JR.'s Sermons

Is God angry at us? Did Jesus pacify a raging deity? Why did God kill his son rather than us? This week, we're diving into God's Wrath and the Atonement because we've got it all wrong. God's wrath is about love (yes, really) and the cross isn't about Jesus vs God, but Jesus vs. us.

Who is God? The vast majority of Americans say they believe in God, but that word is so generic, it doesn't actually tell us very much. That's why the Church holds the doctrine of the Trinity as a core doctrine - Trinity tells us who God is - and what that means for us.

It's time for resolutions! Wouldn't it be amazing if we could summon a montage and instantly become great at that thing we've resolved to do in the new year? Unfortunately, spiritual formation isn't the work of a moment. Simeon's encounter with Jesus illustrates for us why remaining committed to spiritual formation is a worthy task, and a good reminder as we enter this new year!

The end of a year is always a time to look back at the highs and lows of the last year. This practice has profound spiritual value as well. Isaiah shows us how looking back reveals God's pattern of salvation: God imagines new possibilities for us, then is present with us to walk into those new possibilities. How can we prepare ourselves for God's presence in the new year?

Our Christmas Eve gathering

Holidays bring a lot of family stress. If anyone can relate, it's Joseph. Matthew tells us how God challenged Joseph to imagine a bigger definition of family than he was comfortable with - and how that changed the world forever. How can we find family where we may have least expected it?

Hope isn't automatic. To be a person of hope means to live into the "maybe". Maybe things will be better if we act. Isaiah invites us to rejoice as an act of hope.

The Christmas season is all about hope, but for a lot of folks these days, hope feels like a pipe dream. The prophet Isaiah offers two pictures of hope – one that feels impossible, and one grounded in history. He reminds us that when we hope for what’s right, our hope is not in vain because God is with us!

The Christmas season is in full swing! With Black Friday behind us and the steady march toward Christmas Day begun, our wanting engines are warming up. But how do we know what the right things to hope for are? Isaiah invites the people of Judah to want God's justice and salvation: a gift for the whole world!

There are ways we just can't know God when we stay in our comfort zones. Jesus invites us to follow him out of the places we call home to discover the new and surprising ways we can grow in our faith when we dare to leave.