Summer Sermon Series

John 20:1-18 Mary Mag & Jesus in the garden   by Pastor Lori One of our most prominent, best-known stories in Christian tradition happens outside: the tomb is empty, and Mary stands, bewildered, in the garden, wondering what it all means. As a preacher I am challenged both by having the same story every single year […]

Summer Sermon Series

A story from Acts 8 has two memorable characters. Philip, who is not the disciple called Philip we know from the gospels. He was one of those set aside not to preach the word, but to wait on tables. When he felt danger pressing on him in Jerusalem he fled to other parts. He is […]

Summer Sermon Series

7/26/20 Amen, Naaman! 2 Kings 5:1-15a  by Pastor Lori In this week’s story we see the power of God to heal across borders and beliefs. Naaman is a commander of the Aramean army—one of the enemies of Israel (we met this army a couple weeks ago in the “Chariots of Fire” story from 2 Kings […]

Summer Sermon Series

We continue our series on God manifest outside of synagogue, temple, and church by listening to the story of water turned to wine in John 2. Weddings in the world of Jesus were the responsibility of the groom’s extended family. They worked hard to create a hospitable celebration that both sides of the new family […]

Summer Sermon Series

Pastor Lori’s reflection on Exodus 3–4 The story of Moses at the burning bush is familiar and beloved, burned on most of our minds by either the 1956  film The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, or the 1998 DreamWorks animated version, The Prince of Egypt. As a reminder: During a time of […]

Summer Sermon Series

We continue our series about stories where God meets people outside of their religious buildings. Last week we listened to a story well-known to Christians the world over: the angel announces to Mary the birth of Jesus. This story found in 2 Kings 6:8-23  is almost unknown. I remember a vague reference to it from […]

Summer Sermon Series

 Luke 1:26-38 The story of Mary’s encounter with God via the angel Gabriel, and her “Yes”, is very familiar to us. If you read the longer version, Luke 1:5-2:21, you’ll notice a parallel with last week’s story: the lives of two women are inextricably bound together in this promise of a son to be born, […]

Summer Sermon Series

We continue our stories of God’s presence beyond temple, synagogue, and church with a lovely story from Mark’s gospel. In Mark 5:21-43 , two females experience restoration to life. The story of a dead girl who is raised is wrapped around the story of a woman who is healed from her affliction of bleeding for […]

Summer Sermon Series

Pastor Lori’s reflections on Genesis 16:1-16 This is the first of two stories about Hagar (see also Gen. 21:1-21), an Egyptian woman who is enslaved by Abram and Sarai. The story progresses quickly (the focus tends to be on Abram and Sarai, making this an incidental anecdote to many commentators) but the details are brutal. […]