Sermons on New Testament (Page 21)
The Power of Blessing
Because God is a God of relationships and stories, the birth of Christ is not a solitary, disconnected event. The birth of Christ is woven into the fabric of relationships and the stories of others. This week we begin to explore the connection between Jesus and John the Baptist with a specific focus on John’s father, Zechariah.
Where Hope Floats
This Sunday is the beginning of a brand new Christian year! It is the First Sunday of Advent and we begin the preparations of our hearts and spirits for the coming of Christ at Christmas. We’ll light the first Advent candle, the candle of Hope, as we begin our journey toward Bethlehem.
Birth Pangs
This section of Mark is known as “apocalyptic” and it points our hearts, minds and spirits to that which God is revealing in our midst. It encourages us to ponder if and how God is afoot—with life, hope, promise—even in times when things appear to be falling apart.
Unbound
This Sunday we celebrate All Saints Sunday, a day when we are especially mindful of the great cloud of witnesses and the communion of the saints. It is a day of acknowledging death and the tears, grief and sadness that accompany it. But it is also a day of holding fast to life, including life in our here and now and the promise of life eternal to come.
Love in Action
As Christians, we speak about love, we sing about love, we pray about love, we talk about love…the word love is so familiar and embedded in every aspect of our faith that it’s possible to hear the Great Commandment and miss the truly radical and life-altering nature of this divine call!
Take Heart
Our scripture reading for Sunday draws us into the world of Bartimaeus, a blind man begging on the streets, whose encounter with Jesus not only changed him but the entire community around him.
Called into a Ministry of Service, Reconciliation and Inspiration: Living a Life of Worth and Human Dignity
Ken Brown, our Lay Leader and Church Council Chair, will be offering the sermon this week. We are so blessed to have Ken’s leadership each and every day and I know we will be inspired by his words and witness this Sunday!
Table Time
Today, along with siblings in Christ around the world, we will be celebrating World Communion Sunday. In literal and figurative ways, we will be “at table” with one another, near and far. Please join us in person or online as we reflect on the sacrament of Holy Communion and what it means, in the midst of all of our differences, to come together at Christ’s Table.
Allies
Today’s scripture passage from Mark highlights an age old challenge for people of faith…where and how we draw the circle of who is on the inside and who is on the outside. While we might like to believe that our circle is always wide open, the truth is that we struggle at times with “us” and “them.”
First Place
None of us covet “last place” and many of us, understandably, hope for “first.” But this week Jesus turns that notion upside down, talking in apparent circles…last is first and first is last.