Washington Street UMC Sermon Podcast

Bishop Sharma Lewis, resident bishop of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, opens the season of lent with a message about facing temptation. What can we learn about facing temptations in our lives today from the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness?

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Their presence harkened back to the final text of the Old Testament, in which Malachi invites the faithful to remember the covenant made with Moses, and the to look forward to the return of Elijah. The Transfiguration solidifies what the disciples were longing for, the promise of the prophets made flesh in the person of Jesus C...

Isaiah promises that the Messiah to come will come as a suffering servant. This would have been an unexpected and unwelcome announcement by those who desired a warrior-like king to redeem them from their enemies. Yet, as Jesus walked the Emmaus Road with the disciples, he likely not only identified himself as the suffering servant, he probably invited the disciples to consider how they might heed...

Zechariah promises a humble king to come, making his entrance on the back of a the colt of a donkey. This is an unlikely king who comes to rule with the full strength of God's peace. Make no doubt, it's overpowering, but in God's way, not the way of human empires.

Jesus uses the Hebrew Scriptures to point to himself as the Messiah. Looking at 2 Samuel 7, it seems that not only does Jesus hail from the line of David, not only is Jesus the one who is called the Son of God, not only is Jesus the one who calls God “Abba,” “Father,” but it is Jesus that proclaims the divine “but,” which refuses to give sin and death the final say.

In his use of the Hebrew Scriptures to point to his role as God’s Messiah, Jesus probably would have used Micah’s prophecy. Micah, like the other prophets, promises one who is to come who will not rule through militaristic adventures and war mongering. He promises one to come who will be Savior, who will reign with peace and offer a new way to salvation.

What did Christ say to the disciples while walking the Emmaus Road? I wonder if the disciples walking down the path were bemoaning Christ’s absence and failure to fulfill their hoped-for vision of a Messiah, much like many of us as the faithful do today, lamenting that God hasn’t granted us what we expected or wanted in the Messiah. And yet, this is God-in-flesh.

Washington Street UMC and Roberts Memorial UMC join together on the Third Day of Christmas to proclaim the Hope, Joy, Peace, Love, and Light of Christ.

The birth of Christ is disruptive to the devastating pain of human frailty. The gift of God in Christ flips all of the societal expectations upside down, and whether shepherds who come in lowliness, or Magi who come bringing valuable gifts, the incarnation invites us as one humanity to join in the noise making. For in Christ, God has won out. The promise of new life is declared, not just possible,...

Pastor Kathy Escobar says that when hope is running low, sometimes the best thing we can do is borrow hope from one another. In the Magnificat, Mary provides more than enough hope for us all to borrow, offered in the assured promise of who Christ is and will be.

The paradox of Advent is that even in the darkness, there is a light. Even in our brokenness, there is healing. Even in our weariness, there is rest. The Advent promise is that the gift of God comes to offer light in the midst of our weary world.

There’s power in memory. Mark uses the power of memory in the opening of his Gospel to frame the coming of Christ through the remembrance of God’s saving acts in the history of Israel. Though not all memories are uplifting, the beauty of Advent is the promise that God sends Christ to offer healing and peace into the brokenness and strife.

After a year that presented a plethora of challenges, it may be our desire to skip Advent and dive straight into Christmas. But not so fast! The good news of Emmanuel, God with us, is that we don’t have to skip the weariness and brokenness, or act as if everything is ok. The good news is that God meets us in the darkness. This is Advent.

Rev. David McWilliams of Del Ray UMC shares the message on this Christ the King Sunday as Del Ray and Washington Street UMC join in worship together.

Rev. Dr. James Daniely of Roberts Memorial UMC and Pastor Thomas from Washington Street UMC share together a message proclaiming God's unifying love in the midst of a season of great division among the nation.

In the parable of the bridesmaids, we always want to identify with the bridesmaids who made it in to the wedding banquet. But is that really the best option? Was that group really the best witness of faithfulness? It’s time we rethink this parable, and admit, that while we may identify with the prudent bridesmaids, having sufficient oil for ourselves, in reality, we’re just as foolish as the moron...

This All Saints Day, we are reminded of the work God is already doing in the world, and the end to which God is already working. As we remember the saints, we don’t celebrate their selfishness, or their tribalism – we remember their call to see our lives as part of something much greater, as part of God’s created. May we remember the saints, and be reminded of God’s eternal glory, that we may serv...

The Bible is full of examples of what it means to ‘walk humbly with your God,’ and they help us understand what Micah is instructing to God’s faithful community. But walking humbly isn’t an isolated instruction. Micah’s instructions are offered as one word of guidance, and to be faithful, we must follow all three of them in tandem.

Micah calls the people of Israel to humbly walk with God. But what does a humble walk look like? Why don’t we start with humility … what is humility? Not an easy question to answer, but the Biblical witness gives us some guiding words.

Mercy is the willingness of the one who has power to withhold such power, or to shift such power, for the purpose of God’s greater justice: so that all of humanity, all of God’s created, might share equally in community with one another. But what does it mean to LOVE mercy?

To a nation that was broken with transgression, Micah offers three simple instructions. The second of which is to ‘love mercy.” As we hear the prophet speaking to us today, to a nation torn apart by transgression, what does it mean for us to ‘love mercy’ today? First, we have to know what is ‘mercy.’

Justice is the desire of God, maintained throughout the Biblical text. Both the Old and New Testament stories proclaim this as the will of God. But the text also makes clear, this is Godly work we are to participate in – as the prophets declare, we are to be ‘doing’ justice

We hear the word ‘justice’ thrown around a lot these days. “Social justice,” “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” “justice for Breonna Taylor,” and so on. Micah, among other prophets, also used the word as a primary instruction to the people of God, saying, “Do justice.” Before we can understand what it means to ‘do’ this thing called justice, we have to understand what the Bible means by ‘justice’ itse...

In this midst of a continuing pandemic, and amidst the varying hardships overwhelming our nation, you make ask of God, what do you want of us? How can we see your divine healing in this land? Micah offers guidance in just such a situation – so listen to the Lord. The answer is living with God, and living for others. Do justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with your God.

In a political season, when words tend to fly freely from our mouths, it’s important to remember the text of James 3. It’s not the tongue that curses and blesses, it’s the words we convey and express with the tongue. How can we use our words to bless, and not to curse? Guest Preacher: Rev. Dr. Michelle Chaney