The Sermons

Sermons are part of a continuing conversation about the Christian faith and life, a conversation that takes place in the context of the community of faith.  You are part of the conversation as you read, think about and respond to the sermons posted here.

Curators Note :  Sermons are listed in reverse chronological order, with the newest first.

• May 20, 2007  Paul committed an offense against owners of the girl.  And in his frustration with her, committed offense against her as well. 

  • He cured her for his own sake, not for hers.  Then he took no responsibility for her as she began her changed life.... What about the girl?  And what about the throw-aways of our society?  What about those who are used for economic gain, then cast out on the streets when they are no longer productive?  What about the mentally ill who annoy us as they cry out in the streets, or those who cower in dark corners and are rarely seen at all?

•  April 22, 2007 In the Wake of Violence: Community, Prayer and Silence

  • Saul was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” These words come to us across the millennia with ominous undertones. Today, less than a week after the horrendous shootings at Virginia Tech, we can hear that breath of threat and murder. We can feel that breath, and the fear and grief and anguish it breaths, on the backs of our necks and in the depths of our hearts. For all of us have been touched by the senseless, tragic and violent deaths. We have been touched directly, or we know someone who was. Or wounds of tragedy and fear in our own lives, wounds that we thought were healed, have been open all over again. The hot, deathly stench of threats and murder has blown across our state, our nation, our lives. We gather here today to do what we can to make sense of the senseless, to fathom the unfathomable, and to respond as Christ does with compassion and hope.

• Easter Sunday 2007

  • After a long winter’s fast, how can we help but say that word again. For Christ is risen and new life floods our souls as it floods this very space. The new altar hangings shout out their Alleluias with vibrant colors and shapes. The flowers shout out their Alleluias. The banners, the glistening silver, the glowing light through the stained glass windows – all proclaim Easter life and joy. And if such inanimate objects as these are alive with alleluias this morning, how can we be any less?

• March 4, 2007 Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27:10-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 Christ loves us with love so strong that it hurts

  • Love hurts. At least three generations of us have heard the song with that title. “Love Hurts” was written in 1960 and recorded first by the Everly Brothers, then by Roy Orbison, Emmylou Harris, Cher, Nazareth, Sinead O’Connor, Richard Keith and Norah Jones and, just last year, by Rod Stewart. .

• February 4, 2007, 5 Epiphany Judges 6:11-24a, Psalm 85:7-13, I Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

  • “State of the Parish” Sermon – “ You do something about it”

• January 28, 2007, Jeremiah 1:4-10; I Corinthians 14:12b-20; Luke 4:21-32

  • A strong north wind blew into that small French village right at the beginning of Lent, and the people were changed forever. That wind blows today in our town, in our church, in our very hearts, calling us to grow and expand, beckoning us to embrace and celebrate and include the marvelous, diverse family of God in all we do. For that wind is none other than the Holy Spirit of God.

•  November 19, Daniel 12:1-4a, Ps 16, Hebrews 10:31-39, Mk 13:14-23

  • “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

• All Saints’ Sunday, November 6, 2005 Luke 6:20-31

  •  Blessed Are ....

• October 22, 2006 Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91, Hebrews 4:12-16, Mark 10:35-45

  • James and John, two of the disciples closest to Jesus, went up to him and said, “We want for you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Well, of course. Don’t we all want Jesus to do for us whatever we ask?

• September 17, 2006 -- Isaiah 40:4-9, Ps 116:1-8, James 2:1-18, Mark 9:14-29
  "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

Blessing On You

Susan