Sermons Archive

These two passages today speak directly to each one us as children of God.  We are called as the Body of Christ [broad sweeping horizontal motion], each of us equal in this fellowship.  Look at the back page of your bulletin—it now says each one of us are ministers of God in this church—this comes right from our UCC Constitution.  But each of...

Our scripture today frames the large arc of history from the beginning in Genesis to Jesus’ baptism.  We see all of human history framed as God’s relationship to humanity.  Jesus’ baptism becomes the very sign of God walking with humanity on this very earth and in this very flesh.  Sometimes we hear these scriptures and we forget to let our...

Imagine three huge rivers flowing together.  The first river is now over 4000 years old, it flows through the stories of Abraham, through the twelve tribes of Israel, through the Exodus from Egypt and back to Jerusalem, through the Exile in Babylon and back to Jerusalem.  This river flows through the genealogy in Matthew...

The beginning of John’s Gospel is a hymn that tells the story of Jesus from a cosmic standpoint, placing the story of Jesus not just into human history, but into the cosmological fabric of the universe.  John the moves from the metaphor of Christ as the divine Word into the word becoming flesh, or the very God of the universe coming into human...

As I listen to the carols and hear again the ancient stories of Christmas, I am transformed back to Christmas of my youth.  The memories completely fill me again: home, hearth, and my untroubled childhood filled with family exchanging gifts of love.  These scriptures and carols tonight interweave with my childhood reveries, and Christmas is re-...

Imagine the improbability of it all.  A very young girl with no family heritage, no money, no connections and no reality show, is chosen by God to be Jesus’ mother.  Time and time again in the Hebrew Testament, we hear of nobody’s being called by God into God’s plan.  Mary is not unusual in this regard.  But in our story today, humble, unknown...

On this third Sunday of Advent, our lectionary scriptures ask us to reflect on the worship theme of joy from two very different perspectives.  The first ancient perspective is from Isaiah, writing after the Jewish exile in Babylon, and the second perspective, some five hundred years later, is from Paul’s first letter to the church in...

Our reading today from the prophet Isaiah is one of the most familiar passages from the ancient Hebrew prophets.  Here comfort is acclaimed for God’s people, every valley is lifted up and every mountain made low, so that we can be gathered and fed by God as his gentle lambs.  This poetic image offers gentle consolation to...

Our Gospel message recalls Jesus’ last words in Mark before he is captured and taken to be tried and crucified.  By this warning, we are introduced to the new liturgical Year and the beginning of Advent.  As Jesus’ life is coming to a close, he reminds his followers to stay vigilant, and to remain watchful.  Instead of Advent beginning with...

Today is the last day of the liturgical year, so next Sunday is the beginning of the New Year for the Church; Advent begins.  The last day of our liturgical year ends where we will begin again next week, with Christ.  Our scriptures today are difficult, so we will approach these passages with the love and grace of the ever-living God.  Will you...