Preacher: Rev. Nathan Hosler Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-4 & 2:1-4, Luke 17:5-10 Habakkuk was a musician-prophet in Temple. The brief book and our passage start with a complaint. The prophet complains and laments the violence that surrounds him. This is violence from within and violence from others. The violence is direct—“from the Chaldeans”—and the systemic abuse…
Tag: sermon
Inward Transformation for the Resistance
Preacher: Jenn Hosler Scripture: Luke 18:9-14 Our tagline as a congregation is “Seeking justice, wholeness, and community through the gospel of Jesus.” We can unpack that a little. Justice – we want to work for social justice in our city, our country, and our world. Wholeness – this comes from the biblical word for peace,…
Persistence and Mystery
Preacher: Christie Dahlin Scripture: Luke 18:1-8 A couple years ago I was the pastor of a church in Boise, Idaho, just a mile away from the Idaho state capitol building. Local politics in Idaho are on the very conservative end of things. During the state legislative session I would gather with a multi-faith group every…
The Grateful Samaritan
Preacher: Dana Cassell Scripture: Luke 17:11-19 This summer, I started a weekly Sunday Dinner potluck. I’d wanted to do something like this for over a year – a standing, regular, weekly casual gathering of friends. I think the desire was born, in part, from not having a church community that I participated in regularly. And…
God’s Economy: Woe to the Rich and Blessed Are the Poor
Preacher: Jenn Hosler Scripture: Luke 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 6:6-19 The past few weeks, we spent a lot of money, and it feels strange. We bought new mattresses, replacing our 18-year-old mattress queen mattress and our unknown aged second-hand twin mattress with versions that would be kinder to our bodies and kind to our earth. We…
Acting in Hope
Preacher: Rev. Nate Hosler Scripture: Jeremiah 32:1-3,6-15; 1 Timothy 6:6-19 The prompt said that I was invited to speak on what I’m “passionate about.” But passion or excitement may be similar to the feeling of love. As folks sometimes say, love includes action and choice and is not always a warm and fuzzy feeling. Certainly,…
The Enoughness of God
Preacher: Julia BakerScripture: Luke 16:1-13 “You cannot serve God and wealth.” Metal hangers clank against each other. As do those words. It’s a Friday afternoon at Goodwill and I am here after a long hard day of work at the hospital. I rationally tell myself that I am here because I need a dress for…
I Want to Be That Pawpaw Tree
Preacher: Jenn Hosler Scripture: Psalm 1; Luke 14:25-33 How do we make space for joy and rest amidst injustice and seemingly endless crises, here in our country and in our city and across the world? The past 2 years, I have been wrestling with this. One particular memory is of Martin Luther King Jr. Day…
Dishonest Wealth
Preacher: Dana Cassell Scripture: Luke 15:1-10 I have had the privilege of a front row seat over the last year as my home congregation has worked to sell their building and dissolve as a congregation. I can’t quit telling stories about First Church because I am so fascinated and amazed at the grace they’re enacting…
Held in the Tapestry of God’s Peace
Preacher: Julia Baker Scripture: Philippians 4:1-8 When I was 28 a relationship that marked most of my 20’s, with the man I thought I would marry, came to a very ugly and sad end. The morning after I woke, after having sobbed myself to sleep, and the verses we read in Philippians were with me….
Washington City Church of the Brethren 