Village Pres Sermons

Jesus asked a lot of questions. By one scholar’s count, Jesus asked 307 questions recorded in the gospels. Jesus liked to ask questions more than he liked giving answers. As Jesus was both fully God and fully human, you would think he would go around showing off how much he knows, but he did not do that. In fact, we only find eight times that Jesus answered a question asked of him. In this sermon...

Sunday service times are 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. at the Mission Campus in Prairie Village, Kansas, and 10 a.m. at the Antioch Campus in Overland Park, Kansas. If you are unable to attend in person, you can worship online on our website or on Youtube . Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congreg...

Sunday service times are 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. at the Mission Campus in Prairie Village, Kansas, and 10 a.m. at the Antioch Campus in Overland Park, Kansas. If you are unable to attend in person, you can worship online on our website or on Youtube . Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congreg...

Rev. Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited as the inventor of the modern Advent wreath. Wichern was a German Lutheran pastor and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor. During Advent, children at his mission school would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he took a large wooden ring from an old cartwheel and decorated it with evergreen branches and 24 small red candles and four larg...

Rev. Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited as the inventor of the modern Advent wreath. Wichern was a German Lutheran pastor and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor. During Advent, children at his mission school would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he took a large wooden ring from an old cartwheel and decorated it with evergreen branches and 24 small red candles and four larg...

Rev. Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited as the inventor of the modern Advent wreath. Wichern was a German Lutheran pastor and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor. During Advent, children at his mission school would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he took a large wooden ring from an old cartwheel and decorated it with evergreen branches and 24 small red candles and four larg...

God created us for relationship. And because we are created in the image of God, we know that God desires relationship, too. But God’s generosity is not limited to our relationship with God. We are invited to partner with God so the whole of creation knows God’s generosity through our faithfulness. What a powerful thing that we should join with the God of the universe to show God’s generosity to a...

When you receive a gift, especially one that is more generous than you anticipated, you are overwhelmed with gratitude. You want to send a message to the giver that clearly communicates how grateful you are. This is an essential understanding of the Christian life. God’s gift of grace is undeserved. There is nothing we can do or not do to hinder God’s grace. But we can respond. We can live lives t...

Rev. Dr. Karl Travis had been healthy all of his life until he embarked upon a painful seven-year struggle to finally discover a diagnosis of a rare disease. He was given a few months to live. As he was writing his funeral service, he picked up a manuscript he had started years ago titled, "God’s Gift of Generosity." In his preface, he noted how odd it may seem to write about God’s gener...

Today we celebrate and remember the saints that have gone before us. Sunday service times are 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. at the Mission Campus in Prairie Village, Kansas, and 10 a.m. at the Antioch Campus in Overland Park, Kansas. If you are unable to attend in person, you can worship online at  villagepres.org/online . Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communic...

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or else we will eventually rot.” –C.S. Lewis "Mere Christianity" is Lewis’ compelling apologetic for Christianity. For Lewis, Christianity i...

“To have faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that he says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus, if you really handed yourself over to him, it must follow that you are trying to obey him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because he has begun to save you already. Not...

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what God is doing. God is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently God starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is...

“These are the two points I want to make. First, that human beings all over the earth, have this basic understanding that we ought to do what is right regarding how we treat others. Second, that we do not always behave that way. We know what we ought to do, but we do not do it. These two facts are the foundation to all clear thinking about ourselves, God, and the universe we live in.” –C.S. Lewis...

In his book "Postmodern Pilgrims," Dr. Leonard Sweet offers a vision for the 21st century church that engages both the church’s traditions and its need for innovation. He calls for a faith that is both ancient and future, historical and contemporary. While he reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), he wonders how the church, the body of Chri...

In his book "Postmodern Pilgrims," Dr. Leonard Sweet offers a vision for the 21st century church that engages both the church’s traditions and its need for innovation. He calls for a faith that is both ancient and future, historical and contemporary. While he reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), he wonders how the church, the body of Chri...

In his book "Postmodern Pilgrims," Dr. Leonard Sweet offers a vision for the 21st century church that engages both the church’s traditions and its need for innovation. He calls for a faith that is both ancient and future, historical and contemporary. While he reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), he wonders how the church, the body of Chri...

In his book "Postmodern Pilgrims," Dr. Leonard Sweet offers a vision for the 21st century church that engages both the church’s traditions and its need for innovation. He calls for a faith that is both ancient and future, historical and contemporary. While he reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), he wonders how the church, the body of Chri...

This summer, we have been growing together by going together, both near and far: from the mountains of North Carolina, to the heart of Chicago, to Missouri's Elk River. Through it all, God has been present, shaping us as we grow together in community. Today, our youth will lead us in worship and share how they have journeyed alongside one another this summer and experienced God’s presence alo...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka preaches on stories of Jesus’ life using clips from "The Chosen," the first multi-season television series based on the gospel stories. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@villagepres.org Facebook @villagepres Instagram @villagepreschurch YouTu...

For the next two Sundays, Aug. 10 and 17, Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka will preach on stories of Jesus’ life using clips from The Chosen, the first multi-season television series based on the gospel stories. Aug. 24 is Youth Sunday, where our young people plan and lead worship. And on Aug. 31, Labor Day weekend, we will enjoy a hymn sing featuring favorite songs of our faith. The clip from this sermon...

Today, Rev. Melanie Hardison preaches at all services as she concludes her ministry at Village Church and prepares to embark on her new call to serve at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@villagepres.org Facebook @villagepres Instagram @villagepre...

In this June-July sermon series, each of our pastors has explored one of the “seven deadly sins.” Today, Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka preaches on the last sin: Pride. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@villagepres.org Facebook @villagepres Instagram @villagepreschurch YouTube @vill...

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans in chapter 3, verse 23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” It’s true. We are all sinners and in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. Early Christians began to group sins together and by the 6th century, a list of seven sins had emerged. They were called the “seven deadly sins” because they lead to death. Others called t...

When we take God’s abundance for granted, when we take more than our share and more than we need, this abundance becomes the sin of overconsumption. We begin to worship our ability to consume rather than worship the God who created us. Today's scripture is from Exodus 16:4-8; 17-21. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-420...