Things to Ponder

This Sunday, we turn our catechetical thoughts towards the kids! Christianity is a received religion, which means it can only be given from a life to a life, a line connecting all the way back to Christ himself. If we want young people to have a genuine experience of Jesus, then the most important thing we can do is remain at the feet of Jesus. The surest guarantor of wonder and passion in a young...

One objection to catechesis suggests that ultimately, what we believe isn't so important as what we do. While we always celebrate good in the world, Jesus says that following Jesus means we are more fruitful. The fruit isn't for us, it's for the world. A step towards our community is ALWAYS a step towards Christ first. Catechesis is so that we do good work in the world.

EVERYTHING is religious! That’s not a problem; that’s the world God created. The problem is when we don’t see it. Just because we fail to take interest in the spiritual doesn’t mean the spiritual fails to take an interest in us. And over the course of time, 6 days of work and television and socials and friends and culture will overcome an hour on Sunday every single time. The way of Christ require...

Catechesis is an intentional process that forms us as disciples of Christ. But it's not a "smorgasbord" of spiritual options, but a path that we walk in the way of Christ. It reminds us of our identity with Christ, and enables us to live like Christ lived. This Lent, set out on this intentional journey to follow Jesus!

At his Transfiguration, Jesus is fully revealed as God from God, light from light. We read this on the last Sunday before Lent, so that we go into Lent strengthened by this vision. So do not head into Lent without having witnessed the uncreated light of Christ.

We did a deep dive into the Beatitudes, Jesus' most substantive teaching on who is blessed (or "happy") in the Kingdom of God. While we might have heard these read from time to time, we tried to bring a new perspective on them, and the invitation to discipleship that they are.

On the heels of our sermon two weeks ago, we wonder what the church can do in times of great upheaval to be a light to the world. We found a historic precedent in St. Benedict of Nursia, who "preserved humanity" in his early monastic groups. Centered on Christ and his cross, we too can be a place which preserves the humanity and dignity of all.

Sermon Text: Deuteronomy 11:7-21   God is not mindless about land, but cares for it, so the Lord sees your faithfulness on it and sees your unfaithfulness on it.“ There is an ominous – perhaps a fatal – presumptuousness in living in a place by the imposition on it of one’s ideas and wishes.” Scripture calls us to this agrarian work, to tell the truth about our land and our selves. Our first, most...

Sermon Text: Genesis 11:1-9, Philippians 2:1-13, Luke 4:1-13   The Church is the body of Christ, so we reflect Christ's nature - fully human, fully divine. Therefore, there's nothing we do in the church that doesn't have eternal, spiritual ramifications. When it comes to stewardship, all of it draws us to Christ or obscures Christ to us. So as we go through the "administrative" parts of the church...

Sermon Text: Acts 1   The Church is the body of Christ, so we reflect Christ's nature - fully human, fully divine. Therefore, there's nothing we do in the church that doesn't have eternal, spiritual ramifications. When it comes to stewardship, all of it draws us to Christ or obscures Christ to us. So as we go through the "administrative" parts of the church in the coming months, let us look with t...

Sermon Text: Proverbs 3:1-12; Matthew 19:16-26   So when we talk stewardship, we aren’t first talking about budgets, but about a vision. We aren’t talking about money, but about how we align our lives with a world being renewed by Christ, How do I take ALL of me and let Christ’s power flow from me and from us?  That’s the question of stewardship!   Follow St. Mary's: www.facebook.com/stmarysunited...

Sermon Text:  Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16   Our associate conference minister, Sheresa Simpson-Rice, joins us to celebrate World Communion Sunday, and to reflect on a faith that calls us to a wider view of God's welcome for all people around the table!   Follow St. Mary's: www.facebook.com/stmarysunitedchurchofchrist/ www.instagram.com/stmarysucc/   Want to support the work of St. Mary's?...

Sermon Text: James 2   We continue in James, who reminds us that if we are to be faithful people, we must do, not just believe. The minute we ask, "How do I love God?" we are into the realm of religion.  Religion based in love requires discipline and sacrifice, but it also makes space for joy. If we would love God well, let us "lift our hands, that our hearts may follow."   Follow St. Mary's: www....

Sermon Text: James 3; Mark 9   Our desires are central to our identity, and to our faith. Jesus calls out the apostles because they wanted greatness, instead of relationship.  Jesus' brother, James, teaches us to pay attention to our desires that we might live a wise life.   Follow St. Mary's: www.facebook.com/stmarysunitedchurchofchrist/ www.instagram.com/stmarysucc/   Want to support the work of...

Sermon Text: Ephesians 4:17-32   We welcomed 5 new members at St. Mary's, and we reflected on Ephesians' call to be a certain kind of community.  Because God has blessed us with "every spiritual blessing in Christ," we commit to following him. In doing so, there are some things we do, and some things we don't. In doing so, we lean into the shared calling we have as a community of Christ.   Follow...

Sermon Text: Psalm 104   We all desire renewal, and that's certainly a healthy part of what it means to be human. But we can seek renewal and never consider God's place in it. The scriptures tell us that all renewal begins in God's work.  God is moving, we discern, and then we respond. If we are serious about real renewal in our lives, it begins by listening carefully to the Spirit, and planting o...

Sermon Text: Psalm 70   The opening to Psalm 70 has been prayed more than any other scripture, "God, come to my assistance!"  Our need of God is at the core of our existence and our prayers. But then the psalm goes to pray against one's enemies. How can we understand this in light of Christ and his cross? Are we really supposed to pray against others, or is there a healthier, truer way to pray thi...

Sermon Text: Isaiah 42:5-12; Matthew 9:14-17   We celebrated our students' return to school, and we wondered about God's work in new places. We asked the question:  where is God and what is God doing? God is not an old man on a throne judging, but is living and active, taking us to new places, making all things new.   Follow St. Mary's: www.facebook.com/stmarysunitedchurchofchrist/ www.instagram.c...

Sermon Text: Daniel 3; Matthew 16   When faced with grief, society gives us two options: succumb to fear, or puff out our chest in bravado. Perhaps there is a third way, a way that roots us in faith? The story of Sharach, Meshach, and Abednego tells a story of three guys who stood at a real hell and lived to tell the story. When in grief, we discover God is in it with us. And Jesus says that the C...

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:20 -26  As we explore grief, anger seems to be a strange but constant companion. Anger reveals something about our desires, and if we aren't careful, we can use that anger to defend ourselves from others, when the spiritual reality is inside of us. So "lay your weapons down, there are no enemies in front of you."   Follow St. Mary's: www.facebook.com/stmarysunitedchurchofchr...

Sermon Text:  Matthew 14:22-33   From a religious point of view, "Totem" is a chaotic song, with all of its religious references. In this way, it's a lot like grief - in challenging times, we grasp for solutions to ease the pain. When we do that, we become spiritually confused. Where do we actually put our trust in times of grief?  In the story of Jesus walking on the water, we are invited to keep...

Sermon Text:  Psalm 77; Matthew 8:1-4   In Week Two of Turntable, we turned to the grief of others.  "Born in the USA" is the dark story of a Vietnam veteran. The beauty of the song is the in the tension of the struggle in the verses and the triumph in the chorus. When we encounter people with grief, what can we offer? Jesus shows us the gift of dignity, that our grief and suffering does not have...

Sermon Text:  Psalm 137; Luke 9:18-25   Turntable Gospel will center on grief, so we started with the genre that does that best:  country. Country music thrives in its specificity, to bring you into the story. In faith, grief is what starts our journey towards God, but we must be specific about our grief and name it.  In doing so, we discover that our Savior joins us in that grief. Whatever you ar...

Sermon Text:  2 Samuel 6   We wrapped up a week of VBS by asking the question we asked the kids all week:  What is at the core of YOUR faith?  For so many of us, it's really fear.  But the Bible says, "Fear not."  In Christ, we can know a joy deeper than our circumstances.  Joy is not a requirement of discipleship, but is rather the by-product of it. We experience that joy as we walk in the way of...

Sermon Text:  Exodus 19   In our final installment of this series, we talk about the United Church of Christ. At the heart of the UCC is a commitment to covenant - an exchange not of goods or services, but of people. In the UCC, we are not connected by laws or authority, but by deep relationships to one another. That empowers our work to proclaim the gospel, work for reconciliation, and to seek ju...