Sermon Audio – Cross of Grace

December 17: Mary Graham - Sunflowers Off Prospect St. Sunflowers Off Prospect St. Mary Graham December 17: Dave Baker - It Gets Better Each Year It Gets Better Each Year Dave Baker Dave and Dan at eight months old. Can you tell who is who? December 10: Dan Julian - Ashes and Rainbows Ashes and Rainbows Dan Julian The sun dogs seen by Dan and Deb on their way home after “spreading” her parents’ as...

What's On Your List? Pastor Cogan Matthew 24:36-44 But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the floo...

Toilet Paper, Payback, and Christ the King Pastor Cogan Luke 23:33-43 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him,...

Fire, Brimstone, and Building Campaigns Pastor Mark Havel Luke 21:5-19 As some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the day will come when not one stone will be left upon another, all will be thrown down.” They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be? And what will be the sign that this is...

Zacchaeus and Me Pastor Mark Havel Luke 19:1-10 [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to...

The Risk of Saints - All Saints Sunday 2025 Pastor Cogan Luke 6:20-31 Then Jesus looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor,     for yours is the kingdom of God.  “Blessed are you who are hungry now,     for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now,     for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people...

Free Indeed - Reformation 2025 Pastor Mark Havel John 8:31-36 Jesus said to some of the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” They said to him, “We are descendant of Abraham, and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free.’?” He answered them, “V...

God the Persistent Widow Pastor Cogan Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though...

Faith, High Hurdles, and Vatican City Pastor Mark Havel Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. Who among you would say to his slave who has just returned from plowing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at...

Asking for a Friend - How can we hold onto our Shared Humanity in a Divided World? Pastor Cogan Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven. I loathe physical therapy. Thanks to having the back of someone 3x my age, I h...

Asking for a Friend - Is the Church a Mission Center or Social Club Pastor Cogan Matthew 28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing th...

Asking for a Friend - Literal v. Literate: Can We Square Scripture and Science? Pastor Mark Havel John 9:1-12 As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the...

Asking for a Friend - What Actually Happens in Heaven? Pastor Cogan Luke 23:39-43 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve f...

Asking for a Friend: Do we have to believe in Hell to believe in Heaven? Pastor Mark Havel Mark 15:33-39 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o'clock, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sebacthani!" Which means, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" When some bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Eli...

Asking for a Friend - Do churches change the meaning of Scripture to fit what they want it to say? Pastor Cogan John 1:1-4, 14-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light...

Asking for a Friend - When the System Falls Short, What Does Faithful Action Look Like? Pastor Mark Havel Luke 10:25-37 Just then, a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered him, “You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, with all...

Asking for a Friend - Thy Kingdom Come? Pastor Cogan Matthew 6:7-13 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “Pray, then, in this way: Our Father in heaven,     may your name be revered as holy.  &nb...

Babel and Beyond Pastor Cogan John 17:20-23 Jesus prayed, “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I i...

The Primeval Mythology of Genesis - The Flood Pastor Mark Havel Genesis 9:8-17 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, th...

The Primeval Mythology of Genesis - The Fall Pastor Cogan Genesis 3:8-24 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was...

The Primeval Mythology of Genesis - Creation Pastor Mark Havel John 19:38-42 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, came to Pilate and asked if he could take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came to remove his body. Nicodemus, who at first had come to Jesus by night also came, bringing with him a m...

The Cost of Grace Pastor Cogan Luke 9:51-62 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival, but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem.  When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want u...

Harvard, Humanity, and the Holy Trinity Pastor Mark Havel John 16:12-15 [Jesus said,] “I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own but he will take whatever he hears and declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me and because he will take what is mine and d...

Jesus' Prayer for Christian Unity Pastor Mark Havel John 17:20-26 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as w...

Oh The Place You Won't Go Pastor Cogan Acts 16:6-15 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedoni...