May 20, 2018 |
God With You, God Through You
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulGod With You, God Through You
The people around us are not alone because God is with them when we love them. Today the Holy Spirit comes upon you, not just so you can know that you're loved – although you are, you are so loved – but the Holy Spirit comes upon you so that you may be the presence of God in the lives of the people around you.
Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
May 13, 2018 |
Love Sabotage
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulLove Sabotage
To say that we don’t belong to the world does not mean that we don’t belong to each other, and it does not meant that we don’t belong to the love and the hearts of the people out there. It means that we are not going to be defined by the mistakes of our generation. We’re going to be defined by God’s love. It’s who we are.
John 17:6-19
John 17:6-19
May 13, 2018 |
Letting Go
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneLetting Go
Life is a series of letting go. Letting go into an unknown future, but Jesus keeps praying for us to protect us. That, 'Our joy,' as he says, 'that our joy might be full.’
John 17:6-19
John 17:6-19
May 06, 2018 |
Practice Loving
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulPractice Loving
"But real love is meant to be lived in this life in conflict and pain, in fear, in confusion and uncertainty. We are meant to live lives of love and that means we’ve got to practice it. That means we’ve got to wake up today and think on a basic, practical, daily level, 'what does it look like for me to love this person?’"
John 15:9-17
John 15:9-17
May 06, 2018 |
And, This is Unconditional
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiAnd, This is Unconditional
"If you want in this covenant, then you’ll obey his commandments, then you’ll love one another as Jesus loved us. Not because God’s covenant is conditional on that, but because that’s what our half of the covenant looks like. But we can know, at the end of the day, when… not if… when we fail… when we fail to love each other as God loves us God is faithful."
John 15:9-17
John 15:9-17
Apr 29, 2018 |
The Challenge of Love
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinThe Challenge of Love
"Love demands courage, demands forgiveness, demands compassion. Love is a gift, and yet it is a challenge."
1 John 4:7-21
1 John 4:7-21
Apr 29, 2018 |
Jesus, Nancy, and the Transport Truck of Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulJesus, Nancy, and the Transport Truck of Love
"When you love someone else and when you are being loved by someone else the invisible God is being made visible. When you love someone else and are being loved by someone else God is so clearly present. What’s happening when you love is you are training yourself to see God everywhere. This is the gift. This is the gift of the Gospel. This is the gift that Nancy gives this church. This is the gift that the people of this church give each other."
1 John 4:7-21
1 John 4:7-21
Apr 22, 2018 |
To Live in the Fold
| The Rev. Nancy Hopkins-GreeneTo Live in the Fold
"To live in the sheep fold of the good shepherd is to trust that God will give us everything that we need. The good news of Easter is that we are all invited to live in that sheep fold. We are all invited to live in radical dependence on God."
John 10:11-18
John 10:11-18
Apr 22, 2018 |
One Flock
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulOne Flock
"God our shepherd walks with us in our spaces of isolation and fear of loneliness and uncertainty, and then guides us back into relationship... into the place where we really don’t have to just say quietly to ourselves “I’m not alone, I’m not alone, I’m not alone. The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd,” because we are surrounded by people."
Psalm 23
John 10:11-18
Psalm 23
John 10:11-18
Apr 15, 2018 |
Perfectly Complete
| The Rev. Mitchell BojarskiPerfectly Complete
"We spend so much time looking back at a body we once had, or looking forward to a body we think we should have… and God gave us these bodies that we have now. He doesn’t want us to disrespect his creation. He doesn’t want us to call the bodies we’ve been given “bad” or “flawed.” He’s making us perfect. Not because he’s turning us into something without fault or blemish – without rolls or flab – but something complete in God’s creation.
Luke 24:36b-48
Luke 24:36b-48
Apr 15, 2018 |
I've Got a Perfect Body
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulI've Got a Perfect Body
"God gave you the body you have, right now – not the body you'd like, not the body you could have – the body you have right now to carry you through this world, and to give you arms to hold onto people […], and to give you a voice to cry out to tell people you love them […]. What if God gave you the body that you have right now so that you can use it, as it is, to be a blessing and to be blessed in this world? What if you loved your body the way God loves your body?"
Luke 24:36b-48
Luke 24:36b-48
Apr 08, 2018 |
Afraid to Matter
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulAfraid to Matter
"If you matter to God, and God is willing to be changed by you, affected by you, moved by you, scared even, wounded, by you... If God is willing to be hurt by you... God, the one who made all things, is willing to be hurt by you... but also, yes, to be loved by you, and to hold onto you no matter what... if that’s true, how does that change everything?"
John 20:19-31
John 20:19-31
Apr 08, 2018 |
Half a Shade Braver
| The Rev. Joyce KeeshinHalf a Shade Braver
"Thomas is such a gift to us because with Thomas’s transparency we see the questions. We see the doubt... the fear… And, then we also see Thomas willing to take that step to be braver when he sees Jesus – when he touches his wounds and he immediately says, ‘My Lord and my God.’”
John 20:19-31
John 20:19-31
Apr 01, 2018 |
Be Afraid – Love Anyway
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulBe Afraid – Love Anyway
“… you are given so much love in your life but love is not just something that we admire or something that we stare at from afar and say isn’t that great. Love is not a movie that we watch a nd get teary eyed about. Love is the thing that is right in front of us, the life that we are given to live and the people with who we are given to live it. and people are scare and life is hard."
Matthew 28:1-10
Matthew 28:1-10