Claremont United Church of Christ

Rahab, along with many other women in scripture, remind us that women have always been leaders for change. Pastor Laurel reflects on the LGBTQ+ women whose actions were lifesaving in the AIDS epidemic, and invites us to find the courage to follow their lead.

A few church members asked Pastor Jen if she was going to follow her sermon on Peter the Rock by one about Mary the Tower. Not one to walk away from a challenge, Pastor Jen finished our sermon series by presenting the work of Elizabeth Schrader and her discovery that the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of John comes from a manuscript that had been intentionally altered.

When Jesus first calls the disciples, he nicknames James and John the Sons of Thunder. Scholars don't know what Jesus meant by these epithets, but the two brothers do have quite the tempers in the Gospels. Pastor Jacob explores why Jesus would call these two hotheads into ministry and why Jesus decided to call each of us.

Pastor Jen kicks off our new sermon series with the story of Jesus changing Simon’s name to Peter. Why would Jesus give the name “Rock” to a disciple like Simon?