We continue in the Gospel of Matthew this week with the writer’s account of Jesus’ walking on water, and Peter’s abortive attempt to do the same. Still, don’t fault Peter for his sinking doubts; rather, let’s think through what it means to follow Christ in boldness. The message, based on Matthew 14:22-33, is called “One...
Matthew 14:13-21 tells the story of a miracle: Jesus’ feeding of thousands of people on a hillside out of, apparently, one picnic basket. So much of our economic life is based on the fear of scarcity – of not having enough – and the story of the loaves and the fishes grounds us in God’s...
In the midst of Romans 8:26-39, the Apostle Paul gives us one of the most misunderstood ideas in the Bible: that “all things work together for good for those who love God.” Does he really mean to say everything that happens is part of God’s plan? That’s a hard pill to swallow, and we’ll think...
Jesus’ evocative parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, Matthew 13:24-30, has some practical advice about, well, gardening. But start digging and there’s plenty more wisdom as well, about living in community and, hard as it may be, reserving judgment sometimes. We’ll explore these ideas in a message titled “The Beautiful Weeds.”
On this midsummer Sunday, we’ll revisit the fine line between science, art, and story, knowing that all three shape our understanding of God’s world and our place in it. We’ll look at two brief New Testament scriptures, Hebrews 4:12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:13. The message is a story sermon, set in a hospital, called “Multiple...
We welcome as our guest preacher, Rev. Faith Schaut. With the scripture readings Psalm 145:8-15 and Matthew 11:16-19 and 25-30, Rev. Schaut will discuss “Finding Rest in Christ.”
On the Fourth of July we celebrate our Declaration of Independence from the rule of a king, and our nation’s determination to have – as Abraham Lincoln put it – a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Yet sadly that wonderful vision is threatened today by a false version of...
The “Detours on the Way” series wraps up with a message called “All or Nothing?” Sometimes it seems like living a faithful life means leaving behind all the pleasures of the world. Do we have to be monks or nuns to be faithful people? We’ll look at Jesus’ difficult challenge in Luke 12:32-34 and talk...
This is Graduation Sunday in the life of our church, and during the 10:30 worship service we’ll cele-brate those in our congregation who are graduating from high school and college. Our message, “The Seductive Liar,” based on Ecclesiastes 7:8-13, will look at the very human tendency to think everything was better in the past.
When was the last time you did something for the first time? Our “Detours on the Way” series contin-ues with a look at the way our openness to experi-ence (and maybe even to God) tends to shrink over the course of our lives. In a message titled “Go Wide, Go Deep,” we’ll look at the...
