FCCO Sermons: Take 2

(Sermon Preached July 21, 2024) 2 Samuel 7:1-14a contains the promise God made to David for an everlasting dynasty.  This sermon helps to connect the dots from this promise to Jesus and to us.  It asks: Where is God's house?

(Sermon preached July 7, 2024)  Mark 6:1-13 tells the story of Jesus' rejection in his hometown.  He then prepares his disciples for rejection as he sends them out two by two to heal and cast out demons and preach.  It is a good lesson for us as we see the way of Jesus being rejected by people who identify as Christians.  

(Sermon preached June 30, 2024)  In Mark 5:21-43, the gospel writer sandwiches a story within a story about two people receiving healing.  One has suffered for twelve years, the other is twelve years old.  Jesus meets them both with tenderness and calls them to rise up.  This sermon invites us to consider how we can help each other to rise up.

(Sermon preached June 23, 2024) The story of David and Goliath is often told as an underdog story where David is imagined as a young boy.  But what if the story is not as we have been led to believe?  (See 1 Samuel 17 for the story)

(Sermon preached June 16, 2024 - Dads and Grads Sunday)  1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 tells the story of David, the eighth son of Jesse, being anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel.  This sermon explores this unexpected choice and how God sees beyond the superficial and looks to the heart.  How is your heart?

(Sermon preached May 26, 2024) Isaiah 6:1-8 tells the story of Isaiah's mystical encounter with God.  In the same year the great king Uzziah dies, Isaiah, in this vision, sees God on the throne.  God wants to know, "Whom shall I send?" to be God's messenger. 

(Sermon preached May 19, 2024, Pentecost Sunday)  Acts 2:1-21 tells the story of the coming of the spirit.  To the church in Rome, Paul describes a different experience with spirit, a spirit that groans (Romans 8:22-27).  

(Sermon for May 12, 2024 - Mother's Day) This sermon is what you get when you combine Ephesians 1:15-23 with Mother's Day, the current mental health crisis of our children and youth, the sermon title I picked three months ago, a quick trip to Iowa to celebrate the life of my stepdad, and the themes of prayer and encouragement.  Blessings!

(Sermon preached April 28, 2024)  The story of the Ethiopian eunuch is told in Acts 8:26-40. Here we see God's expansive love at work as these two individuals meet each other on the road.

(Sermon preached April 21, 2024) In 1 John 3:16-24, the call to lay down our lives for one another isn't just referring to grand heroic gestures.  Daily, we have the opportunity to lay down our lives in the simple choices we make, like laying down a convenience for the sake of the neighbor impacted by our use of plastics.  This sermon recognizes Earth Day 2024 and its theme, "Planet vs. Plastics."

(Sermon preached December 24, 2023) This sermon celebrates the courage and prophetic witness of Mary as she joins with Elizabeth and sings her revolutionary song known today as The Magnificat.  (Luke 1:39-56) Please note this is my last sermon until I return from Sabbatical in April of 2024.  

(preached December 17, 2023) Isaiah 61: 1-4, 10-11 is the text Jesus opened to as he preached his first sermon in his hometown synagogue.  He reads it like a mission statement, which it is, for Jesus and for us as his followers.  It is a holy calling - a calling that cannot be fully exercised without the other gift this passage offers - JOY.  

(Sermon preached December 10, 2023)  Building a highway to usher in God's coming reign of peace is no small endeavor.  Isaiah 40:1-11 reminds us of the leveling, filling, and demolition that needs to be done to prepare the way.  

(Preached December 3, 2023 - First Sunday of Advent)  Isaiah 64:1-9 plunges us into the darkness of a people desperate for God to act.  It is only when they can surrender to the hands of the potter that God can do a new thing.  

(Sermon preached November 19, 2023)  The story of the tenth leper turning back, found in Luke 17:11-19, is a scripture often read on Thanksgiving Sunday.  It is a story of appreciation.

(Sermon preached November 6, 2023) Using the story of the Samaritan found in Luke 10:25-37, this sermon challenges us to be more than "not racist."

(Sermon preached October 15, 2023) Charity alone is not enough, we need charity coupled with justice.  Additionally, how we extend charity matters.  

(Sermon preached on October 8, 2023) Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers..." The Sermon on the Mount describes the path of peacemaking, from loving your enemies and refusing to retaliate, to taking the log out of your own eye. FCCO made a commitment to peacemaking when it became a Shalom Congregation and continues to promote peace.

(Sermon preached October 1, 2023)  Unity is part of our DNA, as a denomination and as a congregation.  In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul notes the patience, gentleness, and humility that is required to practice unity.  Unity is not the absence of conflict, nor is it uniformity.  Unity happens when we continue to gather in love, and deal with conflict in a way that affirms the dignity of all.  

(Sermon preached on September 24, 2023) This sermon concludes the series "Speaking Christian" based on a book with the same name by Marcus Borg.  The objective of the series was to revisit the "big" words of the Christian faith through the lens of a more progressive Christian perspective.  This sermon's focus is on the word "righteousness" which in the Biblical world is often synonymous with justi...

(Sermon preached September 17, 2023) What do you think of when you think of the word mercy?  How is God merciful?  This sermon invites us to revisit the word and see how it connects us to compassion.  The scripture reading is Luke 6:32-36

(Sermon preached September 10, 2023)  In the Christianity we have inherited, too often, the word "believe" means agreeing with a list of propositions or doctrines.  When we revisit what the earliest Christians meant by the word "believe" we discover words like trust, commitment, loyalty, and belove.  Mark 12:28-30 is where Jesus sums up all the commandments.  Love God, love what God loves, love th...

(Sermon preached August 27, 2023.)  This sermon explores the importance of returning to the pre-Easter (historical) Jesus.  The scripture reading is John 1:1-5.

(Sermon preached August 20, 2023) This is the third sermon in a series titled "Speaking Christian" loosely based on a book by the same name by Marcus Borg.  Salvation, in recent history, has become narrowly defined to mean Jesus dying for our sins to save us.  Yet, when we revisit this word in its Biblical context - it means wholeness, liberation and deliverance, rescue, transformation, healing......

(Sermon preached August 13 2023) This sermon is for anyone who has ever struggled with the Bible.  This is the second in a series titled "Speaking Christian" which is a series to revisit the foundations and language of our faith from a Progressive Christian perspective.  The scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16-17.