Sermons on John
The Empty Tomb
Despite anything and everything that has come before, despite hardship and struggle, despite pain and suffering, despite plagues and pandemics, despite any and all circumstances that have felt as if they were too much to bear, morning comes…day breaks…Easter arrives.
Life Interrupted
Do you feel God calling you to respond to interruptions differently; and if so, in what way? Join us this morning as we reflect on John 12 and Jesus’ heightening conflict with the Pharisees.
Lifted Up
Our lectionary readings today bring us two fairly complex and curious passages with which to wrestle. The first testament reading from Numbers may be totally unfamiliar. If you suffer from Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), you might find it especially disturbing! Our Gospel reading, on the other hand, is likely to be familiar to all. It contains perhaps the best known and often repeated line of Christian scripture that’s out there…“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” What is the connection between these passages?
Holy Zeal
The account of Jesus “cleansing the temple” is told in all four Gospels but with several significant differences. Matthew, Mark and Luke place this account toward the end of Jesus’ life, while John places it much closer to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus enters the temple during Passover – a very active, busy time – and turns everything, literally and figuratively, upside down
Come and See
In our passage this week, we see the circle of discipleship growing wider and wider as one person invites another to join the journey, extending the invitation, “Come and see.”
Cast Your Nets on The Other Side
This Sunday Pastor Lori is joining us for her first Sunday at PB UMC! We have the honor of having Mavi Barrena as our speaker.
Sabbath
In a conference-wide service, Bishop Grant Hagiya reflects on the current pandemic, grieving our losses but also asking how our slower pace and focus on simplicity can inform and enrich the “new normal” that is to come.
In the Beginning
This Sunday, we launch into a new sermon series. Our current reality of social isolation in the midst of a pandemic is not the only example of widescale stress and anxiety on the human species. Psychologists and historians continue to point out that one expression of humanity seems constant across such periods of stress—creativity.
Revive Us
On Easter Sunday people all over the world celebrated in ways previously unimagined. There was a rise in telecasting while church pews remain empty. Only Jesus could bring forth life, life in abundance, from what some people say is a time of complete devastation.
From Isolation to Resurrection
This Sunday is Easter Sunday! While we continue to endure “social distancing,” we will celebrate online with a traditional service that includes hymns, lively music, a time for children, and a celebratory message from Pastors Lydia and Bob.