Jan 06, 2019 |
A Political Epiphany
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulA Political Epiphany
"There are political implications to the words that we read, the things that we say we believe, the prayers that we pray, the songs that we sing, and the stories that we hear. They all point to a reality that is here and now, and present in this world. And, if Jesus is Lord, he is not Lord of just a couple things or a few parts of us. Jesus is Lord of all."
Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Dec 30, 2018 |
Grace Upon Grace
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinGrace Upon Grace
"Grace permeates our scripture. Grace can seem so huge, so dramatic, and yet we can see it in simpler ways in our daily lives: the grace of a parent or teacher dealing with patience and love in a trying situation, the grace of a warm greeting to a friend or to a stranger, choosing forgiveness as a response when anger and vengeance might be more expected, having the courage to walk as Jesus did among those less accepted, among those in greater need, to touch the untouchable with Jesus’s compassion."
John 1:1-18
John 1:1-18
Dec 24, 2018 |
Nights Like This
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulNights Like This
"We are hoping to have a Christmas where the roast turns out okay, and that people probably don’t kill each other at the dinner table. Jesus is working on a Christmas where our hearts are transformed for love and we are drawn into deeper relationship with the people around us – where we are drawn into a reality where we recognize how beautiful this world is and where we recognize how beautiful we are.
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Dec 23, 2018 |
Full of Grace
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulFull of Grace
"You are given so much power in this world – power to speak blessing into being, power to recognize God’s presence, and a power to love others in a way that will make them sing… that will make them prophets. God is working miracles of love in this world and God is giving you voices to speak about those miracles, and eyes to see the miracles happening in each person’s life. Mary is not the only one full of grace. The grace with which Mary is filled fills all of us this season, in this time. We are filled with the love of God."
Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
Dec 23, 2018 |
Blessed Are Those Who Believe
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiBlessed Are Those Who Believe
"It’s really easy to get wrapped up in the season, and to sing the carols, to decorate and to shop, and to know that we’re getting ready to celebrate the birth of God. But, it’s harder to really believe that God became a human being."
Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
Dec 16, 2018 |
The Baptist's Good News
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Baptist's Good News
"It’s going to require something of you if you’re really interested in justice... if you’re really interested in peace. If you really want to know love, you’re going to have to give love in a way you never have. If you’re going to want to know blessing you’re going to have to bless this world in a way that it has never been blessed before. If you’re going to want to understand forgiveness you are going to have to forgive people."
Luke 3:7-18
Luke 3:7-18
Dec 09, 2018 |
Dig In
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneDig In
"We all have them – hills and valleys that surround our hearts. They’re there, and they’re real, and they’re deep and wide and high. And, John the Baptist says to us today, 'level ‘em.' Level the hills and valleys and make a clear way so that God can enter in."
Luke 3:1-6
Luke 3:1-6
Dec 09, 2018 |
Expectations
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinExpectations
"I think there’s an inherent contradiction in the words 'prepare the way' because it's almost a call to action. And yet, so much of what we need to do to prepare the way is to let go. Let go of expectation, let go of fear, let go of those things that we put in place that get in the way of being open, open to Christ in our lives."
Luke 3:1-6
Luke 3:1-6
Dec 02, 2018 |
Liberation
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiLiberation
"Rejoice because your redemption is at hand. When this kind of power comes into the world, we’re not going to be destroyed we’re going to be liberated. We’re going to be freed from all the sinfulness, death, and evil in the world. And, it may seem scary, but it is our liberation."
Luke 21:25-36
Luke 21:25-36
Dec 02, 2018 |
Apocalypse Now
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. SlaneApocalypse Now
"The personal and communal apocalypses of our lives can be frightening – wildfires in California, earthquakes in Alaska, random hailstorms in Cincinnati, divorce, unemployment, violence against children… In the midst of all these horrors God asks us to stand tall and wait for Christ. Jesus makes our Gospel, not one of fear, but one of hope, and light, and life."
Luke 21:25-36
Luke 21:25-36
Nov 25, 2018 |
We Are His Kingdom
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiWe Are His Kingdom
"We’ve been made into this kingdom. We’ve been made into a kingdom of truth. Not a kingdom of right or a kingdom of might – but a kingdom of truth."
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
Nov 25, 2018 |
The First Step
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe First Step
"Our repentance, our ability to acknowledge wrong doing, our need to examine ourselves – is not about becoming better people, and it's not about living into shame. It is the first step for those who know we are loved. It's the first step to living into the love we already know is there."
Revelation 1:4b-8
Revelation 1:4b-8
Nov 18, 2018 |
Life As We Know It
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulLife As We Know It
"Jesus insists that God is working in your life. Jesus insists that in the greatest joy and in the deepest sorrow God is birthing new truth. Jesus insists that even when you do not know what is next God is bringing real love into being. He insists on it... he lives for it... he dies for it."
Mark 13:1-8
Mark 13:1-8
Nov 11, 2018 |
Glimpses of Faithfulness
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinGlimpses of Faithfulness
"These stories of the widows give us a glimpse of faithfulness. The people around us – how they live their lives – give us a glimpse of faithfulness too. Let us ask ourselves, how are we invited to obedience, to faithfulness? And, let us enjoy, let us celebrate, the gift of that faithfulness now."
1 Kings 17:8-16
Mark 12:38-44
1 Kings 17:8-16
Mark 12:38-44
Nov 11, 2018 |
Living Into Forgiveness
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulLiving Into Forgiveness
"Forgiveness is not something you do, forgiveness is something into which you live. And, we spend the rest of our lives as Christians learning this kind of forgiveness – learning how to forgive ourselves, learning how to forgive others, learning how to draw ourselves closer to God in Jesus. That is the act, the work, the life of forgiveness.”
Mark 12:38-44
Mark 12:38-44
Nov 04, 2018 |
Made for a Purpose
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiMade for a Purpose
"We were made for a purpose. We were made to love God and to love our neighbor. We were built by God to do those things. That's why those are our two greatest commandments. It’s like telling a hammer that, 'you have to drive nails.’ Well, of course! That’s what the hammer was made to do. We have been made to love. We have been made by love, to love."
Mark 12:28-34
Mark 12:28-34
Nov 04, 2018 |
The Wizard of Oz and the Law of Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulThe Wizard of Oz and the Law of Love
"It’s not just about following a bunch of rules, and at the end of these rules you will solve the riddle or the mystery and you will get where you need to go and your reward is heaven. [Jesus] is saying that if you are able to recognize love as the greatest authority in the world, in the history of all creation, if you are able to understand God and God’s love as that which brings us into being and gives us purpose, and if you are able to look at this world with the same love with which God looks at this world through Jesus Christ… if you can look at the world that way then you are so close to God. How close? As close as you can imagine. You are breathing God."
Mark 12:28-34
Mark 12:28-34
Oct 28, 2018 |
Empowered by Jesus
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulEmpowered by Jesus
"Jesus looks at us so that we can be seen, and through being seen we can see others. Jesus listens to us so that we can be heard, and by being heard we can learn to hear others. Jesus loves us back into connection and relationship, and from the safety and the health and the warmth of that love we are able to love magnificently... miraculously. We are able to love like Jesus loves."
Mark 10:46-52
Mark 10:46-52