Sermons
You would think that when the disciples who witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration on the holy mountain that they would have finally understood Jesus’ message. But they didn’t…nothing really changed in that A-Ha moment; it was just one significant moment nestled inbetween other moments - and that’s what we see in the Gospel of Matthew; a group of friends who experience a series of significant moments together in the presence of Jesus, who slowly allow their lives and their perspective to be changed.
Our life is full of choices, some are insignificant - others are between life and death.
The prophet Simeon thought he was waiting for the Messiah - but what if the Messiah was waiting to present hum to God.
Jesus called ordinary people, people living regular lives, not to leave those lives behind, but to take on something new; to join with God to change the world by bringing others to Christ. Will you answer the call?
The journey of the Wisemen from the East is a familiar story to many…or is it? Separating myth from the actual story we can see how the wisemen model our journey of faith.
In Matthew’s Gospel account, we find John the Baptist in prison questioning Jesus by asking, “Are you the one?” John had expectations of what the Messiah should be. Just like John, we carry expectations fo what we believe God should be. In essence we become imprisoned by our expectations. Advent invites us to release our selves from the prison of our own expectations and discover the new world that awaits, where the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. That would be us.
John the Baptist’s dream for the world was the same as the prophet Isaiah - a world in which God’s peace reigned. We are reminded that we are to take an active part in making the possibility of God’s reign come true, right here, right now.
In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells us to stay awake for we do not know when the hour will come…it is really not so much about a prediction of end of time as it is an invitation. Believers in Christ are called to pay attention to the divine that is around us and the work of God each and every moment. Not only are we called to pay attention, but we are tasked with joining with the work of the divine in our lives and the lives of others.
Many find themselves lost more often than not, because of mental illness...some find life in the little things that a faith community offers each and every day.
In the parable of the unjust judge and persistent widow, Jesus claims that God is the opposite of the unjust judge. Could it be that God is more like the persistent widow?
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable of a rich man and a poor man. They both die and the rich man finds no comfort in the afterlife unlike the poor man. In essence turning the notion of it’s not what you know, but who you know upside down. In the story only the poor man is named which leads us to ask why is his name so important? Because when we know someones name something begins to happen. Relationship happens…it’s easier to walk in Love with someone when you know their name.
Jesus tells his followers a parable about a manager that is dishonest with the accounts that he has been given charge of and in an unexpected twist - commends the manager for his shrewdness. What is Jesus really saying and are we like the manager when it comes to what has been entrusted to us by God?
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells two parables, one about a lost coin and one about a lost sheep to show how God is different than us. No one in their right mind would do what Jesus talks about in these parables, and that is Jesus’ point…no one but God would. God will go to extravagant lengths to “find the lost” in order to bring us into relationship with God and with each other. And this is good news! Why? Because the truth is we all wander and all of us are lost.
People often have a difficult time when studying the Hebrew Scriptures - they often prefer to study the “warm and fuzzy” Jesus they see in the Gospel stories. However, In The Gospel of Luke (14:25-33) we discover that Jesus isn’t so warm and fuzzy; that following Christ is difficult and requires sacrifice.
When Jesus instructs us to invite the poor and those who can not repay us to a banquet that we hold, he does so knowing that it is an opportunity for transformation.
Forces all over the world cause people to be be “bent and broken” and unable to stand up straight; relegating them to the margins of society. As Jesus saw the woman who had been bent over from an ailment for 18 years, we, as Christians, are meant to see those whom the world causes to be broken and bent over and are meant to help them stand up straight. Liberating them and at the same time liberating ourselves from what binds us.
What did Jesus mean in Luke 12:49-56 when he states he did not come to bring peace? Perhaps it is an invitation for us to allow God to disturb our lives so that we can be transformed and then truly experience peace.
Isaih 1:1, 10-20 and Luke 12:32-40
On the night before he died, in the Gospel of John, Jesus prayed that we might all be one - what does this mean?
Simon about what it really means to follow Jesus' commandment to Love one another as Christ loved us.
Often Jesus speaks to us through the voices and actions of others. The great promise of Christ is that God will never stop calling us by name.
We need to here the story of the crucifixion in all it's gory detail to remind us that the world is full of crucifixions, even today...and to point the way for us to live as people of life and love, not death.
Christ reacts with Tender Compassion as he faces Jerusalem and the Cross
Looking at the Joseph Story through LGBTQ lens
Please note that our recording equipment malfunctioned and this recording was recreated and differs slightly from the sermon actually given.
Sermon based on the story of Jesus' encounter with a syrophoenician woman.
On the Evening of Sept. 1, our faith community received a threatening message because of our belief in racial equality and inclusion. This is our response.
A look at the "shepherds" in our lives
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