God’s redemptive plan, as recounted through the Lessons & Carols service, reveals that the Christian story is Universal and Historic, but also Local and Personal–and it will cause Trouble for any, who like Mary, are willing to respond.

Into the Darkness, God’s light comes. Zechariah the Father of John the Baptist, after 9 months of silence, opens his mouth to declare the praises of God. He recounts Who God Is, Because of What God has done–retelling The Story of Redemption  and anticipating what God is about to do. Through it all, God is […]

What is the nature of the salvation story–seeds of promise planted, waiting for the promise to come, and trusting in the outcome. It is the Advent story that is played out in the hopes of Israel and the promises made to faithful, barren and aged Zechariah and Elizabeth–that their prayers for salvation were being answered […]

A woman bent over by a disabling spirit enters the Synagogue where Jesus is teaching. He sees her and in compassion calls her to him and heals her–setting her free from her physical and spiritual affliction. The religious leaders are indignant that Jesus is working on the Sabbath. But as Jesus shows, he is Lord […]

We live anxious, stressed and fearful–trying to achieve and accomplish and do what the world tells us we must have. Jesus says do not be anxious. How do we do this? By understanding and living from a new perspective–that in God, we have a heavenly Father who cares deeply about us. When our eyes are […]

A disciple asks Jesus how to pray. He teaches them the Lord’s Prayer and gives two parables for prayer. Prayer, he reveals, is bold & persistent, it’s dependent & trusting, it’s it’s relational & personal. And through Prayer we experience and are shaped by God the Father.

What must we do to inherit eternal life? Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. But this is impossible. So the religious leader tries to simplify by asking Jesus–who is my neighbor? Jesus tells the story of a man who is beaten, robbed and left for […]

Unfortunately the Sermon did not record through the sound system so the sound quality is not ideal. In a divided, atomized, irreligious and increasingly hostile culture, how are we as Christians to respond? Jesus calls us to die: deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. Only in losing our life for his sake […]

UNFORTUNATELY, THE FIRST TEN MINUTES OF THIS SERMON FAILED TO RECORD On the the Gentile shores of Galilee, Jesus finds a man possessed by a Legion of Demons. The man had lived an animal existence–apart from community, naked and dwelling in the tombs. Jesus sets him free, but doesn’t just heal him Spiritually, he also […]

What begins as a dinner party for Jesus hosted by a Pharisee named Simon quickly escalates into a bizarre scene when an unnamed prostitute enters and in stunning fashion begins weeping and acting in a way that would have been viewed as highly provocative and illicit as she falls upon Jesus wiping his feet with […]