JR.'s Sermons

As we prepare for the new year, what should we be looking for God to do? How is God calling us to be faithful in the year ahead, especially as we struggle with an ongoing pandemic?

Aren’t presents the best part of Christmas? There’s something powerful about these tangible expressions of our love for each other. That points us to the power Christmas: Jesus’ incarnation. God became human, gave us the gift of his physical presence among us. But don’t take our word for it. Let’s hear from a woman named Hannah, who understood the revolutionary power of gifts more than 3,000 years ago!

We might be forgiven for thinking Christmas is all about the big, elaborate celebrations. But the prophet Micha reminds us that Christmas affirms God is at work in the small, overlooked and out of the way. How can we find God with us this tiny Christmas?

It can be hard for us to know how to navigate the complex experiences of the holidays. For some, it’s a time of great joy; for others, struggle and sadness. Advent offers us a unique avenue into these spaces by inviting us to confront pain and disillusionment with hope. How can we wait in the bright sadness for God’s arrival?

Christmas lights are one of our most beautiful symbols of the season. But as the prophet Micah points out, light reveals and purifies. In our preparation for Christmas, God wants to purify us, get us ready for Jesus' coming. Will we respond? Or will we hide?

At the beginning of the Advent season, we ask what hope looks like. In a world that craves peace on earth and goodwill for all people, a world that is far from those dreams, how do we hope? Jeremiah invites us into his model faithful presence in a hurting world - one that invites us to look for God right where we're hurting. That's hope.

Churches serving or doing missions work often feels paternalistic. How do we serve those outside the church, how do we love those outside the church, in ways that respect them as equally God's image-bearers? The model of the ancient pilgrimage can help us imagine a better way to meet others - as students who can help one another know God better!

Too often, faith is reduced to an intellectual exercise. But Jesus pressed for transformation, change so dramatic it was described as 'resurrection' or 'rebirth'. What does it look like for us to pursue this sort of new life here at Catalyst in the coming year?

Diversity - it's a buzzword, a trend these days. Every church claims to value diversity. So why do churches so often fail to reflect even the diversity of our communities? And how do we pursue an authentic diversity that moves beyond tokenism and trends to get to the heart of Jesus' good news for our world?

Love comes easy to some of us. But for a lot of us, being more loving is really hard. It's scary to be more vulnerable. To risk reaching out. But the thing about love is that it is inevitable. If we just keep going, we'll find it. So how do we find the strength to love?