Things to Ponder

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 2:1-10

 

Faith is a work of imagination, seeing what cannot yet be seen. As we draw near to the cross, we discover a community forming around it. We are called to embrace that community, and to imagine what it means to have the crucified Christ at the very center of it. Imagination allows the church to grow strong and beautiful.

 

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Sermon Text: Luke 9:51-62

 

Amongst a distracted and undisciplined age, Jesus asks his church to set our face, to be serious about cultivating the life of Christ. The only thing we have to offer the world is Christ, to make him known. And that alone feeds the world, heals the world. Jesus says, “Here’s who I’ve made you to be. Allow me to cultivate that: tear out what isn’t truly you, form you into what you already are. Just keep looking at me, your eyes ahead, keep plowing.”

 

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Sermon Text: John 16:12-24

 

Faith cannot be "renewed," it is either given as a gift or not.  Spiritual growth most usually feels like something is revealed inside of us, not something entirely new.  As we celebrate 260 years as a congregation, the faith that was in our ancestors is in us, it simply continues to be revealed more and more by the Spirit inside us.  If we seek a faithful future, then we must be rooted in prayer and contemplation, which will drive us to discover more of what the Spirit has yet to reveal.

 

 

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Sermon Text: Matthew 6:5-15

 

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Sermon Text: Luke 5:17-26

 

The only place we have influence is those with whom we will have relationship – hey brother, hey sister.This is why the Christian church has used these words to describe one another for millennia.  The work, then, is to always bring others into the circles we call brother and sister. And then, we dance. And we can dance when the vision of who my brother is and who my sister is always expands, so that I can carry them. 

 

 

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Sermon Text: Luke 15

 

Sin isn't the truest thing about us, and it's not the place to start when we think about God.  Love is the place to start.  When we start with love, we see how beautifully made we are, how beautiful the world is, and love calls us to our best and most authentic selves.  Because of this, the most authentic sound of faith is joy and celebration.

 

 

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Sermon Text: Mark 3:1-6

 

When we are in pain, we seek connection more than solutions.  Empathy is the spiritual virtue of connecting with others in their pain so that it can be processed and healed.  Our best religion is a religion of empathy.  Jesus becomes irate when he sees his people practicing sympathy - seeing pain, but staying far away.  We are called to run up that hill alongside of others.

 

 

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Sermon Text: Mark 11:12-25

 

Fear is powerful because it is clarifying and drives passion; fear makes us feel alive!  It is entirely natural for us both as individuals and communities, which makes our fears spiritually critical. In the wake of Jesus, communities of faith needed to be warned about the tendency for change to come for the change-makers.  And so he warns with pastoral affection - there is no fear in love.  Perfect love casts out fear.

 

 

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Sermon Text: Ecclesiastes 3:16 - 4:7, Luke 4:31-37

 

The central question of grandson's song, and this generation:  "Is hope even viable?"  Ecclesiastes will meet this hopelessness with honesty, and Jesus will meet it with compassion.  To be the church is not to cast judgment on those who suffer, but to get our hands dirty is offering hope to all.

 

 

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Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 7

 

This is a weird story for a VBS, but it is an important one for believers.  After chasing gods and relevance for years, Samuel finally calls the people back to their truest selves.  And together, they commit to God.  A powerful story in a world that is constantly seeking to call us away from our most essential self.

 

 

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