Sermons from 2012
Grace & the Work of Christmas
Matt’s message is rooted in Luke 2.41-52.
The Scale of Christmas
Matt’s Christmas Eve message is rooted in Luke 2.1-20.
It Gets Better
Linda’s message is rooted in Micah 5.2-5. What words of hope did Micah offer to the people of God who had known great unrest and turmoil in the northern Kingdom and Jerusalem in ancient days? Where will we turn today to find glimpses of hope? Included video of LA’s Gay Men’s Chorus. (4 of 4)
Parched
Matt’s message is rooted in Isaiah 12. We gather both parched and overcome with tears in the wake of the tragic and senseless killing of children and teachers in Connecticut. We draw water from the wells of salvation. We sing. (3 of 4)
Refiner’s Fire
Linda’s message is rooted in Malachi 3.1-4. How is the refiner’s fire shaping what waits within you this Advent season? (2 of 4)
Christmas is Waiting to Be Born
Matt’s message is rooted in Jeremiah 33.14-16 and Howard Thurman’s poem Christmas Is Waiting to be Born. What is waiting within you this Advent season? (1 of 4)
Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of Mark
Linda’s message is rooted in Mark 6.6-13 and explores the life of Jesus in the first half of Mark’s Gospel. This is the second Sunday in a three-week journey through the Gospel of Mark.
Jumping into the Story of Mark
Linda’s message is rooted in the opening chapter of Mark’s Gospel. This is the first in a three-week journey through the Gospel of Mark.
Deep Commitments to Community
Matt’s message is rooted in Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy and the Great Commandment of Jesus. What might our deep commitments be for the coming year? How will we root our lives in Grace? How will we grow in faith? How will we reach in love? How will we share our financial resources generously? Kevin Webb, a seminary student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC, joined us for the morning to read Scripture.
Baptism
We continue our worship series based on Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy with a celebration of baptism. Eight people were baptized in worship. Jesus was named as God’s beloved child while being baptized by John in the River Jordan. Through the sacrament of baptism we celebrate our belovedness and respond to God’s call in our lives. The baptismal liturgy used in worship is adapted from a renewal of baptism worship service written by Marcia McFee for Annual Conference…
From Illusions of Scarcity to Abundance of Community
Matt’s message is rooted in Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy and the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6.30-44). How is God calling us from scarcity to abundance in our day?
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts
Matt’s message is rooted in Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy, Friday Night Lights, and Hebrews 4.12-16. How are we dividing in our country? Who do we see as “other” and when are we seen as “other”? What might it be like to value “otherness”? God as holy Other came into the world in the concrete form of Jesus. How might this reality shape our lives as we encounter otherness today? (Part 2 of 5)