As we begin the season of Advent in 2025, Pastor Jonathan reminds us that we are entering a season of anticipating what is to come. Yet, as Pastor Jonathan explains, while this season of watching and waiting is teaching us to look forward to the salvation that is to come, Isaiah's prophecy that nations will "hammer their swords into plows" tells us that this hope is not a passive activity - we are called to do what we can to bring this peace to the world.

In this sermon Pastor Johnathan invites us to remember what kind of king we serve in Jesus. We are reminded that Jesus not come as a king who seeks power above all but instead he comes as a servant king. We are reminded of what is outside of God's kingdom and what is a part of it as we both anticipate the coming kingdom and celebrate how it is coming among us now.

This morning, Pastor Hannah talks about how the end of the church year always brings us lessons about the end times. In fact, in today's gospel, Jesus says that "the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another..." We know that things that we create and achieve will not last, and we ourselves are not on this earth forever. But, Pastor Hannah reminds us, the love of God is the one thing that is forever, and that is where we should put our trust.

In this morning's gospel lesson, Jesus teaches the Sadducees that the labels we put on people in this world - in this case, "wife" - do not exist in heaven. Pastor Michelle expands this idea to explain that, in the Resurrection, everyone is a child of God. No additional assignments are necessary. We bring the Resurrection closer to this world by remembering that everyone is a child of God. When we share that God loves us all, the Resurrection comes closer to this world.

On this All Saints Sunday, Pastor Jonathan recalls the humble beginnings of the church through images of the recent trip through Turkey and Greece. Sites such as the original home of Peter remind us that all the saints had humble beginnings. As we remember the saints among us who have completed their earthly journey, we are called to be humble servants to others as we anticipate the joy to come.

In Pastor Hannah's message this morning, she muses that Martin Luther may not have known that his 95 Theses would change the history of the church, but he was doing what the Spirit guided him to do. Just as the Spirit guided Paul to lead the early church. In the same way, the Spirit is guiding us to invite people of all kinds to experience the love of God.

In this sermon Pastor Michelle discusses how God invites us to live with our hearts wide open. God gives us new hears and a new spirit, and invites us to use them. When we live with our hearts wide open God multiplies our gift. We do our part and God does the rest.

As Christians, we long for, and work for, a world restored with grace and peace. Pastor Michelle this morning reminds us that sometimes it it hard to maintain our faith through the difficult times that happen. God helps us push through the hard times, many times by way of the community of faith we share - sometimes we are the ones using our time and gifts to help others, sometimes we ourselves are the ones receiving help. At some point, we will realize why we persisted in believing.

In this sermon Pastor Hannah describes how our choices can reflect the love God has surrounded us with. Just as Christ's generous healing calls for a grateful response, so too can we act out of the gratitude of our salvation. Generosity becomes a natural expression of our faith.

In our contentious world today, it's common to hear advice to take care of your own needs and the needs of those close to you, and all others can fend for themselves. Pastor Michelle borrows from the old testament lesson in Deuteronomy - "If there is among you anyone in need ... You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need." She goes on to explain that helping others is the same as helping Jesus. As Jesus said in the gospel, "just as you did it to the least of these brother and sisters of mine, you did it to me."