Looking Toward Sunday

"The Christmas Story's Supporting Cast" Sermon Series

During Advent our Sunday morning worship will focus on the minor characters in the Christmas story as told in the opening chapters of The Gospel of Luke.

November 29 – “Zechariah’s Time Out”   

Zechariah's story invites us into Advent waiting, reflection, and preparation. It’s a story that invites us to look for God breaking into our lives. It’s a story that invites us to live with expectation.

Luke 1:5-15a; 18-23

December 6 – “Elizabeth’s Long Obedience in the Same Direction”

Elizabeth is a model of patience and perseverance in the face of unanswered prayer. Her story is a lesson in maintaining a posture of hope and staying faithful when the fulfillment of God's promises is delayed.

Luke 1:24-25, 39-45, 57-58

December 13 – “Shepherd Dance”

Each Advent the church invites us to prepare to hear the “good news of great joy for all the people” once again. Along with the shepherds, we're called to gaze into the manger and be overwhelmed by joy. 

Luke 2:8-20           

December 20 – A Christmas Drama: “Waiting for the Christmas Guest”

A retelling of the Tolstoy story, "Papa Panov's Special Day". Conrad the cobbler is told in a dream that Jesus will come to pay him a Christmas visit. A number of people show up on Conrad's doorstep, but none of them is Jesus. Or are they...?

Luke 1:46-56

Looking Toward Sunday

"The Five Practices of Fruitful Living" Sermon Series

How do I cultivate a life that is purposeful, deep, and fruitful? What are the commitments and personal practices that open me to God’s grace? How can I discover the spiritual life and the difference that God intends for me to make in the world? 

In his book, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, United Methodist bishop Robert Schnase shares his answer to these question – the five essential practices that he says are critical for spiritual growth: 

• Radical Hospitality 
• Passionate Worship 
• Intentional Faith Development 
• Risk-Taking Mission and Service 
• Extravagant Generosity 

Join us on Sunday mornings beginning September 20 for this five-week series about how the Five Practices of Fruitful Living can help shape and sustain our life in Christ. 

Looking Toward Sunday

"Room at the Table"

Who is welcome at the table of God's grace? 

That's the question that this week's scripture reading poses. We're focusing on the first part of a passage from Mark's gospel (you can read it by clicking here). It's the uncomfortable story of Jesus' encounter with a tenacious Gentile Syrophoenician woman who comes begging for healing for her daughter. The woman is about as religiously unclean as first-century Jews like Jesus and his disciples could possibly imagine. But in spite of the fact that Jesus seems to initially resist her request, she's not taking "no" for an answer! 

Are there people with whom we resist sharing God's grace? People we think God would (or at least should) turn away? Who are our Syrophoenicians? And are we willing to make room for them at the table? Join us this week as we wrestle with those questions.

See you on Sunday!

P.S. - Check out Julie Stecker's slam-style poem based on the Syrophoenician woman's story. 

Looking Toward Sunday

August Sermon Series

"The Four Things That Matter Most"

“Please forgive me.”

“I forgive you.”

“Thank you.”

“I love you.”

These are four simple statements with enormous power.  In many ways, they are the most powerful words in our language.  In his book The Four Things That Matter Most, Dr. Ira Byock (an international leader in palliative care) takes the experiences of people who were forced by serious illness to face the impending end of their relationships and distills those experiences into practical wisdom that can help any person at any time say and do the things that really matter most in their own life. 

Join us during the month of August as we focus on the “four things” and how practicing those life-affirming words of forgiveness, gratitude and love can mend, tend and nurture relationships.  

See you on Sunday!

Looking Toward Sunday

"Our True Identity"

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

July 12, 2015

Names are important. The names that we’re given and the names we take for ourselves define us. They form our identities and shape our actions. Some names we choose; others have been given to us (or forced on us). Some names build us up, others hold us down. Our labels become the lens through which we view ourselves and are viewed by others.

What is the name that most identifies you?

In the scripture reading we'll be using this Sunday (you can read it here), Paul reminds us of our real name, our real identity. No matter how powerful our earthly names may be, this is the name that ultimately defines us. This is the name given to us by God: "Beloved". 

What might be the impact if we were to truly claim that name? How might our lives be different if we embraced our primary identity as God's beloved child? How might it change how we see others if we were to acknowledge that their primary identity is also God's beloved child? Join us as we reflect on the power of names and the "love that makes us whole and holy".

See you on Sunday!

"Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, 

had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love."

Ephesians 1:4 (The Message)