Sermons from 2024

Salvation Personified

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:21-38 (NRSVUE) 21 When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered…

Christmas Eve

SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:26–35, 38 (NRSVUE) 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be…

Magnify

This Sunday we move into the Gospel of Luke, where we will be through Easter. My hope is that this deep dive into Luke opens up new ways of thinking about Jesus, God’s work in this world, and how “The Gospel” works. Luke is rich with powerful stories, many of which only appear in Luke. It should be an enlightening journey. -Pastor Paul SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:39-56 (NRSVUE) 39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in…

There’s More

This Sunday is Advent III, and this year that means it’s our last Sunday in the Hebrew Bible. What a journey. This week we get another prophesy from Isaiah, but a whole different kind. It’s a beautiful passage, rich with powerful imagery around equity and justice. It’s so great, even Jesus quoted it! So, I suppose if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us. The third Sunday in Advent is also the Sunday we light the pink…

What Dreams May Come

This Sunday is Advent II, when we light the candle of Peace. In addition we will be looking at one part of Joel’s Prophecy/Poem wherein Joel calls us to “return to the Lord with your whole heart.” And when we do this, we enter into God’s dream for the world, and become dreamers ourselves. Dreams have been a big theme in our journey through the Hebrew Bible this Fall, and now it’s our turn. So let’s come together this Sunday,…

This Is Not the End

I’m so excited for this Sunday, as it’s the first Sunday of Advent! The word “advent” comes from the Latin verb “to come”, and it speaks to a season of waiting for the arrival of the Christ-child. It begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas Day, which this year just happens to be December 1st. So this year, if your Advent calendar starts on December 1, as most do, it will be accurate, but in many other years it starts…

Burned On Our Hearts

This week is traditionally known as “Christ the King Sunday.” But there’s a lot of problematic stuff in that. It’s not all bad, but in a very real way, it’s just another extension of Western European imperialism and colonialism, so I tend to downplay it a little. Ok, actually a lot. That said, what it also means is that it’s the last day in the Christian year, which means that the Sunday following, we officially hit the Advent Season! But first,…

The Answer is a Question

SCRIPTURE: Jonah 1:1-17 (NRSVUE) 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.…

Desperation Needs Company

SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 17:1-16 (NRSVUE) 17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 The word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and…

Thin Spaces

This Sunday in worship we get a little bonus story. The way the calendar works this year, there are more Sundays than usual so we get a story not normally in the Lectionary. It’s kind of a part two to last week. Last week we looked at David and the temple he wanted to build for God, which God did not want. But we also know that eventually a temple is built. How does this happen? And why? And who…