Village Pres Sermons

Rev. Tom Are’s sermon message is about Pentecost. Some have called Pentecost the “birthday of the Church.” The story of Pentecost tells us there was quite a crowd gathered. Some had traveled many miles. Some had traveled across the pages of history to be there. When the Spirit of God moves, she doesn’t want to leave anyone out. Acts 2:1-13 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villa...

In the last sermon in the series “Why Can’t We Get Past This? Racism in American Culture and the Church,” Revs. Tom Are and Dr. Rodger Nishioka co-preach about bias. We might be better off if we just acknowledge that human beings are biased. All of us. But don’t stop there. Battle the bias. Learn what we don’t know. Let life and those around us open our eyes to things we aren’t seeing. Being biase...

In the second sermon in the series “Why Can’t We Get Past This? Racism in American Culture and the Church,” Rev. Tom Are preaches that racism is not just about me; it’s about us. It’s not just a matter of the heart, it’s a reality of history and culture. Racism is more than an event; it’s a structure. John 4:1-26 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@v...

In the first sermon in the three-part series “Why Can’t We Get Past This? Racism in American Culture and the Church” Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores what it means to truly see one another as God created us…with all our beauty and brightness and with all our difference and diversity. Mark 8:22-26 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 9...

Rev. Tom Are preaches about baptism, the act of the whole church which proclaims to the world that God’s love claims us by name. Baptism proclaims your truest identity: you are a child of God. Baptism also declares your essential vocation: you are called to live as a child of God. We remember who we are and who we are to be. Mark 1:9-13 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagep...

Rev. Tom Are preaches on the power of kindness in “Faith Should be Good for Everyone.” The early church remembers a woman named Tabitha. She was kind. When she died, the apostle Peter came to her, prayed and she got up. The church remembers the miracle. But the church also remembers with equal clarity her kindness. Acts 9:32-43 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org c...

Rev. Hallie Hottle preaches about Mary Magdalene in her sermon “I Believe Her.” The discovery of the empty tomb is slightly different depending on which account we read, but one detail is always the same. Mary Magdalene is there. We take a new look at our first resurrection preacher, and we wrestle together with what happens when we don’t believe the stories women tell. Luke 24:1-12 Support the sh...

Rev. Tom Are’s Easter message was “A Glimpse of God’s Last Act of Love.” Resurrection is a work of God’s love, a love that will not let go of you, and a love that will transform you. Resurrection is God’s last act of love. Matthew 28:1-10 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@vill...

Rev. Tom Are continues the sermon series “Character is Always Chosen” with his Palm Sunday sermon, “Humility May be Out of Style, but Not for Us.” Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We are told that what people most noticed about him was his humility. That’s hard to pull off when you are leading a parade. Yet, there was something about Jesus that revealed he was not prideful, but humble. Phili...

Rev. Tom Are continues the sermon series “Character is Always Chosen” with “Character Requires Hope.” Life is complicated at times, so much so that we can get discouraged. We learn to exchange big dreams for smaller ones, reduce expectations of ourselves and even of God. And yet, the slow march of human history bears witness that progress is a reality. The fingerprints of God can be seen in the da...

Rev. Tom Are continues the series “Character is Always Chosen,” with “Character Requires Courage.” It is relatively easy to choose “good” when “bad” is the alternative. But the place in which we more often find ourselves is having to choose between good and a greater good. When that is the case, we almost never find consensus. Others—and often our friends—see things differently. When the good you...

In part two of the series “Character is Always Chosen,” Rev. Tom Are preaches that any student of the human heart or of church history, for that matter, would have reason to question Jesus’ optimism about his followers. And yet, there is this persistence in his conviction. It is surprising who Jesus believes we can become. Mark 10:35-45 Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagep...

In Rev. Tom Are’s first message in the Lenten sermon series “Character is Always Chosen,” he reflects on who we are called to be as we take our own journey toward the fullness of resurrection. Physical growth happens naturally. Spiritual growth requires discipline, intention and choice. Character begins by remembering what is important and what is not. Matthew 5:21-26 Support the show Contact Vill...

Once again, we hear Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for the church. He is grateful for the “work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope.” This time we reflect on hope. Hope is the source of the church’s mission. Hope inspires us, but it also shames us a bit, as God’s dreams for us are always bolder than our expectations for ourselves. Our scripture reading is 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3. Suppor...

The fourth of the ten commandments is to “remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.” The religious leaders in Jesus’day placed particular importance on this commandment. They developed and enforced strict rules about how to observe the sabbath day. In today’s scripture reading, Jesus and his disciples test these rules. When the religious leaders challenge Jesus, he reminds them that, “The sabbath...