Calvary Presbyterian Church San Francisco

When I have offered hospitality, often I thought I was doing something kind for someone else. And I sometimes have tried to figure out how to get out of it, because it is work to welcome people in to your life. But it has almost always ended up being a much bigger gift to me than it might have been to the person I thought I was helping. God uses the people we meet and encounter in our lives to cal...

The Book of Acts continues the story began in the Gospel of Luke. The Good News of the Gospel is being taken to the ends of the Earth, because the Spirit is on the loose! From being a movement of people who knew Jesus, and people who had heard him teach and speak, it grows. Exponentially. From Jerusalem, to the rest of the Middle East, and then to Europe, Asia, and even San Francisco. This is the...

A sermon delivered by Rev. Joann H. Lee on Confirmation Sunday, April 27. 2025. The scripture reading was from Luke 24: 13-15.

A sermon delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. The scripture reading was from Luke 24:13-35. At the start of Lent, the children 'buried' an alleluia in worship. We put the word away during a season. On Easter, we bring it back. On the first Easter morning, the women went to the tomb, assuming their alleluias were going to stay buried forever. Their rabbi was de...

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is greeted by raucous crowds. It is a celebration of him. It is also a counter protest to Rome. The crowds have gathered and are crying out "hosanna", which means "save us".  Save us from injustice. Save us from cruelty. Save us from crushing poverty.  Jesus does not silence the crowds. And he responds to their cries by weeping over Jerusalem and b...

It is easy these days to say who we are against. Maybe it has always been easy to do so. What is harder is to create space for people to change their minds, change their views, change their behavior. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he stops in Jericho and accepts an invitation to eat at the home of someone who society wanted to cancel. How can the story of Zacchaeus help us give space for each othe...

The Good Shepherd calls home all of the sheep, even "those" sheep. No matter how far you've wandered, no matter who has tried to separate you from God's fold, Jesus is waiting. It's time for a homecoming. The sermon was delivered on March 30, 2025 by Rev. Victor Floyd. The scripture reading was from Luke 15:1-32.

Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and his disciples ask him a question as they walk. They want him to answer the questions we always want God to answer for us too—why do bad things happen to good people? Join us as we consider Jesus' answer to the question. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on March 23, 2025. The scripture reading was from Luke 13:1-9, 31-35.

Happy 100th Birthday, Louise! Welcome to Calvary Storytellers, our new oral history project featuring our members and friends telling their life stories in their own words. This first edition is narrated by Calvary’s newest centenarian – Louise Takeuchi. Louise was just a teenager when she and her family were sent from their home in California to Japanese internment camps in Arkansas. In typical L...

The story of Mary and Martha is often painted as a story where one does right and one does wrong. We know, however, that life is often more complicated than that. We know that faith is embodied through being present and taking action—and everything in between. Join us on this second Sunday in Lent as we consider, how can we live along the spectrum of faith and works.

Stay woke! Or we might miss the glory of God (at least according to Luke's gospel). The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the story of Jesus's transfiguration on the mountaintop. But only Luke records that the disciples witnessed this amazing transformation because they had stayed awake. In a time when we are tired and overwhelmed with exhausting news, how can we stay awake to...

In Sunday's story, a woman washes Jesus' feet with her tears, drying them with her hair. It's an intimate scene. An emotional scene. A costly scene. And it makes the rest of the guests uncomfortable.  We don't know her story, but we see her response to Jesus. How do we respond to grace, forgiveness, and second chances? Do we welcome second chances for others or just for ourselves?...

What makes for a trustworthy prophet? Let’s learn a spiritually sound way to vet our current-day prophets. We need clarity—and hope—for these troubled times. And, friends, there is hope! The sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor A. Floyd on February

The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on February 9, 2025. The scripture reading was from Luke 7:1-17 .

Rest and sabbath are necessary. As such, work was prohibited on the sabbath in observance of God's example in creation and commandment in Exodus. But when do our rules hinder rather than promote healing, wholeness, and shalom in our lives? Are Sabbath Day sins allowable in certain circumstances? The sermon was delivered on February 2, 2025 by Rev. Joann H. Lee. The scripture reading was from L...

In today's Gospel lesson, we'll hear the story of the disciples becoming disciples –the moment they followed Jesus. Do you have a moment when you followed Jesus? Or did it happen over time? Are you still figuring out what it means to follow Jesus? Come and see what God is calling us to today.  The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on January 26, 2025. The scripture reading was fr...

Jesus preached a message that still changes the world. Dr. King received it and heeded it—God's undying promise of release, recovery and repair. The sermon was delivered on Sunday, January 19, 2025 by Rev. Victor Floyd. The scripture reading was from Luke 4:14-30.

When John shows up in the wilderness, baptizing the crowds and preaching a message of repentance, all of the people asked him, 'what then should we do?' 2,000 years later, we are asking the same question. How do we live faithful lives in a complicated world? How can we follow Jesus, together? The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on Sunday, January 12, 2025. The scripture reading was fro...

When it is dark outside, your eyes adjust to the dark and shadows, even if you can't see quite as well as you would by day. But if someone shines a bright light at you when you're used to the dark, it takes a while to adjust to the light. What was it like for people to adjust to the light of the world after growing accustomed to the shadows? Join us as we celebrate Epiphany, which is the day the c...

The sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor Floyd on December 29, 2024. The scripture reading was from Matthew 2:13-23.

God promises to bring comfort to God's people. But the descriptions of valleys being lifted up and mountains brought low, sound uncomfortable to anyone who has survived a remodeling project. We'll look for the comfort in what God wants us to build.  The sermon was delivered on December 22, 2024 by Rev. Marci A. Glass. The scripture reading was from Isiah 40.

Our theme for this Advent season is “Longing for Light.” We long for light because we are weary and tired of the long nights and brutally short days. So how does a weary world rejoice? Can we experience joy in the midst of all that is happening in the world and in our lives? The poet Toi Derricotte writes, “Joy is an act of resistance.” So joy is not frivolous; it is necessary. Let us find joy tog...

In our culture, the 'good guy' rides the white horse, not the dark horse. We often equate darkness with evil or sin, and we see it play out in devastating ways when white skinned people are praised and dark skinned people are feared. And while there is lots of scriptural imagery about the power and goodness of light, there are also references to the gifts of darkness. While we long for light, let...

Our Advent theme is "Longing for light". The days are shorter, so we do miss actual sunlight at this time of the year. But the world seems darker, in metaphorical ways, too. The first Sunday of Advent we light a candle of peace, and we consider our call to be messengers of peace to a world that traffics in discord. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Marci A. Glass on December 1, 2024. The scripture...

The sermon was delivered by Rev. Victor Floyd on November 24, 2024. The scripture reading was from Isiah chapter 6.