Sermons on Grace
It’s Not Mine to Carry
Chaplain Annie Owens explores what it means to truly lay our burdens before Christ instead of carrying the same pain over and over. Using the image of bamboo roots, we’re reminded that lasting healing requires more than addressing what’s on the surface. God invites us to heal from the roots up.
A God Who Heals
Rev. David Harris explores the profound theme of healing as an eternal and divine purpose, rooted deeply in Christian theology and practice. Rev. Harris emphasizes that healing is not only a spiritual gift bestowed by God but also a responsibility shared by the Church, the body of Christ, to actively participate in ministering healing in the world. Drawing from the Gospel of Mark, he outlines a four-step construct of healing: faith, seeking, divine response, and restoration to community.
Extravagant Grace Before the Cross
Minister Lea Gilmore delivers the message, “Extravagant Grace Before the Cross.” In the life of faith, we are more than our sins and confessions, because God’s mercy runs deeper than our brokenness. Even in our wounds—shame, guilt, and loneliness—the church becomes a place where extravagant grace is poured out, and our brokenness is transformed into a witness to the One who heals.
You’re a Big Deal
Minister Lea Gilmore wants you to know you are a big deal! You are a big deal, because you are known, chosen, named, and treasured by God. Your worth is anchored not in your performance or the approval of others, but in the intimate, personal love of your Creator.
Who Do We Listen To? – Choosing the Way of Grace
In times of difficulty and tension, voices clamor for our attention: voices of fear, anger, suspicion, pride. Yet there stands another voice—the gentle angel on our shoulder—whispering truths of grace, mercy, and love. Whose voice will guide our steps when the road is hard? Our task is to listen to the better angels—the Spirit’s fruit that ripens in dark seasons. May we learn to choose grace, to choose mercy, to choose Jesus in a world divided by strife.
Keep Your Eyes Open and Stay Alert
Pastor Ron emphasizes the importance of spiritual vigilance, hope, and readiness for the coming of Jesus Christ, while also highlighting lessons from scripture and contemporary challenges faced by our congregation.
The Gift of Humility
The scriptures instruct us to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand so that God may lift us up in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Humility is defined as having a modest or low view of one’s own importance. It involves putting others needs in front of our own so that they may benefit. Jesus was teaching a message to the pharisees reminding them that their high, religious positions here on earth did not translate into high positions within God’s Heavenly…
He Looks Beyond Our Faults
Jesus forgives and reinstates Peter to serve the church, even after Peter denies Jesus Christ three times. This is yet another example of God’s tremendous love and grace towards us, looking beyond our faults and addressing our needs. – Rev. Dr. Ron Hankins’ sermon from May 4, 2025.
It’s Personal
We welcomed Rev. Laura Ingersol to our pulpit on Sunday, February 16, 2025. The focus of her sermon is the idea that equity and justice are not just the work of leaders, it’s personal, and it takes all of us to help make our world what we want it to be. She used stories from her group pilgrimage to sites important to the Civil Rights Movement to illustrate the point. Laura was ordained in 1985 and over the course of…
Jubilant Justice, Powerful Peace & Radical Love
As we celebrate the dedication of the new sanctuary artwork, join Minister of Racial Justice and Multicultural Engagement, Lea Gilmore as she reflects on Jesus’ call to practice a powerful peace, seek jubilant justice and embrace a radical love! – Sermon from Sanctuary City Parts I & II dedication service on Sunday, February 9, 2025.
Avoiding Kingdom Obstacles
Matthew 6:33 reminds us to seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously. Satan’s seduction involves creating distractions and stumbling blocks that keep God’s children from seeking after the Lord and potentially not entering God’s Kingdom. Jesus warns us that we must never become an obstacle for others in their Christian faith, nor should we ever allow any earthly obstacle – physical, mental or spiritual to keep us from serving God and entering the Kingdom of Heaven…
Rest as Resistance
The first thing God does after creating the heavens and the earth is rest. Then tells us to do the same. God mentions it again in the commandments, putting it as high as fourth, to keep the sabbath day holy. We are God-made creatures who need rest, not just for our bodies but our minds, hearts, and souls. Join us this Sunday as we hear God’s command for rest as resistance to the prophet Elijah.
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