Prince of Peace

In this sermon Pastor Jonathan leads us through an examination of the contrast between living a purposeful life and being present fully in the moment with God. While there is truth in the concept of living a purposeful life, we need to also be available to hear where God wants us to be next. Pastor Jonathan discusses what it looks like to choose another way.

In today's gospel, Jesus answers the question "Who is my neighbor?" with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Pastor Hannah explains that in Jesus time, people from Samaria and Jews did not get along at all. She goes on to tell that is easy for us to be compassionate to those we like, but in this parable Jesus is challenging us to reach beyond our comfort zone to help those who are not like us. When...

In today's gospel, Jesus commissions his followers to spread peace to the surrounding villages, but to take no supplies or comforts with them. Pastor Michelle tells us that Jesus was asking his followers to be courageous in spreading peace to the world, but also to be vulnerable to the whims of the people they encountered. Jesus guides us today to do the same: spread peace wherever we go. For God'...

Today's epistle lesson comes from Paul's letter to the Galatians, in which he reminds them that true freedom comes not from doing what we want, but from love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control. Pastor Jonathan further explains that, while we may not know where our road through life will lead us, living as Paul suggests will keep us on the path of our missio...

In today's gospel lesson, Jesus casts a legion of demons from a man who was forced to live outside the city because of his condition. Pastor Hannah shows us that reaching out to those who were on the fringes of society, the outcasts, is this is the hallmark of Jesus ministry. This became the calling of the church, and by extension all of us: welcoming those who feel ignored or left behind by the r...

In this sermon Pastor Jonathan discusses how the task on Trinity Sunday is not to explain God. Instead the Trinity is the best way to explain the breadth and depth of God's work in the world. It is a dynamic lens for seeing God interacting with our world. It reveals the path of following Jesus.

Today's first reading tells the story of the first Pentecost - the Holy Spirit gifting the disciples with the ability to talk to people of every country about the good news of Jesus, but in their own languages. Pastor Michelle notes that research has shown that church membership has been declining, but we still have the Holy Spirit as a powerful ally. The Advocate helps us to translate the languag...

Today's gospel finds Jesus praying for unity, not only for his disciples, but for all who follow the Word. Pastor Jonathan explains what the challenge is. The world spends so much effort creating divisions among people: political, religious, gender, regional... the list could go on and on. It takes a basic commitment to love your neighbor to be able to move past the divisions and achieve the unity...

In this morning's gospel lesson, Jesus says this to his disciples, as he is preparing for his ascension. Earlier in the passage, Jesus refers to the Advocate, and Hannah explains that Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit. She also shares that a sense of peace is the way you know that the Holy Spirit is guiding what you do, as it has been guiding her. This does not mean that the road is easy, but...

In this sermon Pastor Michelle explains Christ's command to love all, always, with the same love Jesus has for us. Dinette Miller from the Haitian Timun Foundation then shares one way we can show Christ's love to our vulnerable brothers and sisters.

On this Mother's Day, Pastor Hannah recounts her experiences knowing several sheep farmers during her youth. Sheep, she tells us, are easy to frighten, susceptible to predators of all types, and need a guardian. Sheep, however, do learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd as the voice of comfort and safety. We humans are like sheep, and we are fortunate to have Jesus as our shepherd. We just...

In this sermon Pastor Jonathan reflects on the restoration of Saul and the disciples. The disciples experienced the power of the resurrection to restore. We are reminded that we can help to see the world restored when we live and love like Jesus.

In this sermon Pastor Michelle reminds us of how Christ reaches out to each of us. Jesus invites us to experience the reality of the resurrection. We are also reminded how we need to bring our faith to others and to invite them to experience Christ's love through our actions.

On this Easter morning, Pastor Jonathan reminds us that the store of the resurrection is not jsut an idle tale we dust off once or twice a year. It's the story of how God's love triumphs over the evils of this world. If we try, even we can turn stories of death and destruction into stories of love and renewal.

In this sermon on Maundy Thursday, Pastor Jonathon reminds us of Jesus' commitment to love and to serve. Jesus did not come to be put on a pedestal but is instead seen in every loving act of human kindness. Therefore he commands us to love and serve one another.

This morning, Pastor Hannah tells us that sharing God's love is easy, but it may take practice. The bible is full of stories of God's compassionate love for his children, including the gospel lesson for today, 'The Prodigal Son'. Compassionate Love for others si choosing to feel love for those you may fear or dislike, hoping and praying for the best for them in the face of fear and distrust. Even...

We see throughout the gospels that Jesus was an advocate for the downtrodden and marginalized people in society. In today's gospel lesson, Jesus is openly defiant toward the authorities that sought to silence his ministry. Pastor Jonathan explains that not only this courage, but integrity, are needed today to fulfill God's vision of justice for everyone. What path can each of us follow toward cour...

In today's first lesson, God makes Jonah visit Nineveh, and then uses Nineveh to teach Jonah a lesson. In the Gospel story, Jesus tells the story of 'The Good Samaritan.' Pastor Michelle explains that these two stories show us that God can do good work even through people that we don't agree with, or don't even like.

In this sermon Pastor Michelle discusses how we can sometimes find our selves in the midst of suffering but that we still have hope. We can find hope in Jesus and those around us. Likewise, we can serve as a source of hope for others around us when our hope is abundant.

As the season of Lent begins, Pastor Jonathan explains that our traditional view of Lent is not what Lent should be about. Our normal view of Lent is that it is a time to immerse ourselves in misery and shame - we give up something we cherish, and spend time thinking about our sinful nature. Instead, Pastor Jonathan advises that we need to strip away any sense we have of self-importance and righte...

On this Transfiguration Sunday, Pastor Michelle wraps up the "Prophet's Path" sermon series by talking about what the prophets were all about. As we've learned, the prophets, and then Jesus himself, tell us about the coming of the kingdom of God. They taught us to live as if that kingdom were already present, loving our neighbor and extending a helping hand to each other. At times, it seems a litt...

In today's gospel, Jesus is telling his followers to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you..." Pastor Hannah reminds us how much that counters what we feel. It's too easy for us to trash-talk rival sports teams, spread scandal about celebrities, and even worse. Jesus teaches us to not only 'turn the other cheek', but to actively forgive those who wrong us. It...

In this sermon Pastor Michelle discusses Jesus's Sermon on the Plain. Jesus speaks to the people in this passage giving them words of hope in their suffering. This reminds us that God is present even in those low places. Likewise Jesus reminds us that even in the good times we must not put our hope in those circumstances but instead should keep it in God. At all times we are reminded of the import...

The current world view is that we should love and care for those close to us first, before we spread the love to other. Pastor Jonathan shares that Jesus teaches that there is enough love in the world for all, if only we share it. Then he reads a story that shows how just one little act of love can make a big difference.

In today's Gospel, Jesus boldly points out to the leaders of the synagogue that those who go against the established 'rules' are always rejected. Pastor Hannah uses her recent trip to Japan, where Christianity is a minority faith, as a prime example of how Jesus wants us to challenge our own 'cultural bubbles' (comfort zones) to share the good news and encourage others to escape their own cultural...