Sermon given by Rev Barb Lemmel and Rev Mitch Hay on January 12, 2025

Gospel -- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22The people were filled with anticipation, wondering in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is mightier than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

"A winnowing-fork is in his hand to clear the threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into the granary; but the chaff will be burnt in unquenchable fire." Using exhortations like this, John proclaimed the Good News to the people.

Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also came to be baptized. And while Jesus was praying, the skies opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on the Anointed One in visible form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Own, my Beloved; on you my favor rests."

Sermon given by Rev Mitch Hay and Rev Barb Lemmel on January 5, 2025

Gospel Matthew -- 2:1-12In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,some Magi, astrologer priests from the East, came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Judaeans? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him,“In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a rulerwho is to shepherd my people Israel.

Then Herod, secretly summoning the Magi, ascertained from them the exact time of the star's appearance. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and inquire precisely after the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” And, obeying the king, they departed. And there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, theywere overwhelmed with joy.

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Sermon given by Rev Barb Lemmel and Rev Mitch Hay on December 29, 2024

Gospel -- Matthew 2:13-23Now after [the Magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord throughthe prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he wasinfuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and aroundBethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the Magi. Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There hemade his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Sermon given by Pastoral Intern Jihyun Son

Gospel Luke 4:1-13Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live by bread alone.“ Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God. ”

Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, God will command the angels concerning you, to protect you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dashyour foot against a stone. ”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until a more opportune time.

Reflection from Rev Barb Lemmel on Ash Wednesday 2025

TORAH -- Genesis 2

The Lord God formed the human one (adam) from the dust ofthe ground (adamah), and breathed into its nostrils the ruach,the breath of life; and the human one became nephesh, aliving being . . .

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the gardenat the time of the evening breeze, and the man (Ish) and thewoman (Isha) hid themselves from the presence of the LordGod among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God calledto the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘Iheard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid,because I was naked; and I hid myself.’

PROPHETS -- Isaiah 58:6-8Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds ofinjustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressedgo free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring thehomeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, tocover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and yourhealing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall gobefore you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cryfor help, and he will say, Here I am.

Sermon by Rev Barb Lemmel and Rev Mitch Hay on December 22, 2024

Gospel -- Matthew 1:18-25Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, andhe named him Jesus.

Gospel -- Luke 1:46-55And Mary said,“My soul proclaims your greatness, O God,and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior.For you have looked with favorupon your lowly servant,and from this day forwardall generations will call me blessed.

For you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,and holy is your Name.Your mercy reaches from age to agefor those who revere you.You have shown strength with your arm;you have scattered the proud in their conceit;you have deposed the mighty from their thronesand raised the lowly to high places.You have filled the hungry with good things,while you have sent the rich away empty.You have come to the aid of Israel your servant,mindful of your mercy—the promise you made to our ancestors—to Sarah and Abrahamand their descendants forever.”

Sermon by Rev Mitch Hay and Rev Barb Lemmel on December 8, 2024

Hebrew Scripture -- Isaiah 58:9-12Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and God will say, “Here I am.”If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong,and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

Gospel -- Luke 3:7-16John [the Baptizer] said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham and Sarah as our ancestors,’ for tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham and Sarah. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; thereforeevery tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Sermon by Rev Mitch Hay and Rev Barb Lemmel on March 3, 2025

Gospel -- Luke 9:28-43aNow about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses andElijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.

Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying.

When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciplesto cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

Sermon given by Rev Barb Lemmel and Rev Mitch Hay on November 10, 2024

Hebrew Scriptures Micah 6:6-8

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

Gospel Mark 12:38-44

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you,

Sermon given by Rev Mitch Hay and Barb Lemmel

Hebrew Scriptures - Micah 6:6,8

Gospel - Mark 12:28-34

The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Realm of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.