The Local Church

In this sermon, we tackle envy—the belief that someone else's success threatens our own—through Jesus's parable of the vineyard workers. Envy isn't just comparison; it's the corrosive lie that another's blessing diminishes yours, scaling from personal insecurity to systemic oppression. The antidote? Generosity rooted in knowing your belovedness. When we celebrate others' wins instead of competing,...

In this sermon from our Lenten series "Glitch: Reframing Sin and Finding Reconnection," we tackle the often-overlooked sin of acedia—a soul-numbing apathy that convinces us "this is just how things are." Jesus' encounter with the paralyzed man at Bethzatha reveals how we can become stuck in narratives of despair, our imaginations dried out by years of disappointment. But Jesus creates threshold mo...

In this sermon, we kick off our Lenten series "Glitch" by confronting our impulse to possess rather than receive. When we move from "wow" to "mine," we reveal the twin sins of greed and gluttony—not moral failures to be ashamed of, but glitches in our connection to God and others. Through Jesus's loving encounter with the rich young man, we discover how our grasping hands reflect a deeper grief ab...

In this sermon, we conclude our "Holding It Together" series by exploring how anxiety festers in uncertainty and our desperate attempts to control the uncontrollable. Pastor Brent unpacks the Transfiguration story, revealing how Peter's impulse to build tents mirrors our own anxious grasping for security when facing the unknown. The good news isn't found in certainty or control, but in the transfo...

In this sermon, part of the series "Holding It Together: Good News for an Anxious Time," we confront the myth that spiritual and emotional maturity means complete self-sufficiency. Through the story of the prophet Elijah's darkest moment, we discover how anxiety often breeds in isolation—and how God disrupts our loneliness in three powerful ways: with nourishment, presence, and the revelation of c...

In this sermon, we launch the series "Holding It Together: Good News for an Anxious Time" by exploring what it means to be honest about our anxiety in an increasingly overwhelming world. Pastor Brent challenges the "this is fine" mentality and examines how our instinct to avoid discomfort—through scrolling, busyness, or distraction—only allows anxiety to deepen its roots. Instead, he invites us to...

In this sermon, we dive into what it means to truly "come alive" through the wisdom of Howard Thurman. We explore how recognizing the divine spark in ourselves—and in those we struggle to love—transforms how we show up in the world. This message wrestles with Jesus's call to let our "yes be yes and no be no," inviting us into a life of radical integrity and courageous love. Drawing from Matthew 5:...

In this sermon, we explore Howard Thurman's powerful concept of "Inner Authority" and what it means to truly come alive to ourselves. Through the lens of Christian mysticism and social justice, we discover how the Holy Spirit empowers us to speak truth and act boldly in the face of injustice. Thurman teaches us that spiritual formation and social transformation are inseparable – when we learn to l...

In this sermon, we launch our new series "Come Alive: A Series on What the World Needs" by exploring the transformative practice of "centering down" through the wisdom of Howard Thurman and the example of Jesus. Drawing from Thurman's profound connection with an oak tree in his youth to Jesus's regular retreats for prayer, we discover how intentional pause and contemplation aren't just spiritual l...

When God writes "Beloved" on our hearts, it transforms how we see ourselves and each other. Like a child proudly writing their name, like friends recognizing each other's baby pictures, like communities holding space for both joy and sorrow—we're called to live as if we actually believe we're beloved, and to create spaces where others can discover they are too.

In this sermon, we explore how God's faithfulness mirrors the constancy of stars in the night sky. Drawing on the Epiphany story of the magi following the star to Jesus, Pastor Brent illuminates how God's steady presence guides us through life's uncertainties and dark moments - just as celestial bodies have faithfully oriented travelers for millennia. Like the persistent star that led the wise men...

In this sermon, we explore how God disrupts and rewrites our expected endings through the lens of a surprising Christmas carol and a fresh look at the nativity story. By examining how the traditional interpretation of "no room at the inn" might actually be a story of radical hospitality, we discover a God who consistently shows up in unexpected places and subverts our assumptions about how things...

In this sermon, we dive into what happens when vulnerability meets blessing through the lens of Mary's visit to Elizabeth. We explore how creating safe spaces for truth-telling—like Elizabeth's home and the muskrat's winter den—allows us to encounter transformative love that empowers us to sing new songs of hope. This fourth Sunday of Advent reminds us that authentic love makes room for our whole...

In this sermon, we unpack the revolutionary nature of joy through the dual lenses of ancient prophecy and creation's wisdom. Moving beyond shallow optimism, we discover joy as a daily practice of drawing from God's deep wells of salvation—a practice that, like the pink candle interrupting Advent's purple hues, breaks through darkness with unexpected light. This exploration reveals how joy becomes...

In this sermon from our Advent series "All Creation Waits: Rewilding Advent," we explore how God's transformative work of peace unfolds not in dramatic moments, but through slow, steady change—just like mountains eroding and valleys filling over time. Drawing wisdom from John the Baptist's call to prepare the way and insights from the natural world, we discover that real, lasting peace requires ou...

In this sermon, launching the series "All Creation Waits: Rewilding Advent," we discover how Advent begins not in cozy certainty, but in holy chaos. When the world feels like it's falling apart, nature's winter wisdom - from chickadees mapping seeds of hope to fig trees pulsing with hidden life - teaches us a radical way forward. Instead of numbing our pain or turning away, we're invited to stay a...

In this sermon, we wrestle with Bonhoeffer's piercing question: "Are we still of any use?" Through his life and writings, we explore what it means for the church to be more than furniture in the background of our lives—to become Christ's visible presence in the world. Bonhoeffer's journey from academic theologian to prophetic voice shows us how the Sermon on the Mount calls us beyond theoretical f...

In this sermon, we discover how a 19th-century French saint's radical embrace of smallness offers surprising wisdom for our exhausting, power-hungry world. St. Thérèse of Lisieux's "Little Way"—finding strength in weakness and trusting in small acts of great love—provides both a liberating alternative to our culture's demands for constant achievement and a radical roadmap for navigating our presen...

In this sermon, we journey with Fannie Lou Hamer, whose unwavering faith and resilience amid adversity offer profound lessons in justice and courage for anyone who has ever felt marginalized or weary from the struggle against injustice. Through her inspiring story and the lens of Hebrews 11:1, we explore how faith serves as our foundation, standing under us, especially when the world feels unstead...

We kick off our In Good Company series by sharing in the life of Henri Nouwen—Catholic priest, prolific author, and wounded healer—whose lifelong struggle with feeling worthy of love led him to discover God's grace in unexpected places. Through Nouwen's journey from prestigious academic positions to living among those with disabilities at L'Arche, we learn that our wounds aren't liabilities but pa...

In this sermon, we explore the profound significance of feasting in the way of Jesus, juxtaposing it with Herod's feast of scarcity, exclusion, and death. You'll be inspired by stories of past community feasts and challenged to practice hospitality and generosity in a world often marked by division, echoing Pádraig Ó Tuama's call to "flex the muscles of hospitality" in the face of hostility. Refle...

In this sermon from Duke Divinity intern Victoria Pannullo, we enter into the parable of the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1–14) and explore what it means to be invited, welcomed, and clothed in compassion and kindness as we approach God’s table. This message invites those who feel excluded or out of place to see themselves as cherished guests in God’s kingdom, learning to clothe themselves in humil...

In this sermon, we launch the series "Potluck: Finding Hope in What We Bring to the Table" by asking "Whose table is it?" and examining Acts 2:42-47 to understand how the early church's table fellowship reflects Jesus' ministry and offers a model for our lives today. We explore Robert Farrar Capon's meditative approach to cooking an onion as a metaphor for slowing down and encountering the divine...

In this sermon, we explore the fourth chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians, focusing on cultivating a heart for blessing and the transformative power of living out God's future in the present. Those struggling with cynicism, seeking joy, or longing for a more meaningful spiritual practice will benefit from this message, learning how to "think about these things" (Philippians 4:8) and embody...