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…

Nobody’s Perfect. Is it Possible to Be Like Jesus?

Preacher: Micah Bales Scripture Readings: Acts 3:12-19, 1 John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48 “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” We are the children of God. I know that for a lot of us today, this phrase, “children of God,” has…

I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!

Preacher — Micah Bales Scripture Readings – Isaiah 25:6-9, Acts 10:34-43, and John 20:1-18 He is risen! Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. (Can I get an amen?) God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the…

COME TO THE LIGHT

Numbers 21:4-9   Ephesians 2:1-10   John 3:14-21 Jeff Davidson The comedian Norm MacDonald has a shaggy dog story that he sometimes tells. I’m going to do a very, very shortened version of it here. A moth visits a podiatrist’s office. The podiatrist says, “What can I do for you today?” The moth says, “Doc, my life…

UP AND DOWN

Mark 9:2-9 Jeff Davidson What was the best day of your life? Was it the day you got that puppy or kitten for Christmas? Was it the day you graduated from high school, or from college? Was it the day you got married? The day your first child was born? The day you got the…

REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; and Mark 1:14-20 Micah Bales I don’t need to tell you that we’re living in a particularly dark, chaotic time. We can all feel it. Our national government is off the rails in a very visible way with the present federal shutdown. But our dysfunction as a society goes…

KEEP NO SILENCE

1 Samuel 3:1-20 & John 1:43-51 Jeff Davidson   Sometimes God leads us into remarkable moments of serendipity, moments of happy coincidence. Early Wednesday morning I sent Care my sermon title and the two scripture texts we just read. On Thursday, President Trump made his infamous racist and vulgar remarks about not accepting immigrants from…

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD

Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 & John 1:1-18 Micah Bales In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The voice of God spoke light into the darkness. By his Word, God divided the day from the night. He created the…

STARTLING, UNEXPECTED, STRANGE

Luke 1:26-38; Luke 1:46b-55 Jennifer Hosler The fourth Sunday in Advent Last year at this time, our nephew was acting in a stage production of It’s a Wonderful Life. The theatre version was not a typical re-enactment – but was re-framed as a live, 1940s radio production, complete with sound effects created by Foley artists….

JUSTICE IS COMING (IT IS JESUS)

Human Rights Sunday 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Isaiah 40:1-11  Nate Hosler The second Sunday in Advent Anticipation. Waiting. Agonizing? Uncertain. Advent—waiting for the promised One. On Thursday we rose early for our 3-4 hour drive and hit the road. Rutted. Through dry, mostly flat land with low trees except for the palms. Security checkpoints with men with…