Text: Mark 1:14-20, Jonah 3:1-5,10 Over the last year our routines, our work, our families, our vacations… so many parts of our lives were unexpectedly turned upside down and inside out. Including our church. One of my mentors often reminds me that church is often the place that we go to escape the change that…
Follow The Star: Invitation
Text: John 1:43-51 This year has begun with chaos, violence, grief, and pain. And I have to admit that when I sat down to write this sermon, the words just wouldn’t come. Or rather, I would write and then my anger and frustration would kick in and I’d have to delete what I had typed.…
Follow the Star: Identity
Text: Mark 1:4-11 Last week, we invited you to follow the star of the Magi… Not the one in the sky, but the one in the manger. The one who drew them over mountains and deserts and seas. I love how the Message translation makes clear that the object we are seeking and following is…
Follow the Star : Epiphany
Has God ever spoken to you? Have you ever seen a sign? Heard a voice? Met God in a dream? As I was finishing up my senior year of high school, I was kind of a mess. I could not figure out where I wanted to go to college, and my indecision was creating a…
No Christmas without Consent and Commitment
One Christmas, when my niece was about six years old, I carefully wrapped up a gently loved American Girls doll and accessories that had belonged to a dear friend of mine. When Cami unwrapped that gift, she literally burst into tears. “I’ve wanted one of these for my whole life!” she cried out between sobs!…
No Christmas Without Joy and Acceptance
All through this Advent season we are exploring the complicated family tree of Jesus of Nazareth Matthew shares with us. Their stories are a legacy of courage and faith, justice and peace, that shape how we understand our Savior in the manger of Bethlehem. Today, we remember that there would be no Christmas, no Jesus,…
No Christmas without Justice and Hope
Text: Genesis 38: 1-30 In Diana Butler Bass’s book, Grounded, she reminds us that our roots are far deeper than our memories. We are shaped and influenced by generations that have come and gone, whether or not we remember their stories. In one of my pastoral care classes in seminary we studied family systems and…
The Wise and the Lazy
Text: Matthew 25 This morning in worship, we are actually covering the three discussions of the Kingdom of Heaven we find in Matthew chapter 25. The ten bridesmaids. The valuable coins. And the sheep and the goats. So often when we look at these stories, we examine them in isolation. We look at them one…