Claremont United Church of Christ

The 13th century King of Mali, Mansa Musa, is believed by scholars to have been the richest person in history with an inflation-adjusted net worth of $400 billion. In contrast, the King of Kings, Jesus, did not even have a place to lay his head at night. Pastor Jacob digs deeper into why so many rulers pursue wealth, but Jesus found his treasures elsewhere.

Pastor Jen kicks off our Advent sermon series, “King of Kings” by sharing the history of Israel’s relationship with kings and comparing Jesus to an infamous emperor of Rome, Nero. While Nero was power-hungry, self-obsessed, and violent, Jesus was the complete opposite. But how can Jesus be a more powerful king than this rich, well-connected tyrant?

Pastor Jen kicks off our Advent sermon series, “King of Kings” by sharing the history of Israel’s relationship with kings and comparing Jesus to an infamous emperor of Rome, Nero. While Nero was power-hungry, self-obsessed, and violent, Jesus was the complete opposite. But how can Jesus be a more powerful king than this rich, well-connected tyrant?

One of the most challenging questions of our faith is why bad things happen to good people. If God is all-powerful and all-loving, then why does God allow evil to exist in our world? Join Pastor Jacob as he works through this difficult question.

In the Old Testament the Israelites believe that God wants them to completely wipe out their enemies from the land they are about to occupy. Does God really give them these instructions? Join Pastor Jacob as he tries to make sense of these "Texts of Terror" and determine how we can know whether or not our beliefs about God are true.

In our first sermon of the series, “You Ask, We Preach: Your Biggest, Burning Questions,” Pastor Jen tackles the issue of why God has been historically referred to as male, and why we can all benefit from exploring the feminine side of God.

When the writer of Hebrews says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the certainty of things unseen, we are told that we can have this assurance because we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Pastor Jacob shares about the encouragement we can receive from the spiritual ancestors who have gone before us.

Every year on ONA Sunday, Pastor Jen and Pastor Jacob share reflections on why the LGBTQ+ community is vital to the health and life of the church. Pastor Jen explains why the church is blessed by the LGBTQ+ community. Pastor Jacob discusses the transfiguration and what it means to fully reveal one’s true self to the world.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are known for surviving the fiery furnace, but the real reason they are heroes of our faith is because of their unconditional love for God. Join Pastor Jen for this spooky and inspiring story.

In a moment of fear and panic, Saul goes to the Witch of Endor to find answers. But what causes us to demand certainty in the first place? Can we find peace amidst the uncertainty?