First Congregational of Hamilton

What does faith mean, especially when we are in seasons of suffering? We continue our journey through Luke's gospel and encounter two daughters in trouble and the profound compassion, power, and hope of Jesus. 

This week, we conclude Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ birth. Jesus is a boy, lost in the temple. But then again, he isn’t lost. He is exactly where he is meant to be. Come, expectant and with open hearts as we expand our understanding and love of our dear LORD Jesus. We need him in the new year, more than ever.

Tidings of comfort and joy? Yes, absolutely. That’s what Advent teaches us. But also, tidings that he will come again—Second Advent—to finish what he started. Simeon’s Song shows us both sides of Christmas. O come, O come, Emmanuel! 

The birth of Jesus couldn’t have come at a worse time. Mary was expecting her baby to be Son of the Most High ( Luke 1:32 )!! But under the shadow of the empire, she and Joseph find themselves in an awkward, precarious position of having the baby amongst the animals in backwater Bethlehem. As we find ourselves in moments of bad timing - situations out of control, in chaos and pain, we discover tha...

Puzzles are always a popular choice for presents at Christmas. Luke has given us his own Christmas puzzle in  Luke 1:67-80 , though its puzzling nature only becomes apparent when we read further on in his gospel. We will see why the passage remains puzzling in our own day.

On this second Sunday of Advent, we explore Mary's song of praise after being told of her role in the birth of the Messiah, famously known as the Magnificat. This passage invites us to consider alongside Mary the incredible acts of God and allow this to lead us to heartfelt worship!

We wake up this morning to our first Sunday in Advent as we remember Jesus’s birth and look forward to his return. As you prepare read  Luke 1:1-25  and consider what was news for Zechariah and Elizabeth and what changed for all of us because of their news.

Luke has showed us our Lord and Savior as the compassionate healer, Lord of the Sabbath, Son of David, and God’s mighty prophet. And for the past few weeks we have seen him as “pantocrator.” That’s an old word that means “all-powerful.” He rules over the deep, disease, death, and demons. This week’s story shows Jesus casting out a legion of demons. That’s our Lord! Prepare your heart and mind to h...

How does a forgiven sinner respond? With much love - because forgiveness leads to love. That's what Simon the Pharisee didn't understand when he saw the sinful (or so he thought) woman's lavish acts of love towards Jesus. We'll walk through the passage in  Luke 7:36-50  by asking three questions: 1. Who is she? 2. Who is He?  3. Who are you? 

Do you remember why Luke said he wrote his gospel? It was to write an orderly account that would build certainty about the claims of Christianity. He wrote it to encourage and build faith. This week, we’ll look at two marvelous acts of Jesus. Consider what Luke is wanting us to know for certain about who Jesus is, and why we can feel solid in our faith in believing the good news. In preparation I...

Doubt is normal for followers of God, even the greatest followers such as John the Baptist. When he was persecuted, imprisoned in Herod’s fortress, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask: "Are you the One?” John thought so, and in years past he preached that Jesus was God’s Messiah, but now he isn’t so sure. "Are you the One, or should we seek another?” That’s what suffering does to us—it ma...

This week we come to a central teaching of Jesus. He calls us to be like God in our extravagant love for those who don’t respect us, don’t deserve it, and can’t afford it. The Golden Rule applies to “the others” who are farthest from us, because we were estranged from God and he extended his grace to us. When we consider the Welcome of God, we look to the cross as the embodiment of Jesus’s teachin...

When Jesus proclaimed His mission in  Luke 4 , He declared good news, healing, and freedom—both physical and spiritual—for all people. I will share how that same mission is unfolding among college students and communities today, and how each of us can join Jesus in bringing His freedom to the world around us.

Continuing our journey through Luke’s gospel, Jesus begins his teaching with four blessings and four woes. He says, “blessed are the ones who are poor.” Homer (not the Simpson) used the same word to describe the god Zeus in the Odyssey (5.7.). Does Jesus really mean to say that it’s the poor, not the rich who are blessed?! Is that what your experience is? Jesus’ teaching will help us reimagine wha...

This Sunday we will be looking at two stories involving Jesus and the Sabbath:  Luke 6:1-11  and Luke 13:10-17 . Although Sabbath in the US has waned in recent decades, it was a very important matter at the time of Jesus. These stories will help unveil the deep significance of the Sabbath for understanding our place in the world

When Jesus calls us to follow him, what does he expect? Should we all adopt the lifestyle of Mother Theresa? What did our Lord mean when he said that we must leave everything? This early story in  Luke 5:1-11  is a template of calling. We see that when Jesus calls, disciples respond willingly, humbly, and fully.

This Sunday we will look at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke. Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth and tells people he is fulfilling the life-giving mission outlined in  Isaiah 61 . You would think this would be great news for his fellow Nazarenes…but things quickly turn very unwelcoming indeed. I look forward to seeing you as we explore together this crucial passage in the gos...

This week we will continue in our journey through the Gospel of Luke and God's Welcome. In  Luke 3 , we will look at Jesus' baptism. The baptism of Jesus is a spiritual prototype for our baptism which is a milestone for our lives that we can look back on in times of trial.

This is the first sermon in our new series from the Gospel of Luke, called God’s Welcome. Luke’s biography about Jesus, highlights the welcome, hospitality, and love of God to all types of people through his Son, Jesus. We are eager to explore this welcome personally, communally, and of course as we extend this welcome to others. Just this week we start Alpha to help us introduce people to Jesus,...

As our summer series, Who We Are, concludes this week, I am reflecting on how God has used his word and all the strong voices to teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness(see  2 Timothy 3:16 ). Our hope is that God’s Spirit will take these truths deeply into our hearts individually and collectively. This week, we will look at God’s Kingdom and our roles as soldiers serving in the battle ag...

We will be looking at the church as slaves of Christ. As Christians, we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and are now called to serve the Good Master, Jesus Christ.

In our series on the nature and the mission of the church, we will explore how believers are “stewards” of the gifts of God’s grace, according to  1 Peter 4:10-11 . We will learn that every believer has received gifts of God’s grace, that believers use their gifts as good stewards, and that believers use their gifts to serve others and to praise God through Jesus Christ.

We all want to be successful. We want to be productive. We want our lives, our ministry, our work, our spiritual life to count. And yet, too often, we feel stuck, motionless, dry… fruitless. This Sunday, we get a refreshing portrait in  John’s Gospel  of invitation from Jesus to abide in him and be fruitful: knowing who we are as branches of the True Vine.

In Ephesians, Paul describes the church as God's “poiema”—a Greek word that is often translated as “handiwork” or “workmanship.” Interestingly, the word comes into English directly as “poem.” What might we learn if we think about the church as a poem? Join us on Sunday as we explore what  Ephesians 2  has to teach us about salvation, community, and the work God gives us to do in the world, all thr...

We continue in our summer series looking at “who we are.” This week’s metaphor is not very flattering, but it sure is realistic—we are clay pots. Just ordinary, fragile, inexpensive vessels. But inside is treasure—the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Lord, help us remember who we are, who you are, and may we find strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow when we see these old clay pots crack and de...