From Terror to Awe

Text: Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 11:1-10 This morning, we find ourselves in the second Sunday of Advent… this season of waiting for the coming of Christ.  This Christmas story is so familiar and comfortable, we could curl up in it like a blanket.  We are ready for the heavenly choirs of angels mingling with the smelly

Sanctuary

Text: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-56 I have a kind of strange question to ask… Does this dress look familiar to you? How many of you have noticed or realized that I have worn it every Sunday for the last eight weeks?  How many of you have noticed that I have worn this dress… I mean,

Time to Go

Text: Luke 21:25-36, Jeremiah 33:14-16 Have you ever been at a gathering… maybe with family or with friends… and all of a sudden you didn’t really want to be there anymore?  Maybe you were tired. Or maybe the conversation became stale. Maybe they ran out of food or someone said something that offended you. Or

An Altogether Joy

Text: Psalm 30:2-3, 5; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 One of tasks of preaching is to take a part a text, study it, let the Holy Spirit do her work, and then share the good news back with all of you in bite-sized, easy to digest nuggets of helpful information. So imagine my dismay when I dive

An Altogether Peace

Text: Ephesians 4: 1-4, 21-32 Often when I’m writing a sermon there is an audience in mind. I ask God what it is that we, as the people of Immanuel, need to hear. Sometimes the sermon is only for a portion of our community… meaning sometimes it’s a teaching sermon meant to challenge those who

An Altogether Hope

Text: 1 Peter 1: 3-6, 9-15,22 Keep awake! Get ready! Prepare yourselves! These are the words that fly at us from the scriptures for this first Sunday of Advent. But get ready for what? Get yourself ready for the future that God has already prepared for you. Get ready to embrace the life that Christ