Claremont United Church of Christ

Jacob favored his son Joseph above all his other sons, gifting him a beautiful coat. Unfortunately, being dad's favorite caused a lot of problems for Joseph. Join us for our last sermon in the Bad Dad & Flawed Fathers of the Bible series as we explore what it means to be spiritually mature.

As we explore strained parental relationships in Scripture, is it possible that God was a "bad dad" in God's relationship with Christ? Join Pastor Jacob as he reflects on Jesus' prayer from the cross, "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" and as he calls us to be more authentic before God and the people in our lives.

Abraham, our first "bad dad," took his son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice him! What could be worse than that? Even more disturbing is the fact that God was the one who called Abraham to do it. But if we dive deeper into this troubling story, will we find profound questions and surprising insights into our own relationship with God. Join us.

Join Pastor Jacob as he takes us into a dream within a dream within a dream to tell three stories of people who had to wake up from lies they believed in order to gain a better grasp of reality.

In Matthew 11, John the Baptist is sitting in prison and second-guessing whether Jesus is actually the Messiah. There often comes a time in life when God does not meet our expectations. The author and pastor Barbara Brown Taylor calls this, "The Gift of Disillusionment". Join Pastor Jacob as he explores how being disillusioned with God can open us up to finding the God who is, not the God we want.

Like the poor widow who placed copper coins in the treasury, our story is one of remembering we are all in poverty without God's faithfulness.

In 1928, Claremont United Church of Christ made plans to build a new building, not knowing that the next year the Great Depression would hit. Nevertheless, the congregation moved forward in faith and now we carry the legacy left behind by people we have never met. The stories of the past envelop us like a great cloud. Join Pastor Jacob as we explore the concept of faith and how faith helps us run the race of life despite what obstacles might arise.

Have you ever wondered where the concept of tithing comes from? Join us as we examine the very first tithe in the Bible and discover what it teaches us about giving today.

Abraham is known as the "Father of Faith" and he receives this title even in the midst of intense doubt. How do faith and doubt intertwine, and how can we know that God is always with us? Join Pastor Jacob as we launch a new sermon series exploring the concept of faith. What is faith? How much of it do we need? What do we have faith in. We'll try to answer these questions by looking at the chronicles of the ancestors of our faith.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen!

Join Pastor Jacob for the last installment of our Clue sermon series as we journey to the Empty Tomb. The body of Jesus isn't there, but where is the risen Christ? It seems he is nowhere to be found! Perhaps the story of Easter is only the beginning...