Sunday, December 8, 2019. Not Yet (Part 2). Isaiah 11:1-10 & Matthew 3:1-12. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. John the Baptist arrives on the scene with a brazen call to repent and be baptized. There was fire in his tone and urgency in his voice. It is hard for us today to grasp that urgency, and very easy to ignore the need for true repentance. Advent can be a wake-up call for the church: a time to remember our need to repent, to be made whole, and to turn our hearts toward God's coming kingdom.

Sunday, December 1, 2019. Not Yet (Part 1). Isaiah 2:1-5 & Matthew 24:36-44. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Advent is a time that we often look to the words of prophets in scripture and point to ways that these words have been fulfilled in Jesus. Not as often, though, do we point to the ways that these words still have yet to be fulfilled in the world.

Sunday, November 24, 2019. James (Part 5). James 5:13-20. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. After covering a wide range of topics in his letter, many of which focus on things that tend to result in division and conflict in the body of Christ, James wraps things up with a word on prayer. In doing so, James says something profound and relevant about the power of prayer in the life of the church.

Sunday, November 17, 2019. James (Part 4). James 3:13 - 4:4, 7-8. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. James recognizes that the wisdom we adopt and pursue in our daily lives has a profound impact on the people we become. James urges us to turn away from the wisdom of the world, which bears the fruit of conflict and dissatisfaction, and instead to turn to the wisdom of God, which bears the fruit of peace.

Sunday, November 10, 2019. James (Part 3). James 3:1-12. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. James has some very harsh words to say about the danger of harsh words. In a world filled with chatter and dangerous speech, James urges Christians to do less talking and a lot more doing.

Sunday, November 3, 2019. James (Part 2). Micah 6:6-8 & James 2:1-10, 14-17. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. James claims that faith without works is dead in doing so ignites centuries of theological controversy, especially among Protestant Christians. But if we can set those debates aside, we might be able to hear a clear, penetrating word that is sorely needed for the church today.

Sunday, October 27, 2019. James (Part 1). James 1:17-27. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. The book of James is unique among the letters of the New Testament in its unembarrassed forthrightness about the way that the faith of the Christian community and its actions are linked together. Before driving that point home (as we will see in chapter 2), James first urges the church to adopt the appropriate posture: a posture of openness, meekness, and gratitude.

Sunday, October 20, 2019. Psalm 119:97-10 & Luke 4:44 - 5:10. The Rev. Byron Perrine, guest preacher.

Sunday, October 13, 2019. Dinner with Jesus (Part 6). Luke 24:13-35. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Jesus meets two travelers along the road to Emmaus, but, in their disappointment after Jesus’ death, they fail to recognize their risen Lord. When our expectations fail us, we can so easily be blinded to God’s work in our lives and in the world.

Sunday, October 6, 2019. Dinner with Jesus (Part 5). Luke 22:14-20. Pastor Bryant Anderson preaching. Jesus has a special, final dinner with his disciples, and in so doing introduces what is both Christianity's most central and most controversial ritual: Communion.