First Community Church 12.31.23 Glen Miles -Sermon, When the Extraordinary Breaks into the Ordinary by First Community Church

Reverend Dr. Glen Miles delivers his Christmas Eve Sermon "Rejoice" from the 9PM Festival of Lessons and Carols Service

Part 4 in the Advent Sermon Series How Does a Weary World Rejoice.

We continue our Advent sermon series, How Does a Weary World Rejoice, with Part 2 - "We Find Joy in Connection." We will pay close attention to a conversation between Mary, the young woman expecting to deliver Jesus, and her cousin Elizabeth, an older woman expecting to deliver John the Baptist. If we look carefully enough, we will see they find joy in connecting.

The season of Advent begins this Sunday. Advent is more than a time of preparation to celebrate the arrival of the Christ-Child. Advent comes with an invitation to you and me to reflect on our lives. In the very center of our being, who is God calling us to be? And where does the world need each of us the most?

Our Advent sermon series, How Does a Weary World Rejoice?, asks us to consider similar questions. Is there room for joy in a world worn down by fear and sorrow? Is there space for tranquility? Maybe you are tempted to avoid questions like these. I don't blame you. So am I, especially at Christmas time. The questions are frightening. However, as Brené Brown says in her book Atlas of the Heart, "Avoidance will make you feel less vulnerable in the short run, but it will never make you less afraid."

In this sermon series, we will review the parallel birth stories of Jesus and his cousin, John the Baptist. In both, we find a host of human emotions: grief, fear, joy, sorrow, regret, happiness, love, and more. Part 1 - "We Acknowledge Our Weariness" looks at John the Baptist's birth announcement. An angel appears to the priest Zechariah to tell him that his wife will bear a child. The couple is elderly. They had dreamed of having a child but had given up on that hope long ago. Can you relate? Have you had your hopes dashed, dreams squashed, and ideas ignored? When regret rules our lives, hearing or seeing any good news is sometimes difficult. Acknowledging our weariness can be the first step to opening our eyes and minds to see the gifts around us. I cannot wait to share this message with you!

First Community Church 11.26.23 Sarah Kientz -Sermon, The Least of These by First Community Church

Worship this Sunday

This Sunday, November 19, I will conclude my sermon series, How to Dress for the End of the World, with Part Two - "Wrap Yourselves in Faith, Hope, and Love," based on 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11. We read the first half of the reading last week, where Paul invites them to recognize they are "children of the light." In other words, they will not be shaped by fear and anxiety. They will not let the pressures of the world form them. It is a beautiful demonstration of brilliant pastoral skill. Instead of criticizing them for their fear and worry, he lifts them beyond these feelings to a new way of seeing their situation.

In the second half of the reading, which we will read on Sunday, he highlights the three great gifts they have received and are already putting into practice: faith, hope, and love. Their faith is in the goodness of God's love. Their hope is seen in the ongoing promise of God's presence in their lives. And their love is embodied in how they care for each other and the world. At first glance, it feels like a text about the end of the world (it still sort of is), but Paul assures them of this: they already have all they need to take on whatever happens next!

a brief two-week sermon series titled What to Wear for the End of the World, based on 1 Thessalonians 5. Whenever there is unrest and violence in the Middle East, there is heightened anxiety about the end of the world or, for evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, concern about the return of Jesus. This is nothing new. The same concerns existed in the Apostle Paul's day, too. In perhaps the very first letter written to a young early church, Paul assures them they do not have to be afraid. He suggests that no matter what happens if they clothe themselves in faith, hope, and love, they will be ready for anything!

First Community Church 11.05.23 Sarah Kientz -Sermon, Made Well by First Community Church

First Community Church 10.29.23 Mary Kate Buchanan -Sermon, From Everlasting To Everlasting by First Community Church