Grace Siloam Sermon Podcast episodes:

• January 27, 2020January 26, 2020

  By using the phrase “upon,” Jesus is saying that God is not off in some

  distant place called heaven or in some distant future called the afterlife,

  but God has come upon the people Jesus is addressing right now. You don’t

  have to wait until you go to heaven when you die to experience God’s

  presence. It is upon you in this person Jesus. That’s part of what Jesus’

  baptism was about when the heavens were torn in two and the Holy Spirit

  (God’s spirit) came down upon Jesus in the form of a dove. There is that

  word “upon” again. Matthew is telling us that in Jesus, God’s reign of

  peace and justice is here.

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• January 27, 2020January 19, 2020

  I pray that in the days to come, we will continue to invite others to come

  and see so that they might hear Jesus question, “What are you looking for?”

  and find a loving community journeying together toward that promised land

  of peace and justice.

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• January 13, 2020January 12, 2020

  And so it is true for us as well. We have been adopted into the loving

  relationship of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - all three expressions

  of the Godhead present at Jesus’ baptism. The Holy Spirit has descended

  upon us and we have been marked as God’s own forever. And whether we can

  hear it or not, there is a voice from heaven that says, this is my child

  whom I love and in whom I take great delight.

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• January 13, 2020December 24, 2019

  What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this

  wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an

  infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a

  manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity,

  and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of humans. He Who has broken

  the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed

  that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total

  humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

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• January 13, 2020December 22, 2019

  God is creating a new world with the birth of this baby, a world that would

  be created through him, and by him, and with him; a new humanity that would

  find its origin story in Jesus’ origin story.

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• December 12, 2019December 8, 2019

  That’s why I believe coming to this table each week is so important,

  because this is a place where we experience God’s grace. It’s not about

  beating ourselves up for how bad we are, but accepting God’s forgiveness in

  Christ and accepting the invitation to a heavenly banquet.

  ...more

  

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• December 01, 2019December 1, 2019

  In a similar way, we engage our imaginations in the story of anticipation

  this Advent season and so enter into a reality beyond our current

  experience. We are carried, if you will, into the past as well as the

  future, because the season of Advent holds us in the present moment while

  simultaneously reminding us the Jesus’ second advent is also part of this

  season.

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• November 26, 2019November 24, 2019

  As we celebrate the Reign of Christ in our hearts and at the end of time,

  we recognize that God is still creating, still working, still making us

  into God’s beautiful beloved community. We see God at work in our own lives

  and in the lives of those around us, refining, reworking, transforming, and

  restoring the image and likeness of God that in the beginning God

  proclaimed as very good. And in the end, at the culmination of the Reign of

  Christ, God will renew all things through Christ.

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• November 19, 2019November 10, 2019

  Jesus affirms that in the resurrection we are claimed by God in Christ, in

  life and especially in death. For to God all are alive. That abundant life

  begins now.

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• November 19, 2019November 3, 2019

  It is a subtle but very important point in this story, and it is one reason

  that we have this lesson when we celebrate all the saints. There is wisdom

  in the community.

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