Fairhaven United Methodist Church

Summary This week’s sermon begins by acknowledging that October is a time when many churches discuss stewardship and giving. However, Pastor Peg says that before talking about giving, we need to focus on who we are giving to – God. Pastor Bowman then reflects on God’s qualities – God is our heavenly parent, creator, provider, […]

Summary Rev. Dylan Parson reflects on how we often want to go back to the past, even when the past was difficult or oppressive. Just as the Israelites complained to Moses about leaving Egypt for the uncertainty of the desert, Christians today can be tempted to pine for the “good old days” of the church […]

Summary Rev. Peg Bowman’s sermon focuses on the importance of trust in our relationships with God and others. The scripture readings described – Psalm 105, Exodus 16, and Matthew 20 – all touch on the theme of trust. God desires to trust us, just as God is trustworthy and provides for our needs. However, living […]

Summary Rev. Peg Bowman shares that she was requested by her book club to give a sermon on immigration after they read a book about a woman who helped asylum seekers. Rev. Bowman explains her interest in immigration stems from learning about her own family’s immigration history and hearing about the tragic fate of Jewish […]

Summary Rev. Dylan Parson begins the sermon by describing how he discovered as a child that falling asleep made long car trips go by faster. As a kid, Rev. Parson would try to distract himself on road trips by bringing lots of books, music, etc. However, distraction came at the cost of missing sights along […]

Summary This Fairhaven Sermon by Peg Bowman explores the history and significance of Sabbath from the Old Testament through Jesus’s life. It starts by summarizing the origins of Sabbath in Genesis, where God rested on the 7th day after creating the world. God intended Sabbath to be a time for all people and even animals […]

Summary In this sermon, the Pastor Dylan Parson discusses Jesus’ interaction with a Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Matthew. The pastor explains that Christians often view themselves as the “hero” or “main character” when reading Bible stories, but in this case, we are not the children of Israel – we are the outsiders, the […]

Summary In this weeks sermon on the Sabbath, Rev. Peg Bowman uses a Star Wars analogy to frame her exploration of how the concept of the Sabbath evolved in the Old Testament period. Just as the second Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, connects the beginning and end of the original trilogy while having […]

The sermon explores the theme of spiritual maturity and identity formation through the Biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God. Pastor Dylan describes how Jacob begins his life driven by self-interest, manipulating others and disconnected from God. After encountering God in a vision, Jacob begins a journey of growth, though he still relies on his […]

Summary In this sermon, Rev. Dylan Parson discusses the biblical story of Jacob and his vision of the ladder to heaven. Rev. Parson points out that Jacob was a deceitful person who tricked his brother Esau out of his inheritance. Yet even when Jacob is fleeing his brother’s wrath, his father Isaac blesses him and […]