Sermons are listed below with the most recent sermons first. See the Sermons menu above browse by date, books of the Bible, speaker, and more. Check back often for updates.
Being a Good Ancestor and not a Better Ancestor
Elijah wanted to be better than his ancestors and failed. He wanted to be more righteous, more zealous, more faithful. Then, over the course of his 40 days journey he discovered all he could do was do the best he could and focus not on generations past but on generations in the future. He could only try to be a good ancestor, not a better ancestor.
Nurturing a Shepherd’s Heart and an Open Heart
What did God see in David? We are told God does not look at outward appearance but looks at the heart. What qualities did God see in David’s heart? How can we nurture those qualities with us?
Holy Rumbling: Courage, Conflict, and Vulnerability
In our story this week, God calls Samuel and asks him to deliver harsh words of rebuke to his mentor Eli the priest. Watch Pastor Billy will reflect on how we can learn from Samuel’s example and have honest conversations ourselves that are grounded in courage and vulnerability.
How to Workout When You Don’t Have a Spiritual Elliptical Machine?
God used manna to train the Israelites to trust in God one day at a time. We don’t have manna today and we aren’t in the desert. How can we learn to trust God more? Through the disciplined practice of generosity and giving.
Does God Look Away? Does God Forget Us?
Throughout the Bible, we hear of people experiencing God as absent. This is hard because we prefer to believe God is ever-present. How can we honor this scriptural testimony about God’s absence while seeking and finding God’s presence with us always?
Dealing with People Who Don’t Play by Your Rules
How do we deal with people who don’t play by the rules we thought everyone had agreed upon? Rebekah is a woman with a message from God in a patriarchal society. She has to resort to deception to realize God’s message. Can we ever meet Rebekah’s example and learn how to nurture God’s blessings?
Did God Really Want Abraham to Sacrifice Isaac?
Does God really ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? Or is there a deeper challenge in the story of Genesis 12:1-14? Pastor Billy will preach on what we can all learn from Abraham and Isaac’s encounter with God (spoiler alert: killing your children is not what God wants).
How Can We Widen our Circles of Compassion?
How can we widen our circles of compassion? How can we avoid compassion fatigue? Genesis 1 suggests we are not so different from the animals except that we have a particular responsibility to compassionately care for them.
What Should We Be Grateful For?
We all know we should be grateful and probably more grateful than we are. But, are some things in our ethically complicated world less fruitful as objects of our gratitude? And are something things very fruitful?
Fighting the Real Enemies
How do we read these challenging passages about Israel conquering the native inhabitants of “The Promised Land”? What is our Promised Land today and what enemies must we overcome to enter into it?
Thank You, Omu!
Faith without works is useless, says James – what does that mean? We finish our Summer Stories Sermon Series this week with our final lay preacher, Adam Allen. Adam shares some short remarks about faith and works and the hospitality exhorted by the author of James and practiced by Omu in our final children’s book for the summer, Thank You, Omu!
How to React When Others are Vulnerable
When others share their secrets and fears with us we can respond with support or we can use their trust against them. Christians are called to create communities of vulnerability and care so that we can be open and honest together.