City Church San Francisco

We've been taught that forgiveness means forgetting, excusing, or automatically rebuilding trust. This week at City Church SF, we untangle those myths — forgiveness isn't denial, it isn't saying the harm didn't matter, and it isn't the same as reconciliation, which demands safety, truth, and willingness from everyone involved. Instead, we explore forgiveness as an act of reclam...

The Hebrew midwives embody the best of what we celebrate at Pride: creative resistance, campy mockery, loving courage, and defiant hope to operate in the in-between space and bring forth life in the face of death. Pride is an occasion for us both to remember how far we have come and to strengthen ourselves for the work we have ahead, with joy and celebration and a love that will never let us go.

A leper. A paralyzed man. A tax collector. Three people on the margins. Three encounters with Jesus. Three moments that rewrite the rules. In Mark 1:40–2:17, Jesus doesn't just heal — he challenges everything his community believed about who belongs, who's forgiven, and who gets a second chance. No one's status is too low. No one's sin is too great. And no one is so far gone that they can't begin...

  Galatians 5:16-26

Galatians 3:1-9, 23-29

Galatians 1:13-17, 2:11-21

Luke 14:15-24; Romans 12:9-13

  Acts 8:26-39

Who Will Be A Witness? Rev. Joshua Jalandoon In this sermon on Acts 6:1—7:2a, 44–60, we follow the early church as it wrestles with growth, conflict, and calling—and encounter Stephen, whose life and death embody what it means to bear witness. What does it look like to testify to truth in the face of pressure, injustice, and misunderstanding? And who gets to be a witness in the first place? This m...

Pastoral Resident Amelia Hamiter guides us through Luke 24:13-35,

Scripture: John 20:1-18 (CEB)

What kind of king arrives not with power, but with humility? Not on a warhorse, but on a borrowed colt? In this Palm Sunday reflection, Rev. Emily McGinley invites us to notice the contrast between the parades we expect and the one Jesus actually leads. Drawing from Zechariah’s vision of a peaceful ruler and Luke’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, this sermon explores a kingdom that refuses...

There is so much more to the story of the Prodigal Son then we have been led to believe.

Sermon Title: … In this week’s message, we reflect on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Gospel of Luke 16:19–31—a story that confronts the distance we often keep between comfort and suffering. Drawing from a recent gathering of the Reformed Church in America and the witness of the Belhar Confession, Rev. Emily McGinley explores what happens when followers of Jesus refuse to ignore the v...

And sometimes we need to be reminded that we are needy and are inherently communal beings. And that's enough.

"Naming our biases matters. Not so we gain theological omniscience, but because it’s become all too easy to domesticate Jesus. When our projections slide into misrepresentation, we lose the ability to tell the difference between Jesus of Nazareth and the counterfeits versions of Jesus that simply affirm our instincts, rather than challenge them."

In our Pastoral Resident, Amelia Hamiter's sermon this past Sunday, we sit with Luke 10:25–42 — holding together the story of the Good Samaritan and the tension-filled moment between Martha and Mary . Two familiar passages. One shared thread: compassion. Through the parable of the Samaritan, Jesus expands our definition of neighbor and redefines mercy as costly, embodied action. Through Martha...

Ash Wednesday invites us to tell the truth: life is fragile, often unfinished — and yet we are deeply loved. In this contemplative gathering, Held in the Ashes , we lean into the tenderness of this sacred day. Through scripture, poetry, silence, and song, we remember our mortality while rooting ourselves in belovedness. Even as we hear the ancient reminder, “from dust you came…,” we also receive t...

In Luke 7:1–17, we see a faith that amazes Jesus and a compassion that stops a funeral procession. This message explores the authority of Christ, the power of humble faith, and the hope that meets us even in our deepest grief.

This past Sunday, Rev. Emily McGinley invites us into deeper connection through Luke 5:1–11, weaving the scripture together with reflections from her recent time standing in solidarity alongside other clergy in Minneapolis.

Jesus returns to His hometown full of the Spirit, welcomed at first—then rejected just as quickly. In Luke 4:14–30, we witness the turning point where admiration gives way to offense, and the mission of Jesus collides with human expectations. This sermon explores why familiarity can breed resistance, how grace challenges our assumptions, and what it means to follow a Messiah who refuses to be cont...

Made For Love Luke 3:15–16, 21–23a; 4:1–14 What does it mean to know who you are—and whose you are—in a world that constantly questions your belonging? In Rev. Emily McGinley's sermon, we follow Jesus from the waters of baptism into the wilderness, where his identity is named before it is tested. Luke tells us that Jesus is both God’s beloved Son and deeply rooted in human history—and it is fr...

What obstacles are between you and being able to just be with God?

What if silence isn’t a punishment—but an invitation? In Luke 1, Zechariah’s long season of silence finally gives way to song. But before his voice returns, something deeper happens: God is already at work, forming hope, preparing redemption, and teaching him to see the present differently. Rev. Joshua Jalandoon's sermon invites us to reframe silence—not as God’s absence or disapproval, but as...

Short and sweet, a homily inviting us into this advent season to step into joy.