Sermons

Our lives speak volumes – not always what we intend or wish them to say. John McCall suggests that remembering we are called by God and gifted by the spirit can make all the difference.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Every year the Christian calendar sets aside the Sunday after Epiphany to celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. It is an event described or at least mentioned in all four of the gospels. For all of its prominence, however, Jesus’ baptism was a scandal for the early Church and an embarrassment for the

Are we so intent on keeping life at an even keel that we miss the possibility of God’s breaking in with promise and hope?

On this sixth day of Christmas, I invite us to linger a little longer with the birth story of Jesus. We hear it this morning from the gospel of Matthew – a much different version than Luke’s story. There are no shepherds that visit, and the only angel conversation is with Joseph and not Mary.

An old proverb says “If you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail.” And if you’re accustomed to seeing everything in life as a problem to be solved you may miss the wonder of the Christmas mystery.

Luke 3:7-18 The first decoration to go up in our house every Advent is not the wreath or the tree or the collection of angels we have gathered over the years, but our nativity set. Actually, several nativity sets – at least one per room! Year after year, it always delights me to unpack the

Predictions of the end of the world are greatly exaggerated. But God does promise the end of life as we know it.

Luke 21:25-36 “There will be signs in the suns, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” (vs. 25) Not exactly words we want to hear 23 days before Christmas! We come this first Sunday of Advent hoping to catch an

Jesus teaches his listeners to replace fear with faith and anxiety with trust.