Village Pres Sermons

Rev. Sally Wright shares, "The best baby gift I received was a retired pediatric nurse offering to stay overnight and keep watch over my twin three-month-old babies. What a gift to have someone remain present with my children for one whole, uninterrupted night of sleep for me! In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked his disciples to stay awake with him and pray. The poor disciples could not...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka concludes this preaching series on the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus Christ. In this last statement, Jesus says, "I am the vine and you are the branches. Apart from me, you can do nothing." So, in times of great joy and in times of great sorrow, in times of tragedy, in times of loss, we turned to the one who is the true vine, to Jesus Christ, and we...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores the sixth of the seven "I am" statements of Jesus Christ. Jesus makes this “I am” statement in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Together we explore what it means that Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life, and what it means when he says no one comes to God except throug...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores what it means to follow a God and a Savior and a Spirit that has triumphed over death. We explore what it means when Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." Our scripture reading today is John 11:17 -27. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congr...

What does it mean that Jesus says, "I am the Gate for the Sheepfold?" And what does it mean that Jesus says, "I am the Good Shepherd?"  a marvelous conversation about knowing Jesus' voice, that the sheep know Jesus' voice and they follow the Good Shepherd. Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka talks about the competing voices that we hear these days and how we discern Jesus'...

We make the bold claim that we are the “Church of Jesus Christ” and that “Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built.” But who is Jesus really? In the Gospel of John, there are seven times when Jesus tells us who he is; seven times Jesus says, “I am...” In this sermon series, Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores each of these seven “I am” statements and together, we will discover what th...

We make the bold claim that we are the “Church of Jesus Christ” and that “Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built.” But who is Jesus really? In the Gospel of John, there are seven times when Jesus tells us who he is; seven times Jesus says, “I am...” In this sermon series, Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores each of these seven “I am” statements and together, we will discover what th...

Each New Year brings the hope that life might be different, that we might be different. We know that New Year’s resolutions are often short-lived—and we make them anyway (we are people of hope, after all). But there is a deeper longing underneath our resolutions. What if, like Bartimaeus, we claimed that deeper longing? What if, like the wise ones following the star to Jesus, we dared to truly fol...

Sermon preached by Rev. Tom Are on Christmas Morning, Dec. 25, 2022 at Village Church Mission Campus. 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 @villagepresbyterianchurch To join in the mission and ministry of...

Sermon preached by Rev. Tom Are on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2022 at Village Church Mission Campus. 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 @villagepresbyterianchurch To join in the mission and ministry of Vill...

Zechariah didn’t speak for months. The entire time Elizabeth was pregnant with their son John, Zechariah said nothing. But after a long season of silence, Zechariah spoke, and when he does he offered a blessing upon his son. We could use more blessing in our lives. Our scripture reading is Luke 1:57-80. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres...

When Gabriel departs, Mary does two things. She rushes to visit Elizabeth, and then she sings. She does both of these because she is filled with joy. Joy is not the same thing as happiness. Joy requires courage, and it gives us a job to do. Our scripture reading is Luke 1:39-55. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a...

It was an unlikely meeting. It was surprising enough when Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, who, coming from a long line of priests, was doing his duty in the temple. If an angel were to appear, perhaps appearing to an old priest doing his duty in the temple is the first place you might look. But this time Gabriel appears in the middle of nowhere, to a young girl, we only know by the name of Mary. It...

We all have our own personal lists of hopes and fears; sometimes life feels like we are perennially living between them. But what if we allow God to take a peek at those lists? And what if the depths of our fears, through God’s work this season, could spark both hope and change in our lives? Our scripture reading is 1 Kings 19:1-10. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres....

This week we’ll likely gather around tables with people we care about, and if we’re successful in remembering why we’ve gathered, we’ll recount our lists of gratitude. Our story for today takes us to another table. Perhaps like ours, not everyone around this table agreed with one another. But here, instead of talking about gratitude, Mary startles everyone at the party by giving us a radical examp...

Stewardship is the spiritual practice of managing one’s resources with God in mind. It is an act of gratitude, as generosity is a response to the blessings of God. But more than gratitude, generosity is the spiritual practice of hope. We remember the help of God in ages past, so we trust that God will be at work for years to come... and our gifts make us a part of that future work. Our scripture r...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka preaches about what it means to forgive. That to forgive others, and even to forgive ourselves—that too is part of the good that is ours to do. Our scripture reading is Matthew 18:21-35.  Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@villagepres.org Facebook @vill...

The writer of Hebrews tells us that faith is “the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is the invitation to trust that God will be faithful to the promises God has made. Sometimes when our conviction falters, God places other people in our lives to encourage our faith. Our scripture reading is Hebrews 11:1-8, 29-12:2. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communicat...

We say it often: Do the good that is ours to do; share the love that is ours to share. Admittedly, given the size of the world’s problems, the love that we share may seem insignificant. But it matters. When we act in love God does her best work. Our scripture reading is 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-26...

We close the series “Sometimes We Need to Ask for Directions” with a focus on friendship. We have said many times: Our faith shows up in our relationships. Like the other practices we have considered in this series, friendship is also something we practice. Friendship shows up not only in your heart, but also on your calendar. Our scripture reading is 2 Timothy 4:9-22. Support the show Contact Vil...

Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka explores Jesus' last words to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew—his words that are called the “Great Commission,” when he sends his disciples out into the world to baptize and to make disciples and to teach. That's part of Village’s practice, too. Rodger explores what it means to be the church in mission in these days, what it means to share the gospel, the...

Sometimes we speak of a faith journey, and sometimes we take that journey in a literal fashion, by going on a pilgrimage. Rev. Tom Are and Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka reflect on the importance of pilgrimage as a means to discover the vast expanse of God’s love. Our scripture readings are Acts 10:1-16 and Acts 10:27-33. Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communication...

As the disciples journey with Jesus, they see and hear him praying and ask him to teach them to pray. His gift to them and to us is what we now call “The Lord’s Prayer.” So, we join every Sunday with believers in every time and place in heaven and on earth to pray as Jesus taught us. There is great power in this. There is power in speaking directly to God. There is power in joining with one anothe...

Jesus talked about truth, and even identified himself as the truth. One reason Jesus talked about truth so much is he knew that no community can live together apart from truth. Our scripture reading is Exodus 32:1-6, 15-24.  Support the show Contact Village Presbyterian Church villagepres.org communications@villagepres.org 913-262-4200 Have a prayer request?  congregational-care@villagepres.org Fa...

The Bible is an old book, or better said, a collection of books—a library. It’s not magic. Both writers and readers are captured by the limits of their own time in history. Yet, the experience of the church has been, through the ages, that inspiration has been found in these old, old stories. We come again and again to the same words and discover new meaning. Rev. Tom Are preaches the impact of sc...