Boat People (Shaped By Stories) – Jennifer Hosler Scripture: James 2 Telling stories can define and shape who we are and how we act. As a parent, I see how my child absorbs and is shaped by stories. We have read to him since birth, whether or not he could understand what we were saying….
Category: Jennifer Hosler
But Have Not Love
“Heart of the World” by Mikhail Reva, Odessa Children’s Hospital
Odessa, Ukraine
Bright, Shining Wonder
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 For those of us in the northern hemisphere, December is marked by short days and long nights. It is an adjustment for everyone, that first troubling transition out of daylight savings time when it just seems so very dark, so very early. I find those first few weeks quite…
With Us in Our Suffering
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scriptures (Psalm 22:1-15; Hebrews 4:12-16) Take a moment and imagine with me. Imagine that someone visits your church for the first time. You are chatting with them after worship, getting to know them a little, and they share with you that they struggle with a serious anxiety disorder. You say, “Thank…
On Housewives, Women of Valor, and Immigrant Widowed Farmworkers
Image: “Mary and Baby Jesus” by Kathleen Peterson
Not a Place Where We Can Be but God is Present There
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 139:1-14 How closely does God care for us? Is God concerned with the intimate details of our lives, or just with some broader, overarching plan of redemption? Christians have varied in terms of how they understand God’s work in history and in daily human affairs. Sometimes, I have…
Easter in a Pandemic
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: John 20:1-18 It’s intense, the pressure of preaching an Easter sermon during a global pandemic.How can I have the right words to say,to point us to the divine solidarity of Jesus entering with us in our suffering,to the existential hope of Jesus triumphing over betrayal, torture, and death,to the future that…
Even the Prophet Doubted
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: Isaiah 35: 1-10; Luke 1:46b-55; Matthew 11:2-11 Doubt, loss, pain, darkness… sounds like Christmas-time? Unlike our cultural displays of perpetual holiday cheer, our four weeks of Advent scriptures allow for a fuller gamut of Christmas-time emotions: pain, doubt, and loss come alongside themes of peace, hope, love, and joy. This 3rd…
When Jesus is not a Peacemaker
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: Luke 12:49-56 At Washington City Church of the Brethren, we understand the ministry of peacemaking as an important, integral part of Jesus’ gospel. The teaching and actions of Jesus speak in Scripture to God’s peace and reconciliation: they lift up the poor and marginalized, they call for love of enemies, and…
Oddities of the Holy Spirit
Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture: Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-29 At times, I am reminded that following Jesus is a bit strange. I’m trained in scientific methods as a community psychologist and I’m working to develop specific hypotheses for my dissertation. My research will be descriptive – describing what exists in the world – but it will…
Washington City Church of the Brethren 