Sermons

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, September 21, 2008 Matthew 20:1-16 The stock market groans, corporations collapse, the government steps in – or it doesn’t – while chief economic advisers for the political campaigns tear their hair out. You and I try to calculate how we’ll pay the rising costs of gas and […]

A sermon by Associate Minister Elsa A. Peters, September 14, 2008 Exodus 14:10-31 Complain. Complain. Complain. That’s what characterizes just about everyone in this story. The Israelites are complaining about Moses’ bad leadership. Moses tries to tell them to relax, which is a nice way of complaining. And then, God chimes in with the divine

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, September 7, 2008 Matthew 18:15-20 Our opening hymn “We Gather Together” used the familiar tune of this harvest-season favorite and new words written by John McCall: We gather together and pray for your blessing That we may be open and true to Christ’s call. Let our congregation

A sermon by Associate Minister Elsa A. Peters, August 31, 2008 Romans 12:9-21 It’s that classic, timeless question. It’s the question that for most of us began this strange journey into faith. It’s the same question that greeted me as I settled into read our local news on Monday morning: Why? Isn’t that always the

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, August 24, 2008 Matthew 16:13-20 Political campaigns can be fascinating – as long as you don’t take them too seriously. In this week before the national conventions of both major parties, we have just enough time to take a deep breath and prepare ourselves for what many

A sermon by Associate Minister Elsa A. Peters, August 17, 2008 Matthew 15:21-28 “It is not fair,” Jesus says. And it isn’t. It just isn’t fair. This might be the truest thing that Jesus says in the Gospels. Or at least, that’s how it seemed this week when on Monday morning, I was greeted with

A sermon by Associate Minister Elsa A. Peters, August 10, 2008 Matthew 14:22-33 Have you ever tried to share the mystery of some wonder you have found with another? Have you stood there beside this person – perhaps your child or your grandchild – waiting? You wait impatiently. Why don’t they see what you can

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, August 3, 2008 Matthew 14:13-21 Matthew tells us a story of hungers. Jesus was tired and deeply troubled, having just learned that Herod had executed his cousin John. He knew he was the real target and the net was tightening. More than anything he needed time to

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, July 27, 2008 Romans 8:18-28 Do you know how it is when you vaguely remember something and start looking for it, then come across something else that grabs your interest, so you forget what you were looking for in the first place? That’s how I found an

A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, July 20, 2008 Psalms 37:1-9 Matthew 13:24-43 Today we consider the second of two parables in Matthew that use the image of that miraculous relationship of sower, seed, soil, and harvest. This is also one of only two parables in which the author, or some unknown editor,