Jude 1-4, 17-25 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | 'Til death do us part is usually a long time--years…decades. What does perseverance, joy, and love look like throughout a lifetime? This sermon will explore the phases of marriage through the lens of Jude's admonition to Christians facing "intruders" who destroy their faith. In what way can a holy, meaningful, and joy-filled marriage be sustained when life throws intrusive curve-balls? In short, it involves that two people keep themselves in the love of God.

1 Corinthians 7:1-9 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Sex and sexuality are among the most enigmatic dimensions of human life. Even as science gains new understanding of the physiological dimensions of this gift, its spiritual and emotional aspects remain a joyful mystery. This sermon will explore intimacy and sex from a biblical perspective, including how we might understand and approach sex in our modern world.

Ephesians 4:1-6 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | For whatever generalities we may make about the sexes, nothing changes the fact that each person is different. Our particularity and uniqueness is one of the things that makes marriage so rewarding, but paradoxically it is also the thing that makes it so hard. Our differences matter less than how we approach them. This sermon will explore the ways we experience love and how attending to those differences can help us be a blessing to our partners.

Genesis 2:15-25 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | "What is marriage?" is a question that is as salient for twenty-first Christians as it ever was. We may answer that question socially, anthropologically, or biologically. The Bible's vision is that marriage is about providing partnership, help, and blessing. To be in marriage is to be called to a particular ministry in which one acts and serves as a means of God's grace and blessing.

Jeremiah 31:1-6 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Jeremiah's vision of salvation involves people enjoying the fruit of creation and rest in the Lord, which suggests that God's work of salvation is more than a disembodied spiritual bliss, but must include the rest and restoration of all creation.

Matthew 11:25-30 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | We know Jesus through following Jesus. When it comes to children, the gift of knowledge of God does not come through laissez-faire parenting, but rather through intentional cultivation of a vision of life-as-a-Jesus-follower. Giving children room to explore the life of discipleship with effective boundaries for loving and serving the Lord and others will help them use their own natural curiosity in the development of vital discipleship.

Matthew 20:20-28 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The most important goal for our children should not be success (as advancing up a ladder and gaining wealth) but in understanding their lives as a resource to make a difference.

Matthew 9:9-13 | Rev. Dr. R. Branodn Harris | Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees serves to spotlight what is not central to discipleship. External scales of success and worth are of little significance for the righteousness that must define discipleship. Inward character is the foundation upon which discipleship is built. Character cannot be put on like clothing or taught as one conveys facts. It comes through critical engagement with the real world.

Joshua 4:1-7, Matthew 19:13-15 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Parental involvement, investment, and storytelling can make a world of difference in whether and how kids become disciples. But why do we care that children become disciples? What are our motives? Our expectations of discipleship should shape how we disciple children.

James 1:5-7; 5:13-20 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | How does our faith impact the community? How do our lives build up or tear down the work of Christ in the world? James' final admonition is that we commit to the kinds of disciplines that uplift, that build up, that contribute to a community that is united in a faith that mutually supports the wellbeing of its members. So powerful is such a witness, that James even envisions that it might have the power to draw in those who wander, and restore those who have fallen.