God’s economy of abundance

By: Rev. Nate Hosler John 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Our Gospel passage is from the book of John. The passage is from the beginning of the secondchapter. It is very early in the book. If you recall, we just finished up Christmas. While it mightfeel quite long ago already, it was only a few weeks…

Joy, or, You Brood of Vipers – Third Sunday of Advent

Lectio Divina Led by Jennifer Hosler Isaiah 12:1-6; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18 This is the third Sunday of Advent. Traditionally, the theme for this Sunday is Joy. Joy or rejoice is seen throughout several of our lectionary scriptures.   For our candle lighting, we read a passage from Isaiah, which is read today in…

Carried in Our Belovedness

Guest Preacher: Julia Baker Mark 3:20-35; Psalm 130 Years ago in a poetry class I was given a prompt to write a letter to America. I chafed at the initial assignment. Immediately all my social critique about our capitalist society with a deeply ingrained military industrial complex and colonizing global presence whooshed into view. As…

Crying out and Clinging to Hope

April 21, 2024 Psalm 42 & 43Rev. Christie Dahlin Psalm 42 and 43Inclusive Bible VersionLike a stag, a doe,Longing for streams of cool water,My whole being longs for you, my God. My soul aches with thirst for God,For a god that lives!When can I go and see God face to face?My only food, day or…

Voices that We Do Not Expect

Preacher: Pastor Jennifer Hosler, PhD Date: December 10, 2023 Scripture: Mark 1:1-8, Luke 1:39-55   I learned a new word recently: muzak. I was reading a Bethany Theological Seminary update email with a reflection by President Jeff Carter that included this word, discussing the saturation of stores with Christmas background music during this season. Momentarily puzzled, I…

Hope Amidst Transition and a Culture of Mutual Care

Preacher: Pastor Jennifer Hosler, PhD Date: October 29, 2023 Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Image: John August Swanson, Moses, 1983 Audio coming soon In our two passages today, we have two vignettes of leadership in religious communities. The first vignette is of Moses at the end of his life, while the second is of…

Why I Believe in the Prophetic Christian Tradition

Preacher: Brooks Berndt Scripture: Matthew 6:24-33 Date: January 29, 2023 There are a wide variety of Christians out there in the world, and I am grateful that your church is willing to take a chance this morning on a Christian of a different denominational flavor. Fortunately, I think our flavors work well together. It is…

Hope Despite a Tree Cut Down

Preacher: Jenn Hosler Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 15:4-8a, 12-13 Date: December 4, 2022 Do you consider yourself a hopeful person? A glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person? Or, perhaps a third way, do you see a glass filled with possibilities? You say to yourself, I can work with the amount of water…

But Have Not Love

“Heart of the World” by Mikhail Reva, Odessa Children’s Hospital
Odessa, Ukraine

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…