love

Suffering Isn’t Salvific

Preacher: Jason Carson Wilson Scripture: 1 Peter 2:19-25 Date: April 30, 2023 Audio can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wu3TT3BrL3dyFmyF6XuCnyGdqPeo-rxT/view?usp=share_link Peter encourages his readers to endure suffering patiently, even unjustly. He reminds them that Christ suffered unjustly but did not retaliate or seek revenge. Instead, he entrusted himself to God, who judges justly. Peter emphasizes that Christ’s…

Preacher: Jeff Davidson Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-16, Matthew 1:18-25 Who are the people in the Bible that you think about at Christmas time? Jesus, obviously. Mary. Joseph. If you think a little harder then maybe Elizabeth, or Zechariah, or John. Certainly the shepherds. The angels, if you want to count them as people. The wise men,…

God Doesn’t Need Your Religion – Love Is All That Matters

Preacher: Micah Bales Scripture Readings: Ruth 1:1-18; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34 “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Jesus spent all of his ministry preaching the arrival of the reign of God. All of his words and actions revealed the presence of God’s power, love, and justice. The sick are healed, the dead…

Are You Salty Enough to Overcome this Age of Darkness?

Preacher: Micah Bales Scripture Readings: Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50 I never knew how attached I was to the United States of America until I saw it being destroyed. I’ve always been critical of this and all empires. Every empire of this world stand under God’s judgment, and as the most powerful empire the…

More Than We Can Ask or Imagine (or, There Will Be Leftovers)

Preacher: Jennifer Hosler Scripture Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44; John 6:1-15; Ephesians 3:14-21 I ate a lot of leftovers this past week, while Nate was away at National Youth Conference. These leftovers were not, however, a sign of desperation or scarcity; they were a sign of abundant love. I had three types of leftovers. The first…

In this Age of Darkness, We Need the Prophets

Preacher: Micah Bales Scripture Readings: Psalm 24, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29 Who are the prophets? The prophets are those on whom God has sent his Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit that hovered over creation. The Spirit that breathed life into the first man and woman, creating us in the image of God. This is…

This is a Wilderness Road

Preacher: Nathan Hosler Scripture Readings: Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-8 Yesterday morning, somewhere between 5:30 and 6, I made the connection that my sermon was titled “This is a wilderness road” and that I would spend the day before preaching it running on trails. Though the race was not a surprise (it took some…

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…

NO CROSS, NO CROWN

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38 Micah Bales When I first read through the scripture readings for this Sunday, it wasn’t immediately clear to me how our gospel reading relates to the passage from Genesis. The story of Abraham and Sarah seems to be all about God bestowing unconditional blessing and abundance on…

EVERYONE, COME TO THE FASTING PARTY!

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Mark 1:9-15, Luke 18:9-14 Jennifer Hosler A Plant Geek Last week, I was talking with someone about the plants I have in my garden. I mentioned the different herbs that I grow and how my bay leaf tree has survived several years, even though it is not technically zoned for our city….