Williamsburg Baptist Church

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! We are now in the season of Epiphany, and this sermon is based on Luke chapter 4:14–30, which describes Jesus's inaugural sermon at Nazareth. It turns out to be quite a doozy! We hope this sermon from our pastoral resident, Rev. Kali Cawthon-Freels, will be meaningful to you this week. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! We are now in the season of Epiphany, and this sermon is based on Luke chapter 3:1–22, which describes John the Baptist's preaching and ministry, and Jesus's own baptism. We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If...

Happy new year, and thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Luke chapter 2:41–52, in which a 12-year-old Jesus travels with his family to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, only to stay behind when they head back home! We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbapti...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This homily (a short sermon) is based on the Narrative Lectionary reading fo this first Sunday in the Christmas season, which is Luke 2:21-38. In this passage, we read about the visit of the holy family and the infant Jesus to the Jerusalem Temple, where they meet Simeon and Anna. We hope this message will be meaningful to you this week. Blessings to yo...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This is the homily (a short sermon) from our candle-lit Christmas Eve service. It is based on the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, found in chapter 2. We hope it will be meaningful to you this week. Blessings to you as we move through this Christmas season together. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.will...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Luke chapter 1:26–38, and 46–56, which includes the Annunciation of Jesus's coming birth to Mary and Mary's Magnificat. It focuses on the theme of Love on this fourth Sunday in Advent. We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. Blessings to you as we move through this season of Advent together. To find out more abou...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Isaiah chapter 61:1–11 and focuses on the theme of Joy on this third Sunday in Advent. We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. Blessings to you as we move through this season of Advent together. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you h...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Joel chapters 1 and 2. We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. Blessings to you as we move into this season of Advent together. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you have a moment, we'd also love for you to click over to follow us on ⁠⁠...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on a familiar story from Daniel 6:6–27, the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. In spite of the familiarity, we found much worthy of reflection on this first Sunday in Advent, when we focused on the Hope of Christ. We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week, as well. Blessings to you as we move into this season of Adven...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Jeremiah 31:31-34 and 36:1-8, 21-23, 27-28. We were delighted to welcome our Pastoral Resident Rev. Kali Cawthon-Freels to the pulpit. If you're a fan of Broadway musicals, we hope you'll enjoy the references to Wicked and Hadestown! Regardless of your musical tastes, we hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week. To fi...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on the call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1–13. It's a familiar story to many of us—well, at least the first half of the passage! The second half really complicates things, and we'll linger on that as we wrestle with our own sense of call and saying "yes" to God in our own lives! We'll also take a quick detour through some Lord of the Rings...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on the book of Jonah. It's perhaps the perfect story to reflect upon in the aftermath of the U.S. election, and we hope it will be meaningful to you this week. To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you have a moment, we'd also love for you to click over to follow us...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on 1 Kings 17:1–16. It is the first appearance of the prophet Elijah, in which he encounters the widow of Zarephath. It's a strange but fitting story to reflect upon on the eve of the U.S. election, and we hope it will be meaningful to you this week! To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgba...

We are delighted to share this wonderful interview with the Rev. Dr. Brian Henderson, who is the executive director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB). AWAB is a vital denominational partner for our congregation and Brian is a dear friend. Brian sat down with our pastor, Rev. Dr. Art Wright, to talk about the work of AWAB with Baptist churches throughout the country and...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on 1 Kings 5:1–5, and 8:27–30, 41–43. It includes part of the story of King Solomon building and dedicating the temple in Jerusalem. We hope it will be meaningful to you this week! To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you have a moment, we'd also love for you to click...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on 2 Samuel 7:1–17, in which King David considers building God a temple. God in turn makes a promise to David that his family will continue into perpetuity. We were delighted to welcome the Rev. Dr. Megan Fullerton Strollo back to our pulpit to share with us! Dr. Strollo is Professor of Biblical Languages at Union Presbyterian Semin...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on 1 Samuel 1:1–20, and 2:1–10, which includes the story of Hannah, who becomes the mother of the prophet Samuel. Our Pastoral Resident, Rev. Kali Cawthon-Freels, offered a fresh take on this passage by focusing attention on the character of Peninnah, Hannah's sister-wife! It's an encouraging sermon, especially in the midst of a cha...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Exodus 32:1–14, which is the infamous story of the Israelites making and worshiping a golden calf. It's perhaps an important word in the midst of a challenging election season in the U.S. We hope it will be meaningful to you this week! To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.williamsburgbaptist.com⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Exodus 12:1–13, and 13:1–8, which is the story of the Passover event and subsequent beginning of the Exodus journey out of Egypt. The sermon itself focuses primarily on the theme of ritual and how it shapes our lives. We hope it will be meaningful to you this week! To find out more about our church, you can head on over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠ww...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Genesis 37 to 50, which is an extended novella about the life of Joseph. We read selections from those chapters in worship (37:3–8, 17b–22, 26–34; 50:15–21), and the sermon itself focuses primarily on the theme of forgiveness. Note: It is a first-person sermon, from the point of view of Joseph. We hope it will be meaningful to yo...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! This sermon is based on Genesis 15:1–6, in which God promises that Abram and Sarai's descendants will outnumber the stars. We were delighted to welcome our new(ish) pastoral resident, Rev. Kali Cawthon-Freels, to the pulpit for the first time! We hope this sermon will be meaningful to you this week! To find out more about our church, you can head on...

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! We are especially excited to share this sermon because it is the first as we resume the Narrative Lectionary as we move into the fall season! If you don't know, the Narrative Lectionary (NL) is a four-year cycle of readings that follow the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early Christian church, and we are now in "Year 3&q...

Hey there, we're so glad you're tuning in to our podcast! This sermon is the eighth and final sermon in our 8-week summer sermon series called "The Elephant in the Church." This sermon is based on Mark 12:28–31 and focuses on what a thoughtful, realistic, and biblically-based Christian sexual ethic might look like in the 21st century. We hope this sermon will be a word of both en...

Hey there, we're so glad you're tuning in to our podcast! This sermon is the seventh and penultimate sermon in our 8-week summer sermon series called "The Elephant in the Church." This sermon is based on Matthew 15:21–28, and focuses on what it means to be a Christian in a pluralistic, multi-faith world. We hope this sermon will be a word of both encouragement and challenge to yo...

Hey there, we're so glad you're tuning in to our podcast! This sermon is the sixth in our 8-week summer sermon series called "The Elephant in the Church." This sermon is based on Luke 2:21-38, and focuses on the story of Anna and Simeon as Jesus's parents take him to be dedicated in the temple. Our guest preachers today were the Rev. Kim Miller and the Rev. Brian Miller, and...