Message Cast

Audio from a sermon delivered by Loren Richmond Jr., Sunday, Nov 8 at Wheat Ridge Congregational Church.

Waiting is hard, especially when we don't know how long it will last. In Matthew 25's parable of the ten bridesmaids, Jesus calls us to remain prepared and faithful, even when his promised return seems delayed. But our endurance doesn't ultimately depend on our own determination. It rests on trusting the one who made the promise. Christ is coming, and that good news gives us hope and strength to continue loving our neighbors and practicing justice, mercy, and compassion, even when we grow weary.

If a good deed isn't posted online, does it still count? In this sermon, shared Sunday, November 1 at Wheat Ridge Congregational Church, Loren Richmond Jr. shares a message about humility, hope and the promise of another way to live.

Beginning with the basic question, must doing good always mean playing the same power games we're trying to change? Loren draws on Audre Lorde's warning that "the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." Then he turns to Jesus' teaching in Matthew that greatness comes through humility and service, and to the self-emptying love of Christ in Philippians 2. Along the way he looks at the Estonian Singing Revolution, where ordinary people found a way to resist without violence. He closes with a challenge for the days around a national election: what will we do with power once we have it?

Audio from a sermon delivered Sunday, October 25 at Wheat Ridge Congregational Church.

The Rainbow Fish teaches us the importance of sharing, but what happens when we run out of scales to give? Jesus commands us to love God and our neighbors, yet our best efforts will always fall short. The good news is that God's love and grace don't depend on how much we give or how well we perform. Christ does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, freeing us from the endless pressure to prove our worth and allowing us to love our neighbors without having to manufacture more of ourselves.

In this sermon, delivered Sunday, October 18 at Wheat Ridge Congregational Church, Loren shares about choices, specifically in light of our upcoming elections, noting that elections matter, and our choices have real consequences. But Jesus’ response to the question of paying taxes to Caesar reminds us that no political outcome is ultimate. When we trust that the future rests in God’s hands rather than entirely on our ability to make the right choices, we are freed to act with love, generosity, and courage rather than fear.

In this sermon, preached October 4, 2026, at First Christian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, Loren Richmond Jr. reflects on Philippians 3:4–14 and our fear of being found out as less faithful, righteous, or capable than we appear. Rather than working harder to “look the part,” Paul points us toward the faithfulness of Christ. We can press on not because we will never be found lacking, but because Christ has made us his own and is already at work within us.

In this sermon, preached September 6, 2026, at Creede Community Church in Creede, Colorado, Loren Richmond Jr. reflects on Romans 13:8–14 and the good news that God’s new day is approaching. Therefore, the darkness does not have to determine our orientation. We can wake up, put on Christ, and begin living now in the light of the day God is bringing.

Text from a sermon given Sunday, July 26 at Loveland UCC.

We live in a world marked by decay, suffering, and injustice, and while our efforts to make things better matter, they cannot ultimately fix what is broken. Romans 8 reminds us that God is already at work bringing creation toward a promised future where all things are made new. Because God—not us—will have the final word, we are freed from the burden of saving the world. Instead, we are invited to faithfully participate in God's work, letting every act of mercy, justice, and love bear witness to the future God has promised.

Audio from a message given at First Congregational Church UCC - Loveland, CO - July 19, 2026.

Fear often traps us in unhealthy coping patterns that once protected us but now control us. In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that through Christ we are no longer slaves to fear but beloved children of God. The Holy Spirit continually assures us that we are not alone, deeply loved, and already at home with God. Real freedom begins not when we fix ourselves, but when we trust that God has been with us all along.

Audio from a message given at First Congregational Church UCC - Loveland, CO - July 12, 2026.

We all carry labels born from our worst moments. But Romans 8 reminds us that while failure may describe something we've done, it never gets the final word about who we are. In Christ, there is no condemnation.

Romans and Isaiah remind us that God's grace is a gift, not a reward. Throughout Scripture, people have tried to draw boundaries around who belongs and who is worthy of God's promises, yet God continually extends grace beyond those human limits. This sermon explores three promises: God's grace is for all people, God's grace does not depend on our performance, and God's grace keeps breaking through the boundaries we create. The question is not whether God is gracious enough—but whether we trust God's promise enough to let that grace be as expansive as God intends.