U-turns Permitted

Rev. Dr. Alfred Muli preaches from 1 Peter 1:22-25: "Love One Another".

Today Rev. Dr. Alfred Muli preaches from 1 Peter 1:1-9, entitled "Focus on Our Hope in Christ".

At the end of his second letter Timothy, Paul writes to his protege: "The Lord be with your spirit; grace be with you." With this blessing we enter 2023, in our questions and difficulties and in our joys and accomplishments.

For Christmas this year we observe the story of Mary and Joseph from two vantage points: on the ground and from above. What did their story look like without the Divine perspective? and what did that Divine perspective add to the story?

Today we read the famous passage Isaiah 9:6-7 and think together about what it means that Jesus is called the "Prince of Peace", the one who establishes a kingdom of peace forever.

Today we read Isaiah 61, written after the Jews had returned from exile, while things were still broken. We learn from Fleming Rutledge that Advent is not darkness: Advent is Light in darkness. And therein lies the possibility of joy.

Today we read Zephaniah 3:17: God proclaims His love over and for us. But the background is no sentimental Christmas scene - it is judgment and exile. Only with that background can we understand God's love for us and move out in love to our world.

On this first Sunday of Advent we explore the theme of "Hope", from Isaiah 40, written while Israel was in exile, captivity and despair in Babylon. 

Today we look at two healings done by Jesus: the son of an official and a man who had been lame for 38 years. The Age of Life breaks into the Age of Death and healing happens. That is the good news. 

Jesus speaks with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. He speaks to both of them of "eternal life". What did he mean to convey to them, and what did they understand? Most likely it was not about "how to get to heaven when you die". Listen to find out what it might have been.

Today we look at two very different people Jesus spoke with: the Pharisee Nicodemus and the anonymous Samaritan woman. In this sermon we will explore the differences and similarities between them, next week we will explore what Jesus actually said to them.

Last week we looked at the first thing God did when He showed up in the person of Jesus. This week we look at the second thing God in Jesus did: he took a whip to the Gentile Court of the temple and cleared it out. Quite a different thing!

Last week we heard the first words spoken about God as He appeared in Jesus. Today we look at the first thing God, in Jesus, did as recorded in John. He provided 180 gallons of the best wine at a wedding! We're going to connect that with the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and learn about humility and receiving God's gifts.

"Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." These are the first words spoken about God as He appeared on earth in the person of Jesus. There's more in these words than you might think.....

Today we read two sections from John 1:1-18. This is some of the deepest theological material ever written. Two things are made crystal clear by John: Jesus is God, and Jesus became human. In Jesus we see life, light, glory, grace and truth. 

Today Dr. Kyuboem Lee of Mission Seminary preaches on the essential communal nature of Communion.

Today Dr. Kyuboem Lee from Missio Seminary leads us through John 16:16-33, a passage where Jesus speaks to his disciples about the trouble they are going to encounter in their world.

Today we begin a new sermon series on the Gospel of John. The Gospel is one of the most complex writings of all time, and there are a thousand ways to approach it. We will read John looking for the ways that Jesus shows us what God is like. As Brian Zahnd puts it: God is like Jesus. God has always been like Jesus. We have not always known what God is like, but now we do.

Today we kick off our new church year. The question that lies before us is: what is our common calling? To help us understand how we got here, we go back to the Lewis and Clark expedition, and even back to the first church council in Jerusalem.

Today we listen to two versions of the song "Respect Yourself", the first by the Staple Singers, the second by Melissa Etheridge, many years later. Both songs arise from a context of the "stranger" who cries out to be seen and heard. Which is, of course, exactly what Jesus was about. 

Today we listen to "Down by the Riverside" by Muddy Magnolias. The theme of "down by the riverside" is a popular one in spirituals and folk music. In these songs the riverside is a place of reflection, refreshment and renewal. We look at Psalm 137:1-6 to see how the Israelites handled despair down by the riverside.

Today we listen to "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas from 1976. Then we read the story of the Prodigal Son, as it is known. Actually, there are two wayward sons in the story. But there's more to the story: how is this story more than the call to the individual to know that he/she is "beloved" of God? And what is the claim laid upon us by this story?

This is the first in the 2022 version of "Finding God in Your Songs" series. We listen to "Wishlist" by Pearl Jam (1998), then work through the story in Genesis 22 of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac at God's behest. Abraham had a wishlist; but so did God!

James concludes his letter by zooming in on the community of Jesus-followers and suggesting to them that the only way they can survive the in hospitable world in which they find themselves is with open, authentic and vulnerable community.

James 5:7-11 calls us to patience in the face of suffering. What does James mean by "patience"? And to what kind of suffering does he refer? And James does point to Jesus, who suffered more than any other person on earth, from whom we should learn.