Genesis 1:1-2:4, John 1:1-5, Psalm 8 Nathan Hosler A few weeks ago, I was waiting for a session of Christian Citizenship Seminar to start. We were holding the event at a church downtown but the door was still locked and they didn’t have any bench or place to sit, so I sat on the front…
Category: basics
UNKNOWN AND UNSEEN
Acts 17:22-31, John 14:15-21 Jeff Davidson Today’s reading from Acts is about Paul’s visit to Washington, DC. Okay, it’s not about Paul’s visit to Washington, DC – but it could be. Let’s set the scene and step back to a few verses before our Scripture reading begins. Paul is in the Greek city of Athens…
FINDING THE WAY
1 Peter 2:2-10 & John 14:1-14. Micah Bales I love our gospel reading this morning. I think that the reason I love it so much because I used to despise it. As a skeptical young person growing up in Kansas, this passage from John was one of the Scriptures most often used as a weapon…
WHO ARE “ALL”?
Matthew 25:37-40, Acts 2:42-47 Faith Westdorp In today’s reading we see the beginnings of the first church. Matt Skinner writes that this passage “describes a community of faith that operates in the power of God’s Spirit. The virtues of justice, worship, and mutuality are not accomplishments of extraordinary folk; they are signs of the Spirit…
CIRCLES OF LIGHT
John 9:1-41, Ephesians 5:8-14 Jeff Davidson When I started working on this sermon I ran across this reflection from Dr. Rachael Keefe on her blog “Write Out of Left Field.” (https://rachaelkeefe.wordpress.com/) She’s writing in part about our gospel reading from John, and she says, “As for myself, I have been the recipient of social judgments….
GLORIFYING THE STRENGTHS GIVEN BY GOD, FOR GOD
Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42, Psalm 95 Emmy Goering I’ve just returned to D.C. after spending the last week in the Chicago area at the Brethren Volunteer Service retreat. There, I was able to get some much needed rest and was able to connect with the friends who I’d bonded with at our orientation. While we…
What if Everything I Think I Know is Wrong?
Psalm 36, Matthew 6:19-34 Micah Bales I’m going to start with the heresy and work back to the gospel this morning. Because reading on the sermon on the mount reminds me of what a tough time I have with the Bible. The Bible, for me, is pretty uneven in terms of how it impacts me….
ARE WE THERE YET?
Matthew 1:18-25 & Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 Micah Bales It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. As an American, I have a stereotyped vision of what Christmas ought to look like. It’s a cold, dark, wintry time. We’re bundled up, rushing from our warm houses to gathering places like this one, and back to our…
PREPARE THE WAY
Matthew 3:1-12 Jeff Davidson Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I have let myself start listening to WASH-FM at 97.1. They are the local “all Christmas music all the time” station. They started with the Christmas music in early November, and while I look forward to the music that was too early for me. I look…
BELIEF IN THE TRUTH
Psalm 17:1-9, Luke 20:27-38, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Jeff Davidson Jim Benedict is the pastor at the Union Bridge Church of the Brethren, not too far from New Windsor. He also grew up in Iowa listening to Cubs games, rooting for the Cubs, and for their AAA farm team the Iowa Cubs. After the…
Washington City Church of the Brethren 