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.

Liturgy: Advent 1: Receive, (November 30, 2025)

     *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know that you have either used or adapted it.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #88, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” [vv. 1, 6, 7]

Hymn GTG #104, “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You”

Hymn GTG #82, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”

Sermon: “Mary’s Gift”, Christmas Eve Message (December 24, 2024)

During the past four weeks of Advent, we’ve been learning about the four women that Matthew includes in his version of Jesus’ genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Since the Christian tradition has historically privileged the actions and perspectives of men, it’s important for us to remember that Jesus’ life and ministry would not have been possible without these women. Not only literally, in that their bodies gave life to the ancestors that make up the line of David, but also through their gifts of tenacity, perception, companionship, and strength – a heritage that shaped God’s people and set the stage for everything that Jesus would be and do during his earthly life.

Sermon: “Bathsheba’s Gift”, 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-18, 26-27; 12:15b-18a, 24-25 (December 22, 2024)

We’ve read some tough stories about the women in Jesus’ genealogy over the past three weeks. But while Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth all had to overcome significant odds, Bathsheba’s situation is on a whole different level. At least the other three women were able to exercise a certain level of agency, in spite of their patriarchal contexts. Bathsheba, on the other hand, almost seems trapped within her own story. In fact, although nothing in 2 Samuel 11 could have happened without her, Scripture depicts her almost as if she doesn’t even matter as a human being. For all intents and purposes, her humanity is erased entirely.

Liturgy: Advent IV, Selections from 2 Samuel 11 & 12 (December 22, 2024)

 This liturgy is based on our Advent Theme this year, "The Gifts of Women", based on the women in Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy. 

          *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #93, “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates” 

Hymn GTG #324, “For All the Faithful Women" [v. 1 + New Verse:]

Remembering Bathsheba, we offer up a prayer,

For those whose lives and stories are neither good nor fair.

Although she was exploited, abused in every way,

Her strength and her resilience inspire our faith today.

Hymn GTG #87, “Comfort, Comfort Now My People” 

Sermon: "Rahab's Gift", Joshua 2:1-16 (December 15, 2024)

This time of year, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on faithfulness – with good reason. The story of Christmas would not exist as we know it without many people’s willingness to do as God asks: Mary and her willingness to bear the son of God, Joseph and his willingness to raise a son that isn’t his, the shepherds and magi and their willingness to worship an infant from a poor family – all these figures are considered righteous specifically because of their faithfulness. We wouldn’t have Jesus without it. But for all the emphasis that we place on faithfulness as a path to righteousness, it’s far from the ONLY one. In fact, since God is the one to determine what IS righteous, God can assign that designation however God sees fit – even to someone who’s decidedly UNfaithful. Rahab is the perfect example of this.

Liturgy: Advent III, Ruth 1:1-17 (December 15, 2024)

This liturgy is based on our Advent Theme this year, "The Gifts of Women", based on the women in Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy. (Due to a family emergency, we wound up switching weeks 2 and 3.)

          *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #106, “Prepare the Way, O Zion” 

Hymn GTG #324, “For All the Faithful Women" [v. 1 + New Verse:]

For Ruth, we lift our voices in gratitude and praise;

Naomi’s true companion, a friend through all her days.

Although the way was rocky, they each were not alone – 

Ruth’s loyalty a path to Christ Jesus on his throne.

Hymn GTG #100, “My Soul Cries Out With a Joyful Shout” 

Liturgy: Advent II, Joshua 2:1-16 (December 8, 2024)

 This liturgy is based on our Advent Theme this year, "The Gifts of Women", based on the women in Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy.

          *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #82, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” 

Hymn GTG #324, “For All the Faithful Women" [v. 1 + New Verse:]

For Rahab’s keen perception, we give you thanks, O Lord;

She sensed your righteous purpose, the plans you had in store.

In rescuing the soldiers who came to her for aid,

Lord Jesus Christ was born from this debt that was repaid.

Hymn GTG #86, “The People Who Walked in Darkness” 

Sermon: “Tamar’s Gift”, Genesis 38:6-7, 11-20, 24-26 (December 1, 2024 - Advent 1)

It’s Advent-tide once more, my friends, and once again we’ll be spending the next four weeks preparing our hearts to receive the coming Messiah. But while many churches use this time to recall the events immediately preceding Jesus’ birth, it’s important for us to remember that Jesus’ story doesn’t begin in the gospels. In fact, the impact of the incarnation is severely diminished without understanding everything that came before it. So while we’ll definitely still spend Christmas Eve with the beloved stories of the angels, the shepherds, the manger, and the magi, these next four weeks will be devoted to things that came long before all that.

Liturgy: Advent I, Genesis 38:6-26 (December 1, 2024)

This liturgy is based on our Advent Theme this year, "The Gifts of Women", based on the women in Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy.

          *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #88, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” [vv. 1, 4, 7]

Hymn GTG #324, “For All the Faithful Women" [v. 1 + New Verse:]

We thank you, Lord, for Tamar, a woman tossed aside,

Demanding to be noticed, confronting Judah’s pride.

When called out as a sinner, she turned the tables ‘round,

Her steadfast perseverance a path to Christ’s renown.

Hymn GTG #105 “People Look East”

Sermon: “The Gifts of Miracle Workers”, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11/John 2:1-11 (January 16, 2022)

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As some of you know, I collect nativity scenes. I used to pull them out at Thanksgiving and display them on my mantle at home through December, but that spot quickly proved insufficient for containing my growing collection (plus it seemed a waste to only enjoy them for one month out of the year). So, I brought them into my office and now they’re up year-round. While the collection is still relatively new, I’ve already got an impressive assortment: snow globes and ornaments and music boxes, some made out of wood or porcelain and others metal or plastic, some with traditional depictions of the holy family and others with beloved cartoon characters standing in for Mary and Joseph. 

Sermon: “A Perfect Fit”, 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37-40, 18:1-5/Ephesians 6:10-17 (June 20, 2021)

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Have you ever gotten a gift that you just…didn’t like? For me, it’s coffee mugs. I have coffee mugs coming out of my ears, and while I DO love coffee, I don’t need a different mug for every day of the year. I struggle to find a place to put them all, and it’s not like they have an infinite number of uses (I only have so many pens that need holding). Every time I open a gift containing another mug, I inwardly groan. I know I’m not alone; I’m sure there are plenty of father-figures around the country this very minute opening hastily wrapped presents and wondering just what the heck they’re gonna do with whatever’s inside.

Sermon: “Expectations Defied: Gifts”, Mark 1:4-8 (December 6, 2020)

(This is the second of five sermons in our Advent series about our expectations around the holiday season. The first can be found here.)

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Let’s be honest: few things are as ubiquitous in “the Holiday Season” as gifts. And thanks to the United States Postal Service, it’s the one part of this December that’s unlikely to change too much. Sure, on December 25 we may be opening them in separate houses, but until then, we’ll still be compiling our wish lists, writing letters to Santa, and dropping pointed hints about what we hope to find under the tree on Christmas morning. We’ll still be humming Christmas songs about “All I want for Christmas” (whether the answer is “you” or “my two front teeth”); we’ll still be trying to recall all 78 gifts that we got from our true love; we’ll still be doing our best not to cry or pout because Santa Claus is still coming to town. Getting presents is a huge part of Christmas culture.

Sermon: "God Offers", Genesis 1:26-31/2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (January 27, 2019)

1/27/2019

(Fourth in a series of four sermons during our stewardship season)

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Pretty much everyone likes gifts, right? Does anyone here not like them? If you’re that rare person who doesn’t like gifts, it’s probably because our culture has made gift-giving occasions more of an obligation for tradition’s sake than anything else. But I bet that if you try, you could remember a gift that’s brought you joy. See, at their best, gifts are more than just a transactional obligation. Gifts are an expression of our positive feelings towards one another; they’re a way to express ourselves without words.