Sermons at Morehead FCC

Note: this sermon was recorded outdoors next to a creek which affects the sound quality. This is the final sermon in a month long series on the Season of Creation. You can watch the complete worship service on YouTube ; there you'll be able to see some of the beautiful landscape of eastern Kentucky. In Isaiah's hope for his people we find an alternative vision of God's shalom which Isaiah sees liv...

Note: this sermon was recorded outdoors which affects the sound quality. This is what summer sounds like in Kentucky! You can watch the complete worship service on YouTube ; there you'll be able to see some of the beautiful landscape of eastern Kentucky. For the third Sunday in the Season of Creation Pastor Nancy moves from lament to praise. It's so easy to be discouraged by the urgency of climate...

How we read the creation stories of Genesis matters. In this second sermon in our 2021 celebration of the Season of Creation Pastor Nancy reflects on the dangers of understanding human beings as having domination over the earth. As a counterpoint she invites us to imagine humanity as part of God's gardening staff, tending the landscapes we live in with care and intention.  Note: this sermon w...

Carl Sagan famously wrote of his response to seeing a picture of Earth taken from the Voyager 1 at the edge of our solar system, in which Earth appears as a pale blue dot, "To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known." During the month of September we'll be celebrating the Season of Cre...

In our final installment of A Summer with David: Lessons from an Imperfect King , Pastor Nancy leads a reflection on the startling sensuous love poetry in The Song of Songs. How did these ancient love poems become included in scripture? What wisdom might they hold for us in our day? Scripture: Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Sermon: Sacred Matters

Following the plans of his father before him, Solomon now presides over the opening worship ceremony of his newly constructed temple. Even as he offers a dedication prayer, he questions his efforts, saying, " But can God really dwell on earth? Look the heavens and the heavens beyond the heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house that I have built." In the long extended days of pandemic,...

King Solomon like his father is the stuff of legends--renowned for his wisdom, wealthy beyond measure, countless wives and concubines. At the beginning of his story is the tale of a dream, a dream in which God asks what Solomon desires. At this crucial juncture, Solomon asks for wisdom, wisdom to discern between good and evil. What does this fable have to say about our days of disinformation and d...

The tragic story of King David draws to a close this week as the lectionary reading describes David receiving the news of the death of his son Absalom. Pastor Nancy retells the story of their estrangement and invites us to imagine a different outcome. Listen in as she asks, "what if?" The gospel story gives us the chance to break the cycles of violence and retribution and to practice the power of...

Just when King David thinks he's successfully covered up his indiscretions, the prophet Nathan comes for a visit. He ensnares the king with an story of an outrageous injustice, and soon David is caught in the prophet's trap. Listen as Pastor Nancy continues our series: A Summer with David. Scripture: 

Now the saga of David takes a dark turn, as the storyteller of 2 Samuel recounts the encounter of David with Bathsheba and the actions which follow.  from this moment on, his life is on a trajectory of decline, tragedy, and loss. What are we to do with such disturbing passages in scripture, what Phyllis Trible calls "texts of terror"? Listen as Pastor Nancy explores the history of interpretin...

King David has big plans. With a new capital and a new palace in place, now he begins drawing up designs for a fabulous temple in which to house the Ark of God. Before the first shovel is in the ground, the prophet Nathan has some startling news for David: God rejects the offer, and counters with a grand design beyond David's dreams. Listen as Pastor Nancy explores why we might be moved to pray, "...

“There are many roads which lead to God. I have chosen the one of dance and music.” -- Rumi In the six sermon "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" in the series, "A Summer with David," Pastor Nancy spends time unpacking the celebratory story of David's decision to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. What can we learn from this ancient story of communal joy and the ominous dangers which surround t...

"On this fourth of July we can pause to consider how we tell our own stories. Can we tell them honestly, without skipping over the uncomfortable parts? Can we be truly patriotic or will we slip into the sin of idolatry of nationalism?" --Pastor Nancy, from her sermon, "Not Leaving out the Details," part of the series, "A Summer with David: lessons from an imperfect king." Scripture: 2 Samuel 5:1-5...

This week's scripture passage finds David leading the people in the face of grief. They have lost a battle, their king and his son have been killed, and the future is unsure. Pastor Nancy in her sermon, "Lament in a Forgetful World," invites us to consider the ways in which the church is called to engage in lament. "As we lean into moments of lament, we learn to be in solidarity with those who cry...

It's a familiar bible story many learn in Sunday School, the young boy David takes down the giant Goliath with only his slingshot and 5 smooth stones.  "What do we do with a story we’ve known since childhood? with a story whose themes are woven into some of our favorite books and movies? How do we free the tale from our expectations and allow it to speak to us beyond the easy platitudes of Su...

In our 2021 summer worship series, "A Summer with David: lessons from an imperfect king" we're following the story of David and the beginnings of the monarchy in Israel. In her second sermon in the series, "The Perils of First Impressions," Pastor Nancy explores the selection and anointing of the young David to be the next king of Israel. How do we decide who will be a good leader? The writer of S...

This summer we begin a deep dive into the story of David and the beginnings of the ancient monarchy in Israel through the books of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 Kings. How does an ancient story about prophets, judges, and kings relate to our modern context? Listen to Pastor Nancy as she opens up the series with her sermon, Be Careful What You Wish For . Scripture text: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (1...

In the dazzling glory of a vision in the Temple, Isaiah hears a call from God, "Who will go for us?" And in response, he steps out in faith saying, "Here I am, send me!" Listen as Pastor Nancy explores this ancient call and how it connects with our current journeys of faith, in her sermon for Trinity Sunday, Saying Yes to God's Community of Love. Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-13, Romans 8:12-17.

For Pentecost Sunday 2021 in-person worship returned to FCC Morehead, KY. Pastor Nancy explores the story of the gift of the Holy Spirit and its implications for our current day. Sunday sermon title: We're in the Wrong Place. Scriptures: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Acts 2:1-21.

When artists attempted to depict the story of the ascension of Jesu (Acts 1:1-11), some interesting images appear. Today Pastor Nancy reflects on one detail from a painting by Master of the Dominican Cycle in a passion series painting from the 16th century. You can view the painting at the German National Museum . 

"Too often we tend to think of faith as a one time decision, perhaps at our baptism or when we join a particular church. Peter’s story offers us another way of imagining our faith, one of process and discovery--of making mistakes, of changing one's mind, of having our ways of understanding God and the world challenged, enlarged, of being--as Peter was that day in Caesarea--interrupted by the Spiri...

On the fourth Sunday of the Easter Season, Pastor Nancy returns to the story of Peter and John in Acts 4, as she continues our reflections on life after resurrection. As the Elder of 1 John writes, this eastering life requires practice, we live into a life of divine love, one day at a time, one action of love after another. It's through our practice of love that the Sacred breaks through our broke...

How does a stammering, impulsive fisherman, who in Jesus's darkest hours denied him 3 times transform into a bold, risk-taking apostle who can bring good news to an outcast and to those in power? The Elder who wrote 1 John tells us it's because of God's initiative, embracing Peter as a beloved child. It's that love that opens up a different future for him and for us. Deep inside most of us long fo...

In recent weeks the findings of a Gallop research Poll on church membership have been in the news. For the first time since they began tracking the numbers in 1937, membership in a faith community fell below 50% of the U.S. adult population. The headlines have been everywhere, marking this milestone. "If we take seriously the findings of these studies, the truth is, dusting off our traditions and...

What are we to make of the ending of Mark's gospel? With only five verses and no resurrection appearances by Jesus it stands alone with its abrupt, unsettling end. On Easter Sunday in 2021, as many churches have yet to return to in person worship services, Pastor Nancy suggests we consider the unfinished ending as an open invitation--how are we responding to the news of resurrection?