Prince of Peace

Today we not only celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, but baptisms of several new members. In his message this morning, Pastor Jonathan reminds us that our baptism means that no matter what happens in our lives, we begin and end washed in God's grace. Through the highest of the good things in our lives, and the lowest of the bad things, staying focused on our baptism in God's grace keeps our lives...

Today's gospel starts with "In the beginning ..." and continues to tell how God brought forth light from the darkness. Pastor Michelle explains that darkness can be place of peace and comfort, but more often it is a place we associate with bad things happening. The light that the gospel lesson is talking about is Jesus overcoming the dark spaces in our lives. She goes on to remind us that we can h...

Today's gospel tells the story of Herod trying to find Jesus. Pastor Hannah explains Herod was not looking to worship God's son, but was afraid that the newborn king would dethrone him. She goes on to say that many of the conflicts in our world are born of fear. We can combat this fear by sharing God's love through Forgiveness, empathy, and honesty.

In this sermon Pastor Michelle discusses how Joseph ultimately chose the most loving option over his original plan. In the same way, in living a faithful life we are called to choose the most loving options rather than those that follow a strict rigidity. We are called to live with a Christ-like love that while demanding, is not impossible because of God's help.

Today's gospel is the continuation of the story of Mary, as she carries the Christ child within her. The story tells of Mary praising God for blessing her with Jesus. Pastor Michelle explains why this is such a big deal: for generations God has promised to lift up the lowly and downtrodden and provide salvation, while humbling the powerful people. Indeed, Mary had witnessed firsthand the oppressio...

In this sermon Pastor Hannah discusses the peace spoken of by Isaiah and the appearance of the John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord. This peace takes a lot of work and we are called to Jesus into an active life of love. Through this we work with Christ to achieve peace in our world.

As we begin the season of Advent in 2025, Pastor Jonathan reminds us that we are entering a season of anticipating what is to come. Yet, as Pastor Jonathan explains, while this season of watching and waiting is teaching us to look forward to the salvation that is to come, Isaiah's prophecy that nations will "hammer their swords into plows" tells us that this hope is not a passive activity - we are...

In this sermon Pastor Johnathan invites us to remember what kind of king we serve in Jesus. We are reminded that Jesus not come as a king who seeks power above all but instead he comes as a servant king. We are reminded of what is outside of God's kingdom and what is a part of it as we both anticipate the coming kingdom and celebrate how it is coming among us now.

This morning, Pastor Hannah talks about how the end of the church year always brings us lessons about the end times. In fact, in today's gospel, Jesus says that "the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another..." We know that things that we create and achieve will not last, and we ourselves are not on this earth forever. But, Pastor Hannah reminds us, the love of God is the one th...

In this morning's gospel lesson, Jesus teaches the Sadducees that the labels we put on people in this world - in this case, "wife" - do not exist in heaven. Pastor Michelle expands this idea to explain that, in the Resurrection, everyone is a child of God. No additional assignments are necessary. We bring the Resurrection closer to this world by remembering that everyone is a child of God. When we...

On this All Saints Sunday, Pastor Jonathan recalls the humble beginnings of the church through images of the recent trip through Turkey and Greece. Sites such as the original home of Peter remind us that all the saints had humble beginnings. As we remember the saints among us who have completed their earthly journey, we are called to be humble servants to others as we anticipate the joy to come.

In Pastor Hannah's message this morning, she muses that Martin Luther may not have known that his 95 Theses would change the history of the church, but he was doing what the Spirit guided him to do. Just as the Spirit guided Paul to lead the early church. In the same way, the Spirit is guiding us to invite people of all kinds to experience the love of God.

In this sermon Pastor Michelle discusses how God invites us to live with our hearts wide open. God gives us new hears and a new spirit, and invites us to use them. When we live with our hearts wide open God multiplies our gift. We do our part and God does the rest.

As Christians, we long for, and work for, a world restored with grace and peace. Pastor Michelle this morning reminds us that sometimes it it hard to maintain our faith through the difficult times that happen. God helps us push through the hard times, many times by way of the community of faith we share - sometimes we are the ones using our time and gifts to help others, sometimes we ourselves are...

In this sermon Pastor Hannah describes how our choices can reflect the love God has surrounded us with. Just as Christ's generous healing calls for a grateful response, so too can we act out of the gratitude of our salvation. Generosity becomes a natural expression of our faith.

In our contentious world today, it's common to hear advice to take care of your own needs and the needs of those close to you, and all others can fend for themselves. Pastor Michelle borrows from the old testament lesson in Deuteronomy - "If there is among you anyone in need ... You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need." She goes on to explain that helping others...

In this morning's gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the dishonest steward. The steward, knowing he was about to lose his job, forgave some of the debts of his master. Pastor Jonathan explains that by extending this grace to those who owed debts to his master, the steward not only made life better for them, but he awakened the same grace from the master. The stweard in this parable can be interpre...

In this sermon Pastor Jonathan discusses how the priorities of this world do not translate into God's priorities. There is a danger in believing that success, power and fame are the highest good. Instead, we are called to reflect the holy and humble mercy of God to the world.

In this sermon, Pastor Hannah explains that while grace is free we must think more deeply about the cost of discipleship. Jesus calls us to a transformative life that changes the decisions we make every day. We are called to action to show what the church can do if we leave the comfort of our sanctuary.

Pastor Michelle tells us this morning that in Jesus time, status was everything, and being associated with someone of high status would elevate your own. Thinks are not much different today - knowing someone makes a person feel more important. Jesus reminds us that status-seeking can pit people against each other, and lead to jealousy and cruelty. Instead, Pastor Michelle tells us, we are called t...

In today's gospel lesson Jesus heals a woman. It happens to be the sabbath, which violates a law according to a leader of the synagogue. Jesus points out that providing water for animals on the sabbath is allowed, and how much more important is this woman's health? Pastor Hannah shows us that while people may place rules around love and grace, God's love and grace are not bound by any rules.

In this sermon, Pastor Jonathan discusses the challenges in the gospel text of the division discussed therein. This division is the result of the refining fire of the gospel. While the gospel itself always advocates peace and harmony, the existence of evil shows us why a message of love gives rise to division. The way of Jesus is always a loving invitation and we must trust in the power of Jesus t...

This morning, Pastor Grant (from Jacob's Porch at OSU) reflects on Jesus message to his disciples - "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." He relates one recent story from campus ministry which would have been a time to be afraid, but the spirit reminded him of these words and gave him courage to turn a scary situation into something positi...

Jesus tells the crowd following him that "one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." In her message this morning, Pastor Hannah relates this to the recent youth D-Tour trip - many of those they met in Birmingham had little, but were still joyful and welcoming. We tend to be focused on accumulating material things, she explains, but Jesus tells us that those things don't really m...

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray in today's gospel. Jesus' response is the foundation of what we know as "The Lord's Prayer." Pastor Michelle breaks down what Jesus taught, but it a new way. She explains that praying to God is not about asking for what we want, but rather asking for what we need. Prayer is also a call for action for us: when we pray for peace, or for the hungry...