Santa Monica Nazarene Church

In this sermon we continue our series looking at the seven things Jesus says from the cross before he dies. We look at the fifth thing where he says that he is thirsty.

Good morning, SaMoNaz -   I wanted to do something a little different today. Usually I send an email with a brief reflection to help us prepare for the worship gathering. But today I thought I would also made it available in audio in hopes that maybe if you can't sit down to read something today, you can listen to it while you make breakfast or putter around the house this morning.     For now I'm...

In this sermon we continue our series looking at the seven things Jesus says from the cross before he dies. We look at the fourth thing Jesus says from the cross, which is a prayer about his being forsaken. We consider what forsakenness has to do with the God, why it's important Jesus says this from the cross, why it also has to do with us in our sinfulness, and how it's a reminder that God is alw...

In this sermon we continue our series looking at the seven things Jesus says from the cross before he dies. We consider the person of Mary in John's gospel, what she has to do with Eve and Abraham, and how she is always reminding us to do whatever the crucified one tells us to do.

In this sermon we continue our series looking at the seven things Jesus says from the cross before he dies. We consider a passage from Wendell Berry's book Jayber Crow , how people used to keep memory, what's been lost of memory in the modern world, how that affects us, a poem by Mary Oliver who gives us an image of God's lively memory, and what it means to be remembered by God.

In this sermon we begin a new series looking at the seven things Jesus says from the cross before he dies. We talk about all the ways "they" do not know what they are doing, what it means to encounter Jesus on the wrong side of the cross first, and a 2008 Coen Brothers film called Burn After Reading .

In this sermon we hear the gospel again on Ash Wednesday, that though we are dust there is hope in the crucified Christ raised from the dead. We consider what the treasures of our hearts are through a painting by Carl Spitzweg, the story of Zacchaeus, and what it means to wear the ashes.

In this sermon we talk about Jesus's transfiguration, John Wesley, and the means of grace.  

In this sermon we talk about the "what would you do?" moments, the miracle of a blind man, how the Pharisees wanted to control the narrative of grace, how Jesus wants to change the way we imagine the God, and the paradox of grace.

In this sermon we talk grace, karma, a U2 song, the third step of recovery, why grace doesn't let us off the hook (with some help from The Magnificat), and what happens when I get cut off driving down Wilshire.

In this sermon we talk about grace, Bert and I (and how people from Maine give directions), the difference between telling God's story beginning at Genesis 3 versus Genesis 1-2, Saint Maximos the Confessor (and how the incarnation was always the plan regardless of Sin), and how we are made for grace.

In this sermon we begin a series looking at the word grace. We look at how easily we can become comfortable with it forgetting what made it wonderful in the first place. We focus specifically on God's prevenient grace (with a little help from Juan Valdez and Conchita) and how God is everywhere and always giving the gift of the divine presence, which is grace (with a little help again from Flannery...

In this sermon Tim Olson (giest speaker) talks about what it means to put the moral cart before the Jesus horse and how we need to find a better way, namely that Jesus meets us where we're at first and then calls us to imitate him. It's about grace versus legalism, or about learning how to love Jesus first in order to then understand what it might mean to imitate him.

In this sermon Tim Olson (guest speaker) helps us imagine a church that focuses not on what we do not but what we should do instead as followers of Jesus.

In this sermon Tim Olson (guest speaker) talks about the more to the story of God we might be missing.

In this sermon we meditate on the great prologue of John's gospel, what it has to do with wisdom, and what it might mean to incarnate as a church the things God cares about.

In this sermon we return to the story of Jesus as a twelve year old who ditched his family for a day in order to hangout in the temple. We consider what Mary has to teach us about holding close to Christ as we grow into the fullness of him as the revelation of God.  

In this sermon we return the story of Jesus' birth presented as a fictionalized telling of events from the perspective of a group of ordinary angels.

In this sermon we return to Mary's song, the Magnificat. We talk about Mary (with a little help from Fargo) as the image of the church and the hinge upon with Christian witness happens.

In this sermon we continue to look at John the Baptist, why he calls them a brood of vipers, what fire and pruning mean in terms of reordering our lives, what it all has to do with joy (and the opposite of joy), and why this is good news.

In this sermon we look at the person of the John the Baptist, the quintessential voice of Advent calling us to prepare for the Lord's arrival. We consider, with a little help from Beetlejuice and Van Gogh, what it means that John calls us into the wilderness away from the centers of power in the Roman world and what that has to do with pruning and fruit-bearing.

In this sermon we look at the gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent, focusing on how God in Christ moves to disrupt the broken creation. We talk about how some of the symbols of Christmas (like trees and lights and gifts) should remind us of this, that Christmas is not about sentimentality, and that we are called to follow the one who carries the light and to carry it ourselves (thanks Cor...

In this sermon we focus on the confession that Jesus is Lord. We talk about when the church first started to celebrate the last Sunday of the church year as the Reign of Christ Sunday, about what Christ's lordship means in relation to everything else that competes for our devotion, how peacefulness overcomes violence (with a little help from Yoda), and how Christ holds us, refusing to let us fall...

In this sermon we conclude our series on the saints by looking at the life of Saint Paul the Apostle. We consider the devotion (yes, that's right) behind his efforts to destroy (ravage, roundup, jail, kill) the church and how Christ was able to break through and change the direction of his life. From there we consider a couple passage from his letters and with the help of something called sympathe...

In this sermon we continue our series on the saints by looking the witness of Maria Goretti as we consider what it means to forgive.