ways is God trying to guide us that we're missing? And uncomfortably—what patterns of fear-driven harm do we need to dismantle in ourselves? The Magi didn't confront Herod with speeches or swords. They simply chose another way home.

If you're exhausted from hypervigilance and looking for permission to rest while still resisting, or if you're searching for what your "alternative route" might look like in 2026, this one's for you.

Scrubbing Off What American Christianity Got Wrong

Tonetta Landis-Aina — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Scrubbing Off What American Christianity Got Wrong

Series: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

Preacher: Tonetta Landis-Aina

DC Bilingual

Date: 21st December 2025

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What does biblical manhood actually look like? Spoiler: it's not what you've been told. This sermon explores the story of Joseph—a carpenter who had every reason to walk away from Mary's inexplicable pregnancy but chose something more difficult: solidarity, humility, and embracing mystery over control.

Pastor Tonetta draws from the metaphor of a Korean spa scrub to explore what we need to shed during Advent: patriarchy disguised as righteousness, charity that keeps us comfortable instead of solidarity that costs us something, and the false hope of optimism that crumbles when things go sideways. Joseph's power wasn't in control—it was in his subversive tenderness and willingness to not be the main character.

If you're exhausted by shallow positivity and wondering what real hope looks like when the world feels dark, this is for you. Includes questions to sit with whether you hold privilege or need to ask for more support.

Saying Yes While Trembling: Mary, Jeremiah, and Inadequacy

Antonio Ingram — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Saying Yes While Trembling: Mary, Jeremiah, and Inadequacy

Series: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

Preacher: Antonio Ingram

DC Bilingual

Date: 14th December 2025

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Not all fear is the same. Some fear protects you from real danger—and if you've experienced religious trauma or spiritual abuse, those fears are legitimate. But other fear is trickier: it's the voice telling you you're not capable, not worthy, that you can't trust yourself. This sermon explores how to tell the difference between protective fear and the fear of inadequacy that keeps you small.

Drawing on the stories of Mary and Jeremiah—both of whom faced genuine, life-threatening risks—Antonio offers a framework that doesn't gaslight you about danger but also doesn't let fear of your own potential win. The goal isn't moving forward fearlessly, but faithfully. Baby steps count. And yes, you can say yes while still trembling.

Small Acts Matter When You Can't See Results

Anthony Parrott — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Small Acts Matter When You Can't See Results

Series: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

Preacher: Anthony Parrott

DC Bilingual

Date: 7th December 2025

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What do you do when giving up feels simpler than keeping going? When even the people you admire most are questioning whether any of this matters? This sermon explores why despair can feel like a guilty pleasure—offering a horrifying kind of consistency in chaotic times—and why that simplicity is ultimately a lie.

Drawing on the story of John the Baptist questioning Jesus from prison, this message wrestles with what hope looks like when you're running on empty. The answer isn't about manufacturing optimism or pretending things are fine. It's about learning to see the quiet, unspectacular work of repair that's already happening around you—the food pantries, the phone calls, the people showing up exhausted but still showing up.

You don't have to see the finish line to run the race. Your small, faithful acts of repair matter even if you never see them bloom. This week, do one thing without needing to know if it will work.

Learning to Hope in the Dark

Junia Mays — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Learning to Hope in the Dark

Series: Advent 2025: What do you fear?

Preacher: Junia Mays

DC Bilingual

Date: 30th November 2025

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What do you do when you've buried your hopes because holding onto them hurt too much? When the world feels so dark that giving up seems like the only way to survive the next day? This Advent sermon explores an uncomfortable truth: hope isn't always comforting—sometimes it's terrifying.

Drawing from an ancient poet writing amid literal apocalypse and a couple who'd long given up on their dream, this message wrestles with two competing realities. Sometimes our circumstances don't change the way we want, but hope can still emerge in unexpected ways. Other times, hope breaks through demanding we seize it—but fear keeps us from reaching out.

Whether you're facing political despair, personal disappointments, or just trying to figure out how to keep going, this sermon offers a framework for distinguishing between what we can change and what we can't—and why showing up matters either way.