An audio recording of the sermon for Christmas Day, December 25, is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 7:3-17 and Matthew 1:18-25. “God isn’t waiting for everything to be right in this world or in your life before he will come. Before Jesus came preaching and teaching and inviting us into God’s … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from December 11 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 49:1-13 and Matthew 5:12-17. “Isaiah has a message from God: Those who have faith in the God of Israel should leave the place of their exile and return to the Land of Promise, the land God … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from December 4 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 8:10-18 and Matthew 19:16-39.
An audio file of the sermon from November 27 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 16:9-17 and Matthew 25:14-30. “Jesus was never sentimental about anything, as far as I can see, least of all about money. He knew nothing had more potential to influence your life with God one way or … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from November 20 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 16:9-17 and Matthew 25:14-30. “The way Jesus tells it, everyone who takes risks for the Master are the heroes of the story of God with the world. He doesn’t make any distinction between the faithful risk-takers. … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from November 13 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Exodus 35:30-36:11 and Ephesians 4:1-14 . “God doesn’t need your money and your time and your skills just to check off items on his to-do list. No, we’re asked to make these kinds of sacrifices so that … [Read more…]
In colonial America, there was in many places a tradition of holding a worship service on the morning of election day, before voting began. The preacher would remind the community of God’s covenant, which included the political order. Those standing for office were to fulfill the duties of office for the good of the community … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from October 30 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Genesis 23:1-20 and Romans 5:1-11. “Both Sarah and Abraham lived long enough to see the hope God gave them at the outset be fulfilled. There had been many missteps along the way, but still at the end … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from October 23 is available at this link. The Scripture readings are Genesis 22:1-19 and Hebrews 11:17-19. “At the last possible moment, when Abraham has raised the knife, finally God’s messenger stops it. The Dutch artist Rembrandt thought long and hard about how to paint this moment, because … [Read more…]
An audio file of the sermon from October 9 is available here. The Scripture readings are Genesis 18:16-33 and Matthew 6:5-13. Abraham prays with a sense of reverence for God. In our culture, we tend to equate a casual, chatty approach to God with reverence. I’m not so sure, though. In his little book Lament … [Read more…]
