Sermons on Matthew
The Host Who Becomes the Meal
In the final week of our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, we arrive at the table it’s all been heading toward. On Palm Sunday, Jesus takes his place in an upper room, breaks bread, and gives it to his disciples. He calls the cup a new covenant. This week we explore what it means that the host becomes the meal, and that what looked like the last supper turned out to be the first…
Open Invitation
This week we continue our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, following Jesus as he tells stories about who belongs at God’s table. A host has prepared a feast and invited many people — and when the guests send their regrets, one by one, he doesn’t cancel the party. He sends his servant back out with one instruction: fill the house. This week explores what it means when the invitation keeps expanding past every expectation…
Sowing, Seeking, Finding
As we begin our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, we follow Jesus on his final journey toward Jerusalem, listening to the parables he tells along the way. This week opens in a field, where a farmer scatters seed recklessly—on roads, rocks, and thorns, not just on good soil. It’s not an efficient strategy, and that’s the point. Join us as we explore what this parable reveals about God’s character, and what it means to…
Glory Revealed
Transfiguration Sunday marks a pivotal moment when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and they see him transfigured in glory. This Sunday also marks a transition from the season after Epiphany toward our Lenten journey to Jerusalem. Discover what it means to stand on the mountaintop with Jesus, knowing the road ahead leads to the cross. Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18 (NRSVue); Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSVue)
Let the Mystery Be
This week we explore how faith and mystery belong together. Through scripture and Iris DeMent’s “Let the Mystery Be,” we’re invited to slow down, ask questions, and remember that grace is often found in the unknown. Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12, Micah 3:5-12 (NRSVue)
Protesting Fear: Choosing Another Road
The magi’s journey was more than following a star—it was an act of courage and faith. By choosing another road, they resisted fear and trusted God’s guidance to lead them forward. As we step into a new year, what might it mean for us to protest fear and embrace the path God sets before us? Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSVue)
Jesus, the Redeemer of our Past
As we continue our Advent series, The Redemption of Scrooge, we explore how Christ redeems even the most painful parts of our lives. Just as Ebenezer Scrooge is forced to confront his past, we, too, are invited to examine the moments that have shaped us. Scripture: Matthew 4:18-23 (CEB)
Living in God’s Economy
Welcome to our Advent series, based on Matt Rawle’s book The Redemption of Scrooge, where we explore how God’s grace transforms even the most unlikely among us. In our text for this week, Jesus shares the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, a story that challenges our assumptions about fairness and rewards. Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16 (CEB)
Inspired: Fish Stories
This week we near the end of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Some of the loudest critiques from our non-theist friends about sacred Christian texts have to do with the more extraordinary and even super-natural stories. Did those things happen or were they written as allegory and an exaggeration? As Wesleyans, we understand the value of reason in our spiritual life—but this…
We Believe: Jesus Christ
Our second week jumps into the absolute core of Christianity in the exploration of the history and personhood of Jesus of Nazareth. The creed makes a litany of statements that highlight classic Christian theology. Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 16:13-18 (CEB)
Grace in the Gardens
As we conclude our series this week, we find parallel imagery and inspiration in Victor Hugo’s masterpiece alongside the garden’s of sacred text. The bishop who gifts Valjean with silver has a daily practice of walking in a garden. As Valjean raises Cosette, he does so in a home with an unruly garden that he evidently struggles to maintain. Marius and Cosette profess their love to each other in the secrecy of that same garden. Often people associate God with…
Do You Hear the People Sing?
This week we consider the young students to whom Cosette becomes inextricably drawn. These idealists call themselves “Les Amis de l’ABC,” an interesting name that seems to indicate that their voices are raised on behalf of others. Do you hear the people sing? Scripture: Habakkuk 2:9-11; Mark 11:1-11 (CEB)