Sermons are listed below with the most recent sermons first. See the Sermons menu above browse by date, books of the Bible, speaker, and more. Check back often for updates.
Leading Like a Christian: Claiming a Gospel Vision
How do we lead as Christians in this moment of tumult and transition? Pastor Billy will begin a five-part series on Christian leadership this Sunday to complement Pastor Tom’s summer series on critical social justice concerns. Throughout this series, we’ll use the books of Ezra and Nehemiah from the Hebrew Bible as guides for how we can be faithful leaders in this moment. This Sunday, Pastor Billy will preach on Ezra 1 and 3. You’re invited to read through both…
Reproductive Rights: Privleging the Rights of Those Who Breathe
Pastor Tom continues the series on hot button social issues with this sermon on reproductive rights. He talks about the sacredness of a person’s autonomy and our calling to stand for a woman’s automony over her body as equal to a man’s. Biblically he surveys ways we can be guided and inspired by scripture while unflinchingly criticizing the injustice woven into it. He ends with hope as the actions we take today more than simply a vision of what we wish for.
Compassion and Justice for Transgender People
We all seek to match who we feel like on the inside with how we express ourselves on the outside. Transgender people were assigned a gender at birth that does not match who they are on the inside. As people of faith we are called to welcome, stand with, listen to, and fight for transgender people who are seeking to answer God’s calling to be who God created them to be on the inside and out. – Pastor Tom’s sermon…
Living Like the Philippians Dignity, Not Domination
In chapter two of Philippians, Paul and Timothy cite an ancient hymn or poem about Jesus, highlighting Jesus’ humility and obedience (2:5-11). Examining the original language of the hymn, however, allows us to better understand the political context and meaning of the passage; together, we wrestle with the political imagery Paul is invoking. – Pastor Billy’s Sermon from May 29, 2022
Living Like the Philippians: Called to Humility
Why does Paul tell the church at Philippi that his imprisonment is an advantage to the Christian church? Pastor Billy will begin our two-week series on the Letter to the Philippians by considering the broader themes of the letter (joy, unity, and humility) in connection to Paul’s incarceration in chapter one.
The Dangers of Idolatry and How to Avoid Them
Idolatry may sound like an old- fashioned word, but helping people avoid it is one the Bible’s core teachings. Pastor Tom offers an unflinching review of the ways we tend to exchange an unmediated relationship with the indefinable Creator God for relationships with people and things. After looking at how our personal lives and our religious lives tend toward idolatry, he then offers ways we can approach our religious practice that help us avoid the trap of idolatry. – Pastor…
Silenced No More
The enslaved young woman in our story has her gift of seeing the future taken from her without her consent. Like so many people women in the Bible she is unnamed, silenced, and discarded. In the sermon today, Pastor Tom imagines how the story might have unfolded from her perspective and in her voice.
People Change, But You Can’t Change Them
As we ready the story of the Apostle Paul’s radical change (conversion), we will reflect on how to best respond when we feel people we love need to change due to the harm they are doing to themselves or others. There is no simple answer and set of instructions, but it involves setting good boundaries, accepting them for exactly who they are, AND seeing them for who they are called to be.
Easter Sunday Sermon
Happy Easter!
Unbinding Grief, Unbinding Life: Shouting in Windows and Mirrors
Our Lenten Sermon Series, Unbinding Grief, Unbinding Life continues with Pastor Billy’s sermon, Shouting in Windows and Mirrors. Jesus shouts at Lazarus to come forth in John 11:38-53. This is the first time John uses that verb and then he repeats it throughout the passion narrative to contrast Jesus shouting for life and the crowd shouting for death. How can we read the the Bible as both a window and a mirror (also called descriptive/prescriptive reading) and notice ourselves in…
Unbinding Grief, Unbinding Life: The Gift of Tears
In this short section from the story of Lazarus, Jesus comes down to earth. Breaking from his laser focus on his mission and his message, he falls apart. He break down. He weeps. In doing this, he learns what it means to be human, to be vulnerable, to be broken, and to grieve. He becomes human through his tears. We also can become truly human through ours.
Unbinding Grief, Unbinding Life
What does Jesus mean when he says “I am the resurrection?” Much more than just an invitation to say a magical formula about Jesus that gets you into heaven. He is inviting us to hold the vision of heaven and bring into into our lives today. It is a resurrection power that can transform us.