Podcasts about worship recordings

Sermons from Old South Church in Boston

Sermons from Old South Church in Boston

Sermons from Old South Church in Boston

Sermons from Old South Church in Boston

Sermons from Old South Church in Boston

Acts 2:1-21;  Gift of the Spirit as miracle of communication  John 14:25-27; The peace of Christ  Dr. Rebecca Blair leads worship on the Sunday of Pentecost.

Philippians 2:1-13 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who became obedient to death. Paul reminds the church at Philippi and the church at 1200 S Carbon what it is we are to be about. You'd think we wouldn't forget – we're supposed to worship weekly, and pray more often than that, but sometimes we do forget. Paul…

Philippians 1:1-18a Paul in prison, thankful for the Philippians' partnership in the gospel. This the start of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. It shows an interesting side of Paul. Paul writes to them out of the beginning of the history of the Church. These letters are going to end up being foundational to the character of the Church, and I think…

Acts 17:16-31 Sermon at Athens: What you worship as unknown, I proclaim to you. Paul is safely in Athens while fleeing from Thessalonica. Paul is here in safety, awaiting the arrival of Silas and Timothy. Paul is in the synagogue and in the marketplace, preaching, evangelizing, arguing, and debating. He isn't completely successful –Acts tells us they called him a babbler. So, they…

Acts 16:16-34 Paul and Silas in prison at Philippi, jailor and his family are baptized Paul is on the road here. He has moved from being Saul to being Paul, and from persecuting followers of the Way to being a follower of the Way. Along with Timothy, he is traveling and evangelizing, when the come to Philippi, where a family is converted…

Acts 9:1-19a Paul and Ananias, each called into Christ's service Saul is in a rage. Those Christians really tick him off. Blasphemous, heretical, unholy, spreading lies, and Saul is going to get them and get them good. Saul collects his letters and his authority and heads towards Damascus to look for followers of the Way. Then he has a ‘come to Jesus'…

John 20:19-31 Jesus gives Spirit, appears to Thomas. It's still Easter. John makes sure we know that as we start this passage. It is a good reminder for an Easter people, who gather on the first day of the week to celebrate resurrection. It is still Easter when Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room.  Thomas wasn't there. He doesn't…

John 19:16b-22 Sign above the cross proclaims the crucified king. John 12:12-27 Triumphal Entry Jesus comes in and goes out of Jerusalem in today's two lessons. They happen about a week apart, and they show a dramatic shift in the attitudes of the people of Jerusalem about Jesus. What stays the same is the title that Jesus is given. As he comes…

John 19:1-16a Jesus is condemned, they have no king but Caesar. Pilate does odd things to start this passage. Jesus is brought out with no grounds for a charge, but after being whipped and dressed in a purple robe, crowned by thorns. That doesn't feel right for how we should dismiss someone who has no charges against them, who is innocent. Pilate…

John 18:28-40 My kingdom is not from this world. Last week, Jesus was brought before the Jewish leaders for accusation and trial. This week the Jewish leaders have brought him to the Roman authorities. The leaders won't go in to the palace, as that would make them ritually unclean. They have no such concerns about Jesus. Pilate isn't particularly interested in taking…

John 18:12-27 Jesus' trial before Annas, Peter's denial. There is a contrast between Peter and Jesus here, or between disciples and the Messiah. Both are questioned about who they are and what they have been doing. Jesus essentially answers the charges by telling the chief priest to listen to what is being said about him. Jesus has been in ministry in public,…

John 1:35-51            John is gathered with his own disciples. He's sort of successful. He's well known, sometimes too well known, and has people who follow him. When Jesus walks by, John points him out, “Here is the Lamb of God!” which his disciples hear, and then go follow Jesus. Jesus invites them to come and see what he is all about.…

Granger leads worship.

John 1:1-18       The first three weeks of Advent had us moving from exile to the valley of dry bones, and then to Isaiah's language of seeking God. The people are the ones moving in all these passages. God moves the people around, trying to get them to be more faithful, to be better followers, to be more closely the people of…

Isaiah 55:1-13 Full music service on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/ljoVXi-dS1Y

Ezekiel 37:1-14            Many times, we want God to bring us out of the place where we are to a better place, often a much better place. We don't ask to be moved from the frying pan into the fire. We ask to be taken from the bad into the good. With that in mind, let's look at this passage from Ezekiel.…

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14            When times are good, there's no need for change. (Who times are good for is another conversation.) However, when times aren't so good, we often long for change. Often, things going terribly wrong are the only reason that we are willing to change.            Exile is one of those big changes. Pandemic is one of those big changes.…

Isaiah 9:1-7 (8:17-22)  People who walked in darkness have seen a great light. This is the Advent passage. This is the passage in song, in memory, that echoes in our ears and hearts and minds. We tell this story with joy, with less than hope and more like celebration, expectation of story that we already…

Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24   Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. It gets easy to talk in platitudes about what God says to us, about what words God uses with us. I'm pretty sure that none of us would have Amos 5:21-24 hanging in the entryway of our homes, as a sign to welcome visitors. We…

1 Kings 19:1-18           Elijah at Horeb; The prophet in despair, God speaks in the silence. Elijah is responding to Ahab and Jezebel's words in this passage. He responds with fear, by running away.  While he's running, he rests, and an angel of the Lord plants him firmly in the middle of a Snickers commercial. After eating, Elijah has the strength for…

1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13     Solomon's temple – a place of sacrifice and divine presence. David says his plan out loud, and Nathan agrees. The God speaks, and David's plans are undone. David will not get to build God's house. Solomon will build God's temple. And that is where we pick up the story. Hiram of Tyre hears the news of Solomon's…

Isaiah 58:3-10, 2 Timothy 2:23-25a, 1 John 3:16-18, 23, 2 John 1:5-6 This week we hear from Isaiah, Timothy, and 1 and 2 John on The Best Defense Against War and Terror Come and hear how one of the most well known prophets interacts with three of the shortest books in the Bible. Tom will…

Exodus 16:1-18            People complain, God provides manna.Manna requires faith in what God gives. This passage starts with words from us, from the people of God, in the middle of being delivered from slavery and death, in the wilderness, on their way to land of promise. Their words are not words of praise or worship or thanksgiving. They aren't even words of…

Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; 4:10-17           God's name is revealed: “I Am.” Moses is a reluctant messenger, but God uses him to deliver Israel. Moses, like Jacob, sees something that he doesn't see all the time. Moses is awake, while Jacob is asleep, and so Moses walks over to the burning bush, and responds to the voice that speaks from the bush. God reveals…

Genesis 27:1-4, 15-23; 28:10-17   Jacob gets a blessing by trickery, flees,dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. Receives God's promise. It would be tough (impossible?) to tell then entire Jacob story in one Sunday, yet that's almost what we're going to do today. Hold on, here we go! The passages start with Isaac at the end of his life,…

Genesis 21:1-3; 22:1-14 God gives Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age. Abraham is told to sacrifice his son, but God provides the ram. I don't think this is anyone's favorite passage. It brings up far more questions than answers, and the ‘happy' ending probably showed up on the 3500BC Jerry Springer show. Abraham and Sarah have received a blessing,…

Genesis 1:1—2:4a Creation by word; light, life; it was good. They say that the beginning is a very fine place to start, and that is where we find ourselves at the start of this narrative lectionary year. We probably know this passage. We may know that this passage and its content have been and are at the center of debates that have…

Hebrews 11:1-12:12, Often we use language without understanding where it comes from. Sometimes, we've lost the original meaning of the phrase. Catherine has heard about a great cloud of witnesses, and wanted to know where it came from. As she puts it, “the rest is context.”  So what is the context of the great cloud of witnesses? A first reading would indicate…

Luke 8:3, Luke 24:10 Joanna There are so many names mentioned in passing in Scripture. Part of our growing in faith is learning many of the names beyond the top line, and after learning the names, learning the stories behind the names.  Joanna is one of those. She's healed by Jesus, she is married to power, and in passing it is mentioned…

Matthew 17:24-27 This passage is nestled in between the second prediction of Jesus's death and resurrection and the passage where the disciples ask who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. As such, it probably isn't a passage that we're exceptionally familiar with, which is part of why Wils picked it. (The fishing may also play a role.) There is a…

Benjamin and Tricia reflect on and share  about their service and ministry at LCC International in Klaipeda, Lithuania.  This is a great opportunity to hear about ministry in another place that we support.

Titus 1:5-2:8, The elders of the church that are described in Titus sound great, don't they? Trilby wants to know if they actually exist. I will remind you at this point that in 1915 (as recorded in the minutes) there were no suitable elders to elect in this congregation. The language here is important. Elders should. And yes, they should. Are they?…

A 5 Page Paper First of all, there's only 3 chapters in Habakkuk. Talk to Trilby about why we have this passage for today. In general Habakkuk is a short book, and a simple book. It is a plaintive call from a prophet and priest who wants to know why God stands by and lets bad things happen.  Why so short? It…

Habakkuk 4:7-12 Before Trilby told me why she wanted to hear about this passage, I had my own thoughts. Since it isn't actually a Scriptural passage, I thought about all the things that people think are in Scripture that aren't. After all, God helps those who help themselves. This, too, shall pass. Spare the rod, spoil the child. God works in mysterious…

The book of Hosea is one that most of us aren't incredibly familiar with. The Wednesday morning group tackled it as part of their study of the Old Testament prophets. The word of God that comes to Hosea isn't polite, it isn't clean, it isn't easy. Hosea ends up living out the broken relationship of God and God's people in his own…

Jeremiah 28:1-11 (12-17) In the 28th chapter of Jeremiah, there is a conflict between 2 prophets. Jeremiah and Hananiah go toe to toe and prophecy to prophecy. If you've never heard of Hananiah, then you already know who ‘won.' Jeremiah responds to a prophecy from Hananiah that things will all be the same as it was before (back to normal) by defeating…

Nahum 2:1-13 Nahum is a prophet who only appears in his own book. He prophecies destruction against Nineveh and Assyria, in a marked contrast to the book of Jonah. We certainly hear the tone of Jonah the prophet in the words of Nahum. This book fits the context of Jonah, and Habakkuk. Here Nahum describes an attack on Nineveh, or perhaps how…

I Kings 9:1-9 Covenant is a key part of the story of God and humanity. There are times when the covenant is unconditional – God will do this thing regardless of what we do; and times when the covenant is conditional – if the people are faithful then God will do this thing. This passage focuses on a conversation between God and…

Psalm 2 The challenging verses at the end of the Psalm can only be read in context of the whole Psalm. The Psalm is a contrast between the rule of God and God’s chosen ruler, and the earthly rulers.  God’s anger and mockery are explicitly named here, in a way that perhaps we don’t think of as normal. God demands a deference…

Acts 2:1-4;  Galatians 4:1-7 [5:16-26]                                                                               Paul writes that the works of the flesh are obvious. And while the duality of flesh versus spirit is a problem, let’s go explore the obviousness. For Paul doesn’t call the works of the Spirit obvious.  Our behavior illustrates that it isn’t obvious, or that we don’t care. There is a strong contrast with the fruits…

Galatians 3:1-9, 23-29            The end of this passage is the familiar part. The start is a bit more aggressive, a bit more John the Baptist, a bit louder than the tone we normally read the familiar part in. Paul does a bit of work here, addressing the people of faith in Galatia and in Marion.            This duality between faith and…

Galatians 1:13-17; 2:11-21                          Paul is here calling the other disciples on the carpet. It’s an odd passage to read a week after the Jerusalem conference, when we just heard about the church opening to Gentiles. It is important that we read the letter carefully, and in the context, remembering the conversation from Acts 15 last week.            What Paul actually seems…

Acts 15:1-18                                           The Jerusalem conference is an important moment in the life of the Church. It is a defining moment. Do people have to join the church through Judaism, or is there another way? Is salvation through the circumcision of Moses alone or is there another way?            Fundamentally, the church and its leaders have to make a decision here.…

Acts 8:26-39            So often our assumption is that missionaries and evangelism and conversion work is just sent to people who have never heard the Gospel. Contained inside that assumption are several others. One is that the Gospel is do obvious, and so compelling, and so irresistible that one only needs to be introduced to it to be converted by it. Of…

Acts 6:1—7:2a, 44-60                       And it should look and sound familiar. When there’s lots of change, there’s lots of issues. There are problems between Jews and Greeks, and a perception of unfairness. There is calling of new leaders, and friction between Jews and Christians.  Stephen reprises the role of Jesus, as all Christians are called to do.            The world needs this…