Sunday Sermons

"Compromise in Private" is an Ash Wednesday meditation on how spiritual drift rarely happens through dramatic failure, but through slow, quiet wearing. Tonight we name what has shifted, not to shame ourselves, but to be steadied. The soil of who we are has not changed its nature. We begin Lent by telling the truth about our mortality and trusting the faithfulness of God.

If you want to ruin your life from the inside out, start here: Be Nihilistic - Believe That Nothing Really Matters. Tell yourself that life has no meaning, no purpose and that your choices are insignificant. Mock hope. Decide that right and wrong are just opinions, that morality is subjective and that nothing you do, good or bad, really matters in the end. So why try? Why care? Treat all beliefs a...

Many of us feel scattered—pulled in too many directions, carrying more than we know how to name. Scripture reminds us that God’s people have always needed ways to slow down, to remember, and to pay attention to where God is at work. Drawing from Psalm 77, Lamentations 3, and Psalm 102, Why Journaling Still Matters explores remembering as an act of faith and hope. Through Scripture and song, we are...

Why does repentance still matter? Because something happens after confession.  This message reflects on repentance as a real change of direction: of leaving what was and stepping toward what will be. Repentance is more than feeling sorry or naming sin; it is turning back to God with the whole self. Through Scripture, story, and everyday images, we explore what we hold onto, what we are called to l...

Why communion? Because we come hungry—and Christ teaches us how to receive. This message invites us to experience communion not as something we take or perform, but as a gift freely given. Drawing on a lived encounter of sharing communion amid real hunger, we explore the difference between grasping in fear and receiving in trust. At the table, God meets hungry hearts with open-handed grace that do...

Confession isn’t about guilt or shame—it’s about grace. Rooted in 1 John 1:8–2:2, this message invites us to receive confession as a gift that opens the door to forgiveness, healing, and the freedom that comes from a God who is faithful and rich in mercy.

The return from Egypt may seem to be a quiet transition, but it’s layered with caution and faith. Being warned in a dream not to go back to Judea, Joseph obeys God’s guidance and leads his family to the quieter, more obscure region of Galilee where Jesus would grow up in Nazareth, fulfilling the words of the prophets. This passage sits in the aftermath of profound grief and though the immediate th...

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we reflect on Caesar Augustus as more than a historical timestamp in the Christmas story. His decree—intended to organize an empire—unknowingly fulfills God’s ancient promise by sending Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. This quiet contrast between worldly power and Kingdom purpose reminds us that God often works through overlooked details, unchosen circumstances, and un...

Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered. Bethlehem was crowded and bustling with activity as others were making the same journey. Everyone had a place to be. In the middle of this crowded, busy scene, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a humble manger. Yet Bethlehem’s busyness is more than just a story about a full inn, it’s a mirror reflecting our own lives today. We live in...

Advent begins not with noise, but with silence — and with a long season where Zechariah is held, emptied, and invited into surrender so that blessing can take root. In this overlooked ‘footnote’ story, we see the holy work of God restoring identity from the inside out. Before Zechariah can speak blessing, Zechariah must receive blessing. Before blessing can flow, control must loosen. Before callin...

When the angel of the Lord appeared to them, the shepherds were startled and afraid. Fear is often our first response when the divine breaks into our ordinary lives. But the angel’s first message was one of hope, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:” What began with fear quickly turned into joy as the shepherds hurried to see the newborn Savior. T...

This Sunday in our Advent Footnotes series, we step into the story of the Wise Men—not for the gifts they brought, but for the wisdom they showed after encountering Jesus. Scripture tells us that as they prepared to return home, God warned them not to go back to King Herod as he had told them.  Herod sounded devout on the surface, even eager to worship. But beneath the polished words were motives...

While the innkeeper is often dramatized in nativity plays, he is not explicitly named in Scripture. His presence is only implied in Luke 2:7, where it says, “There was no room for them in the inn.” Over time, two primary interpretations have emerged around this figure. The first sees the innkeeper as the one who turned Mary and Joseph away, symbolizing the rejection and denial that Jesus would lat...

Our Advent series is called "Christmas Footnotes [1]" where we’re listening for the voices in the Christmas story that often go unheard. Today’s passage takes us to one of the hardest moments of that story. When Herod learns that a new king has been born, fear turns to violence, and the cries of Bethlehem’s children fill the night. It’s not an easy text to hear, but it’s an honest one. I...

This weekend, we celebrate our Confirmation students and remember our own baptismal promises. In a world that grabs quick verses for quick answers, Paul reminds us that the Word is already near—on our lips and in our hearts. Faith isn’t about certainty; it’s about trust. Confession isn’t performance; it’s participation. Salvation isn’t escape; it’s healing. The same grace that began your story is...

Most of us have two wallets. One for groceries, gas, and Amazon orders… and another—the “church wallet”—that sometimes stays home on Sunday. 😄This week’s message, Give to the Max , isn’t about guilt or giving charts—it’s about trust.  Paul reminds us that cheerful giving isn’t about how much we give, but the spirit in which we give it. When we give to control the outcome, we’re not really trustin...

Whether we realize it or not, every decision we make is an investment. How we spend our time, energy, money, and relationships reflects our priorities as well as our faith. In a world that constantly urges us to spend, consume, and live for the moment, God's Word calls us to something deeper: God calls us not just to spend our lives, but to invest them strategically, prayerfully, and eternall...

The Bible is a gift from God we have at our disposal every day! Join us as we explore the benefits of digging into scripture.

Evangelism and mission are two church words that can make even the bravest among us want to duck behind the hymnals—usually because they sound scarier than they are, like being volunteered to lead karaoke when you only came for coffee. But in Matthew 28, Jesus doesn’t hand out sales scripts or membership quotas. He gives his disciples a promise and a calling: “As you go, make disciples… and rememb...

Most of us have done it, but there's just something different about singing in the shower. (I’m surprised I haven’t gotten a record deal). Our voices seem fuller and a bit more powerful as the hard, smooth surfaces of the bathroom reflect sound waves, amplifying our voices and creating a natural reverb that makes them sound richer. At the same time, the warm, humid air helps relax our vocal c...

We’re kicking off our *“Why IT Still Matters”* series with something sacred, something theological, and something deeply Midwestern: the church potluck. From green jello to tater tot hotdish, potlucks work because everybody brings something—not because everything’s perfect. And believe it or not, that’s a picture of what the Church is meant to be. In Romans 12, Paul reminds us that we all have dif...