The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Can I Get a Witness? The texts for today explore what it means to be a witness: the power of seeing and experiencing the resurrection firsthand. For those of us who weren’t there in person to witness Christ’s death,…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The Day, the Day What is Easter anyway? Christians consider Easter to be the “first day.” From Easter comes the practice of worshiping on Sunday morning. It is the first day of the week. It is also the first…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. A Place with Jesus The movement of this day—from shouts of praise to words of denial and cries for crucifixion—mirrors the path of discipleship. The lives of Jesus’ followers hang in the balance between faithfulness and betrayal. For Peter,…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Facing Death Mary of Bethany recognizes Jesus’ mission: he has come to die. Perceiving the new thing God is doing, she embraces his death and pours out her devotion to Jesus in an extravagant act. The prophet beseeches the…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Less Grumbling, More Humbling Grumbling! The crowd around Jesus—the “in” crowd, that is—was grumbling. Grumbling because Jesus welcomed those who traditionally had been set apart: tax collectors and sinners. Who are those who cause us to grumble? Whose seemingly…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Fertilized, Fruitful, and Free God’s word for us today is nutritious and wholesome, though hard to digest. The gospel reading seems oddly brutal alongside the abundance and comfort of the texts from Isaiah (“delight yourselves in rich food”) and…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Purpose and Perseverance This week’s gospel text from Luke presents another temptation for Jesus. The Pharisees approach Jesus with a warning about his safety, telling him to “get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31).…
An Identity on Which We Can Rely The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. In Luke’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ temptation comes immediately after his baptism and a lengthy listing of his ancestors. Both help confirm the identity of Jesus as the Messiah and the…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Seventh Sunday after Epiphany The promise and its fulfillment may not look at all alike, even though they are intimately connected. Paul speaks about seeds and plants as he tries to picture resurrection life. Joseph’s brothers never thought they…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Sixth Sunday after Epiphany A fundamental decision is placed before us this day: Will we choose the way of blessing or the way of woe? The death and resurrection of Jesus is the pivot on which the decision turns.…