Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Gospel Lesson                                                    Selections from Luke 1

After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and gave birth to a son. When her neighbors and relatives heard that God had been merciful to her, they shared her joy. When all had assembled for the circumcision on the eighth day, they intended to name the baby after his father Zechariah. But his mother spoke up, “No, he is to be called John.”

They pointed out to her, “But no one in your family has this name.” Then they made signs to the father to find out what he wanted the child to be named. The father asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” They were all astonished.

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Sermon by Rev. Mitch Hay

Gospel Lesson                                    John 18:33-38

So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and spoke to Jesus.

“Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked.

“Was it your idea to ask that?” asked Jesus. “Or did other people tell you about me?”

“Am I Jewish?” retorted Pilate. “Your nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me! What’ve you done?”

“My kingdom isn’t the sort that grows in this world,” replied Jesus. “If my kingdom were from this world, my supporters would have fought to stop me me being handed over to the authorities. But for now, my kingdom is not the sort that comes from here.”

“So!” said Pilate. “You are a king, then?”

“You’re the one who’s calling me a king.” replied Jesus. “I was born for this; I’ve come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

“Truth?” said Pilate. “What is truth?”

With those words, he went back out to the hand-picked crowd.

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Gospel Lesson                                                           Luke 21:25-36

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Epistle                                                                       1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Epistle                                                                       Philippians 1:3-11

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”

                                                                                                                                                                                The Message Translation

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Hebrew Scripture   Micah 6:6-8

“With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before God with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

“God has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God.”

Gospel Lesson                                                Mark 12:38-13:2

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He 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, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Scripture Reading                                                 Ruth 1:1-18

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food . . .

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.”

But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Gospel Lesson                              Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, bar-Timaeus, son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”

So, throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you wish that I might do for you?”

The blind man said to him, “Rabbouni, that I might see again.”

Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you whole.”

Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.

Sermon - The One Thing by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay.

Scripture Reading               Mark 10:17-31

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.”’ He said to him, ‘'Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Scripture Reading   Job 1:1, 2:1-13, 3:1, Robert Alter translation

A man there was in the land of Uz— Job his name. And the man was blameless and upright and feared God and shunned evil . . .

And one day, the sons of God came to stand in attendance before YHWH, and the Adversary, too, came among them to stand in attendance before YHWH. And YHWH said to the Adversary, “From whence do you come?”

And the Adversary answered YHWH and said, “From roaming the earth and walking about in it.”

And YHWH said to the Adversary, “Have you paid heed to My servant Job, for there is none like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil and still clings to his innocence, and you incited Me against him to destroy him for nothing.”

And the Adversary answered YHWH and said, “Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his own life. Yet, reach out, pray, Your hand and strike his bone and his flesh. Will he not curse You to your face?”

And YHWH said to the Adversary, “Here he is in your hands. Only preserve his life.” And the Adversary went out from before YHWH’s presence. And he struck Job with a grievous burning rash from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he was sitting among the ashes.  And his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your innocence?  Curse God and die.”

And he said to her, “You speak as one of those base women would speak.  Shall we accept the good from God, too, and evil we shall not accept?”

With all this, Job did not offend with his lips.

And Job’s three companions heard of all this harm that had come upon him, and they came . . . to grieve with him and to comfort him . . . And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that the pain was very great.

Afterward, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

Sermon by Rev. Barb Lemmel and Rev. Mitch Hay

Reading

Gospel Lesson                                Mark 9:38-50

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to the Anointed will by no means lose their reward.

“If anyone puts a stumbling block before one of these little ones who have faith, it would be better for them if a great millstone were hung around their neck and to be thrown into the sea.

“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life limping than to have two feet and to be cast into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the Realm of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be flung into Gehenna, where their worm never dies, and the fire is not quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Keep the salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”