Sermon: "A Tale as Old as Time", Christmas in July (July 26, 2026)

While there are many stories about Jesus’ life that have been passed down to us - both canonical and extracanonical - the Christmas story has a special place in our collective hearts. Part of it, I’m sure, has to do with the fact that we associate it closely with “the most wonderful time of the year”. But I think another part of the reason that we love this story so much is because it makes it clear that our Messiah is special. Long before he heals the sick or walks on water, Jesus' conception through the Holy Spirit, the shepherds, the star, all clearly tell us that we’ve hitched our wagon to the right savior. The Christmas story tells us that OUR messiah is someone that the world has never seen before and will never see again.

Or does it?

Sermon: “Stay (A)woke”, Mark 14:32-42 (July 12, 2026)

As we near the end of our sermon series about “disputing with God”, we’ve been given this text, Mark’s version of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. It’s pretty clear why this passage wound up in the series: I can’t think of a more intriguing sermon topic than “God arguing with Godself”. I’m sure we’ve all wondered at some point how a prayer from one person of the Trinity to another would work - is it like talking to yourself? Or is it more like a “multiple personality” situation? How can something be both not what Jesus wants, and also what God does want at the same time? There are a lot of fascinating directions that this sort of sermon could take. But as I wrestled with which of these questions I should tackle this week, I found an entirely different one distracting me: why are the disciples reacting SO differently from Jesus in this passage?

Sermon: "The Deepest of Wounds", Matthew 15:21-28 (July 5, 2026)

This weekend (this whole year, really) our country has been celebrating 250 years of independence from British rule - the “birthday” of the United States. But even as we display our sense of national pride with waving flags, parades, and red, white, and blue EVERYTHING, many of us hold our sense of patriotism alongside complicated feelings. It’s not that we don’t love our country; it’s that we recognize a deep and painful divide between ourselves and our fellow compatriots. The wound is deep. Our seemingly insurmountable differences make us question whether we’ll be able to be “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” ever again.

Sermon: "A Snapshot of the Soul", Psalm 88 (June 28, 2026)

In one of his commentaries, John Calvin calls the psalms, “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul,” because he believed that there was no human emotion that can’t be found within this collection of poetry. And he’s right: themes range the gamut from ecstatic joy to sorrowful remorse to righteous anger. In fact, many of the psalms incorporate several emotions all together at once: lament, repentance, thanksgiving, and praise all in one convenient package.  

Sermon: "The Cost of Compassion", Jonah 3-4 (June 21, 2026)

This second half of the book of Jonah may not be a proper dispute with God, as there’s not much direct back and forth between Jonah and God, but there’s certainly a struggle of wills on display here. Many people in Scripture push back when God calls them to prophecy or leadership, but Jonah elevates resistance to an art form. At first, he attempts to literally run away from God’s instructions, which famously lands him inside the belly of an enormous fish. Only then, after God delivers Jonah from his predicament by way of fish vomit, does Jonah begrudgingly make his way to Nineveh to proclaim the message that God had given him. 

Sermon: "A Conversation with God", Exodus 33:1-17 (June 7, 2026)

Our sermon series on disputing with God continues this morning with a second story about Moses. Last week, thanks to Moses pushing the boundaries of God’s permissiveness after the golden calf incident, we were able to learn more about God's nature and what it means for us. This week, Moses’ apparently argumentative nature and inability to let things go will teach us more about the relationship between God and God’s people. So let’s jump right in.

Sermon: "Gentle Sibling-ing", Exodus 32:7-14, 30-35 (May 31, 2026)

For the next seven weeks, we’re going to be digging into some scriptural examples of people disputing with God. From Abraham to Moses to David to Jonah to an unnamed Canaanite woman to Jesus himself, it turns out that we come from a long line of believers who were willing to question and even criticize God. Sometimes, these skeptics are swiftly put in their place (the book of Job comes to mind), but more often, the Lord just…lets it happen. On some occasions, God actually engages in the debate, and there are even times when God winds up changing God’s mind because of it. Plenty of modern Church leaders would be horrified at the thought of questioning religious authority, but the fact is that there’s a whole lot of scriptural precedent for it. So let’s see what we can learn from the complaints of our forebears.

Sermon: I Wanna Be Like Christ, Philippians 2:1-13 (May 17, 2026)

Do any of you remember the “Be Like Mike” commercial for Gatorade from back in the ‘90s? Even though I was only about five when it came out, I can still remember it. The ad took video clips from some of Michael Jordan’s most impressive moments on the court and cut them together with clips of regular kids and teens playing basketball outside (presumably they were trying to emulate the pro ball player). The footage was accompanied by children’s voices singing about their dreams of being “like Mike.” And just in case the song and video didn’t communicate the commercial’s message clearly enough, the spot ends with the words, “Be like Mike. Drink Gatorade” in big, bold letters over a black background. 

Sermon: Listen, Learn, & Love, Philippians 1-11(12-18) (May 10, 2026)

Anyone who’s ever read the epistles in any depth can tell you that Paul’s theology is firmly rooted in agape. As you may or may not recall, “agape” is the Greek word for active, unconditional, and sacrificial love, the type of love that seeks the well-being of others without expecting anything in return. It’s the kind of love that God has for humanity and that Jesus exhorts us to practice towards one another. It most famously shows up in chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians - “Now faith, hope, and love remain - these three things - and the greatest of these is love”  - but between the noun, verb, and adjective forms of the word, agape is mentioned as many as 136 times throughout the epistles. Paul clearly considers it foundational to the gospel’s message. 

Sermon: Pounding the Pavement Like Paul, Acts 17:16-31 (May 3, 2026)

Have any of you ever done door-to-door sales before? I never have, but I imagine it’s a pretty tough job. I mean, I know that as the person on the other side of the door, I almost always start out skeptical and annoyed when someone shows up at my house to sell me something. Before I even open the door, I have to convince the worst guard dogs ever to stop barking so that I can hear what the person is trying to sell me. But even after overcoming that initial hurdle, there are always plenty more. Maybe it’s an inconvenient time, maybe their product isn’t something I’m particularly interested in, maybe I’m wary of being scammed, maybe I’m just not in the mood to talk to anyone at all. More often than not, a door-to-door salesperson who finds themself on my front porch starts out at a distinct disadvantage. 

Sermon: "Until We All Are Free", Acts 16:16-34 (April 26, 2026)

This story about Paul and Silas in prison is a strange one. It reads more like Christian gossip to me than Church history, with each claim more outrageous than the last: “Did you hear that Paul got arrested for driving a spirit out of a slave-girl?” “Well, *I* heard that he converted all of his fellow prisoners *and* the prison guard!” “Oh yeah? Well, *I* heard that God sent an earthquake so big that it knocked all the doors of the jail off their hinges and even loosened the prisoners’ chains!” 

Sermon: "Not Here", Luke 24 (April 5, 2026 - Easter)

You may have noticed some yellow papers taped to the pews as you sat down this morning. If you’ve joined us for worship at any point over the past few weeks, you probably recognize them: they’re the names of marginalized groups that have been hanging on our walls since Ash Wednesday. These are not groups that *I* have decided are marginalized; they’re ones that you as a community have lifted up. These are the people that we tend to forget, disregard, and push away so that we don’t have to practice empathy or confront the ways that our society has failed them. These names have been on the walls throughout Lent to remind us how again and again - especially in Luke’s gospel - Jesus demonstrates compassion and solidarity with the very people that society would prefer to stay “out of sight, out of mind.”  But they’re in our pews this morning because today, something is different. Something has changed. They are no longer out of sight and mind because today, the angels tell us, Jesus is not here. 

Sermon: "People Over Principles", John 4:46-54 (February 8, 2026)

Today’s passage isn’t one that we encounter very often in the context of worship. It’s not in the Revised Common Lectionary at all, and even here in the Narrative Lectionary, it’s usually lumped together with the healing of a different, paralyzed man - a much better-known miracle that IS in the Revised Common Lectionary and usually gets all the attention. In fact, I had a lot of trouble finding ANY sources or commentaries that could provide insight into this story from the end of John 4. Which I think is unfair: why should this man and his son be neglected and forgotten? Sure, as a royal official, he was a Gentile at best and an instrument of Roman oppression at worst - either way, certainly not a member of Jesus’ community - but he was facing one of the most universal, human experiences there is: fear for the life of a loved one.

Sermon: "Tethered to Grace", John 4:7-30 (February 1, 2026)

I’ve been to the Emergency Department exactly once in my life. It was about 12 years ago. I woke up with a slight twinge in my side, which slowly worsened throughout the day, until I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to ignore it any longer. By the time urgent care sent me to the hospital, it had developed into full-blown, excruciating abdominal pain. I had to sit in the waiting room with this pain for far longer than I would have liked, but the hospital staff eventually got me set up in a room and immediately hooked me up to an IV as they began to run tests.

Sermon: "Born Again and Again", John 3:1-21 (January 25, 2026)

Most people are familiar with this passage for one of two reasons: either this strange conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus about being “born again,” or the fact that it contains John 3:16, one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible. These two tiny portions of scripture are the basis of some of today’s most popular theology - theology that separates believers from non-believers, that defines “who’s in” and “who’s out”’. Many Christians understand these verses to mean that there are certain very narrowly defined rituals, experiences, or beliefs one must have in order to be a “real” Christian  - rituals like baptism, experiences like being “born again,” or belief in Jesus the way the church authorities  define it. And in a way, it makes sense that so many people gravitate towards these interpretations: the boundaries of Christianity aren’t very clearly defined in scripture, so these simple “checkboxes” in John 3 allow them to feel confident in their belonging.

Sermon: "Along the Way", John 1:35-46 (January 4, 2026)

We’re all familiar with the saying, “It’s not the destination that matters; it’s the journey,” right? It’s a reminder to slow down, to notice what’s going on around you as you work towards an objective. It insists that there’s value in the experiences you have along the way to your goal. It’s a good lesson, but unfortunately, not one that our culture values much. In a society that measures success by what you’ve managed to accomplish - education, homeownership, skill mastery, financial security - we’re collectively very much not interested in the journey it takes to get there. The journey is just a necessary evil standing in the way of personal achievement. 

Sermon: “The Art of Regifting: REJOICE”, Christmas Eve Message (December 24, 2024)

December is widely considered a time for exchanging gifts, so this year during Advent, we’ve been taking a deeper look at “The Art of Regifting.” Even though regifting tends to have a reputation as “that thing you do when you want to get rid of something,” there ARE times when regifting can be a thoughtful and selfless act, especially when you take the time to be intentional about it. We shouldn’t write regifting off altogether, because there are some things that are just too good NOT to share - and that’s especially true when it comes to God’s gifts. 

Sermon: “The Art of Regifting: REDIRECT”, Luke 2:8-17 (December 21, 2025)

In just three weeks, we’ve covered a lot of ground in terms of the regifting process. Prior to Advent, some of us might have thought that regifting was a simple matter of finding something you don’t want and pawning it off on someone else, but now we know better. Now we know that regifting can be much more than that, and that there are steps to doing it well. 

Sermon: “The Art of Regifting: REPACKAGE”, Matthew 1:18-24 (December 14, 2025)

It’s hard to believe that we’re already more than halfway through Advent, isn’t it? But here we are, in week three of our Advent series on regifting God’s gifts. During the first two weeks, we talked about the importance of RECEIVING God’s gifts for ourselves and then REFLECTING on how they might impact others before we attempt to pass them on. Both of these steps are vital to the process of regifting because they help put us in the right frame of mind - they give us a deeper understanding of the people on either side of the gift. But if we only ever approach regifting as an intellectual exercise, nothing will ever actually happen. So in this third week, it’s time for us to get out of our heads and into the real world: it’s time for us to get to work REPACKAGING the gift.

Sermon: “The Art of ReGifting: REFLECT”, Luke 1:46-55 (December 7, 2025)

Last week we began our Advent series by considering why we need to fully receive and appreciate God’s gifts to us before we regift them to others. Without taking this first step in the process, we can’t explain why the gift is significant to us and why we want to pass it on. But as good as it feels to name the ways that God has blessed us, we can’t afford to get stuck on this step. Personal gratitude for God’s gifts is important, but it does very little to advance God’s kindom or make disciples on its own. So this week, we’re turning to Mary once again in order to learn what we should do next: the second step in regifting what God has given us.