Text: Matthew 7:24-25; Ephesians 3:14-19 Who holds you up? What keeps you from toppling? In the midst of storms and fire and viruses and racism and accusation and conflict, how do you not fall apart? When you are juggling kids and work and zoom meetings and the dog and the lawn needs mowed what are…
Ordinary Time
You Have (Are) a Gift
Text: Romans 12:3-8 As we start off this morning, I want you to find a blank piece of paper… or if you are on Zoom or Facebook, type in the comments or chat window. I want you to think of one thing that you are personally good at. What is one thing that you know…
The Fragility of our Connection
Text: Philippians 2:1-8 Arches National Park is perhaps one of the most iconic and picturesque of the spots we will visit. Three hundred million years ago, give or take, this land lay beneath an ocean. With the ebb and flow of the waters, salt deposits built up hundreds of feet thick. Eventually, pressure turned some…
Getting Off the Mountain
Text: Exodus 24:12-18, Matthew 17:1-9 There are a number of places in scripture where the divine is revealed in those thin places where heaven and earth meet. I think about Elijah hiding on the side of the mountain. Or when Moses heads up the mountain and receives the word of God for the people. Or…
Grounded in our Neighborhoods
Text: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Matthew 22: 34-40 Next week is the premiere of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” the new movie about Mr. Rogers. I grew up with Mr. Rogers welcoming me home in the afternoon from school. We entered the land of make-believe and I heard him speaking to me and my child-like…
Grounded with our Ancestors
Text: Matthew 1:1-17 The very name of our church, Immanuel, means “God-with-us.” God is with us. Right here in this very time and place. Living, moving, breathing. In times past, we relegated God to the heavens while we mundane humans continued our life here below. And then we cried out in times of tragedy… “God,…
Imagine the Abundance
Text: Ephesians 3:14-21, Matthew 14:3-21 Friends… do you know how much potential you have? I’m not talking about the potential for worldly success… although you have that. I’m not talking about the potential for raising funds as a church… although I know its there. I’m talking about your potential in Jesus Christ. I’m talking about…
Imagine the Transformation
Text: Matthew 14:13-21 (focusing on verses 18-19), Philippians 1:3-11 Last Sunday in worship, I preached about our limitations. About how little we have… or think we have… that can be offered up for ministry. When we see so much need around us in the world, it is easy to believe that we can’t possibly begin…