Sermons from December 2021

Lost at Home

The Scripture for this Sunday is the story from Luke 2:41-52. Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and those who observed the Passover Festival at Jerusalem just finished their big holiday celebration, and they were on their way home.  They were returning to the normalcy of home and the everydayness of life.  But unexpectedly they found themselves in a predicament.  They couldn’t find their son anywhere, and they were terrified! Perhaps you can empathize with Mary and Joseph because you have had a…

Family Candlelight Service

Our 5:00 pm Christmas Eve Service focuses on children and families and will tell the story of Christmas through scripture and song. Children may be invited to join an informal visual tableau (no rehearsal required!) with fun costumes and easy movements. We will conclude with Christmas carols and candles.

The Blessing of Home

As we move toward the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we continue our series that focuses on coming home for Christmas. The Luke text this week is filled with wonder as cousins greet one another and experience the wonder of connection and the mystery of new life. It’s wonder-full! And it’s a blessing. Scripture: Micah 5:2-5a (NRSV), Luke 1:39-45 (CEB)

The Joy of Home

This is the Third Sunday of Advent, understood in part through our Advent Candle liturgy as a reminder of joy! In light of our series on home, it is my hope that returning home is exciting and joy-filled! For many of us—hopefully most of us—this is indeed the most wonderful time of the year! There is laughter, reunion, and joy; there are happy memories and celebrations of deep love. May this celebration of the third Sunday of Advent help us…

The Fear of Home

We want Christmas to be happy, a time of celebration of joy! And for the most part, it is! And for those whose return home is fraught with anxiety, it is an opportunity: for reconciliation, for healing, for peace. Christmas is a chance for the paths to be made straight, the valleys to be filled, the mountains and hills made low, so that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV)