The Table Church, D.C. - Sermons: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Stop Pretending When You Pray

Antonio Ingram — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Stop Pretending When You Pray

Series: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Preacher: Antonio Ingram

DC Bilingual

Date: 15th February 2026

-------------------

Many of us carry complicated feelings about prayer — maybe it was weaponized against us, maybe it felt hollow, or maybe we prayed hard for something and got silence in return. This episode sits with that tension honestly, without rushing past it.

Antonio Ingram explores what prayer actually looks like when you stop performing and start showing up as you are — scared, angry, lonely, in pain. Drawing from the prophet Jeremiah, he makes the case that raw, unfiltered honesty isn't a barrier to connecting with God — it's the door.

Whether you've been avoiding prayer for years or you're just exhausted by the version of it you inherited, this one is worth your time. Cast your nets one more time.

Planting Trees You'll Never See Grow

Anthony Parrott — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Planting Trees You'll Never See Grow

Series: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Preacher: Anthony Parrott

DC Bilingual

Date: 8th February 2026

-------------------

You've been showing up, doing the work, trying to live with integrity—and the results aren't there. Policies get worse. People leave. Relationships fracture. So you're left with a brutal question: Is any of this actually worth it?

This sermon explores the prophet Jeremiah, who preached justice for 23 years and saw zero measurable success. Through his story and the words of Martin Luther King Jr., we examine what happens when we stop measuring our faithfulness by outcomes and start asking a different question: What if the rightness of something doesn't depend on whether it's winning? What would it mean to commit to a long obedience in the same direction—not because the KPIs look good, but because the work itself is true?

For anyone exhausted by activism, burned out on hope, or wondering if they should just give up—this is about finding a way to keep going that doesn't rely on immediate success. It's about planting seeds underground where nobody's watching, trusting what you cannot yet see.

Beyond Resistance: Learning to Say Yes

Heidi Mills — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Beyond Resistance: Learning to Say Yes

Series: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Preacher: Heidi Mills

DC Bilingual

Date: 1st February 2026

-------------------

When the ground beneath our feet feels unstable, how do we stay true to ourselves while adapting to a world that keeps shifting? Many of us know what it's like to recognize that the practices that once grounded us no longer feel sufficient—or worse, they deliver us back into shame and uncertainty.

This sermon explores an obscure biblical community called the Rechabites, who mastered what we desperately need today: staying rooted in core values while improvising new responses to new challenges. Using insights from Martin Luther King Jr. and contemporary writer Kaveh Akbar, we examine why it's not enough to simply avoid doing harm—and what it actually looks like to move from endless abstinence to actively showing up for ourselves, our neighbors, and the world.

If you're exhausted from trying to do everything right while still wondering if you're making any real difference, this conversation offers a different framework: what if falling back in love with what matters most is actually the key to sustainable change?

The Dangerous Comfort of Showing Up

Tonetta Landis-Aina — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:30:00 +0000

The Dangerous Comfort of Showing Up

Series: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Preacher: Tonetta Landis-Aina

DC Bilingual

Date: 18th January 2026

-------------------

What happens when the promises of progress turn into frustration? When the institutions we've trusted prove unfaithful? Drawing on MLK's lesser-known "three evils" speech and the ancient prophet Jeremiah, this sermon explores what it means to be faithful when everything you've taken for granted is crumbling. It's about surviving Saturday—that disorienting space between disaster and restoration.

The core message is simple but uncomfortable: we've mistaken proximity for participation. We say "I go to church" the same way people once chanted "this is the temple of the Lord"—as if showing up could substitute for the harder work of actually listening and changing. Jeremiah's indictment was clear: the people had done everything except the one thing that mattered. They performed religion while ignoring its substance.

The invitation is to become "creatively maladjusted" in a world where deceptive words are everywhere. To stop being passive recipients and start actively making meaning. To ask yourself: where, when, and how will you actually listen?

Surviving Saturday: When Everything You Believed Collapses

Tonetta Landis-Aina — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Surviving Saturday: When Everything You Believed Collapses

Series: Surviving Saturday: Flourishing in Seasons of Exile

Preacher: Tonetta Landis-Aina

DC Bilingual

Date: 14th January 2026

-------------------

Most of us feel like we missed the day in fourth grade when everyone else learned how to be enough. We know how to deconstruct harmful beliefs, but we've forgotten how to reconstruct something that can hold us. We're experts at spotting manipulation but have lost the ability to be moved. And when the foundations we took for granted—whether theological, political, or personal—start crumbling, it's easier to stay stuck than to show up.

This sermon introduces a series on the prophet Jeremiah, who lived faithfully through his nation's collapse and exile. His calling reveals something crucial: God doesn't choose people because they're qualified. The first lesson from Jeremiah? Stop pleading inadequacy. Whatever feels impossible right now—showing up in fraught political times, rebuilding a faith that can hold you, answering that call you can't shake—you already have what you need.

Using the metaphor of Friday (death), Saturday (devastating in-between), and Sunday (resurrection), this message offers practical wisdom for surviving the long Saturdays of our lives. Because as it turns out, "I am" is a complete sentence.