Santa Monica Nazarene Church

In this sermon we remember that the resurrection cannot be understood apart from the cross, that the resurrection is not just a claim about life after death but God's declaration that Jesus' way of self-giving love is the truth of reality, and that faith begins not with certainty but with an encounter with the risen Christ. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Lenten series on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is inspiring us to act. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Lenten series on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is rooted in justice, mercy, and faithfulness. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Lenten series on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is protection and care for the vulnerable. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Lenten series on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is that together the impossible is possible. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Lenten series on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is great love for God and neighbor. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we begin a series through Lent on what the gospel means. Today we look at how the gospel is... so good it catches us by surprise. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we consider the language of cleanliness from the Scripture as a part of our Ash Wednesday devotion. We consider what it means to examine our lives. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we look at the story of Jesus' transfiguration with the help of Rowan Williams and Willie James Jennings, who help us to consider (1) why we read this story on the last Sunday or Epiphany, and (2) how this scene is meant to deepen our hope in Jesus. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we look at three scriptures passages in order to explore the light of God that has been revealed in Jesus. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon look a passage of Scripture about the foolishness of the cross, according to Paul's understanding. We consider how it challenges our witness in light of the events in Minnesota these past several weeks and what it might mean to follow a crucified Christ. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we return to Paul's beautiful words from Ephesians about how all things are summed up in Christ, or recapitulated as we say. There's bits about home, new, driving, hiking, baseball, camping, and a junkyard I would visit as a kid. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we look at the story of Simeon and Anna meeting Jesus as a baby, exploring the connection between Christmas and Holy Week, and how our joy can increase even though we don't see the whole picture. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon return to the story of Jesus' birth. We talk about what it means to break the script, rethinking where exactly Jesus was born (hint: not in an inn but a home), and what that might teach us about welcoming, hospitality, connection, and joy, all of which break the script of our increasingly isolated and fragmented world. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in th...

In this sermon we continue our Advent series around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We talk about Mary's song the magnificat, the history that precedes it in the Bible, what it means to sing even imperfectly of God's goodness because you never know what will come of it, and all this with help from the story of how Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" came to be in existence. May we enc...

In this sermon we continue our Advent series around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We talk about the relationship between joy and being amazed and what it means to pay attention, about the crowds in this story as they get caught up in the events of John's birth, how they teach us to be amazed, how it's possible not to enjoy a sunset, how our phones are changing the way we watch tel...

In this sermon we continue our Advent series around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We talk about how weariness turns to joy through our connection to God and each other, that the presence of others helps us embrace the joy that we might be unable to receive. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we begin the Advent season around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We look at a poem by Rev. Sarah speed about embracing grief and weariness as a part of what it means to arrive at joy. We look at the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the weariness they experienced that made them ready to receive God's joyful news that they will have their first child. We talk about...

In this sermon we conclude our series on forgiveness. We talk about the relationship between bread and forgiveness in the Lord's Prayer and what they have to do with our deepest needs and the living into the future God has made possible. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our series on forgiveness. We look back at a story about how forgiveness was added to the creed, about how the dividing wall of hostility has ended because of Jesus, at a parable Jesus told about an unforgiving servant, the movie Gran Torino, and what it means to let the cycles of violence end in us. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these wor...

In this sermon we continue our series on forgiveness. We look at the original Jewish understanding of Messiah developed centuries before Jesus. We compare the differences to who Jesus was. We talk about Peter wrestling with forgiveness based on these differences. We talk about an experience Corrie ten Boom had with her former conception camp guard. I talk about how becoming a father changed me in...

In this sermon we begin a new series on forgiveness. We talk about how forgiveness isn't about passively accepting whatever comes your way, but a practice enabling us to refuse submitting to injustices but without resorting to violence. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from Matthew's gospel alongside some words from Isaiah the Solitary. We look at the story of Peter walking on and then sinking in the water not so much about Peter's lack of faith but about how Jesus is someone we can trust in the storm because of he is God...

In this sermon we continue our series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from the book of Romans alongside some words from Peter of Damascus. The sermon is on patience and hope, but we talk a lot about how music can teach us these things. A song by Olivier Messiaen serves as a refrain throughout the sermon such that we not only...