Epiphany. It is a day when the church lives into the reality that Christ's light has come into our world that that this light goes out to all nations.

Traditionally, the Western Church has told the story of the Magi, these visitors from far away who sought out the baby Jesus at the invitation of a star. We will reflect on this story on Sunday.

This day, and the season following speaks to us about mission, about surprise, and about God's light going into all the world.

Merry Christmas! We are resting in the season of Christmas, basking in God’s grace and glory, recognizing where light has shined in darkness.

According to the historic church calendar, there are 12 days of Christmas (Remember that cute, and sometimes annoying song?). The Christmas season does not officially end until the day that we call “Epiphany,” January 6th, this Wednesday.

January 6th and the season following is called “Epiphany.” Epiphany is this day where we recognize that this beautiful thing that happened at Christmas, is not just for a few people in Bethlehem. It’s not for one ethnic group or one family. It’s for the whole world. The light has gone into the darkness and it spreads. 

During Christmastide, we live into the light…this light which John says shines in the darkness, even as the darkness does not receive it. Even as the darkness does not receive it, it also cannot overcome it. (John 1)

This Sunday, Stephanie Cummings is preaching. Stephanie has been an important part of our community since the very beginning. She received her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University and graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University. She started a non-profit (Closets of Love) and is the CEO of Please Assist Me, an affordable service that allows working professionals, busy moms, and others who need help, to find balance. Stephanie is one of the music leaders at Sacrament in addition to serving in many other ways.

Christmas Eve Sermon by Preston. 

"Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

In this sermon, we will look at the song of Mary, often called The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). We often picture the Christmas story in a peaceful setting: "meek and mild." But Mary's song is dangerous. It speaks truth to power, calling out oppressors and pointing to the coming overthrow of systems of power. And the song comes from the a young woman who has been immersed in God's story her entire life, who knows Israel's longings, and conveys them with power and authority. 

Join us as we seek what it means to be a Magnificat people.

This Sunday, we look at what it means to PREPARE for Christ's coming. 

Throughout scripture, we see a pattern of God raising up prophets to challenge the political and religious rulers of their day. They constantly call God's people to be true to who they are: God's people. The word often used in their calling is the word "Repent." Repent means to change direction, to re-orient. Israel was consistently called to remember who they are, and to live out that identity. 

It was believed that, one day, there would be one particular prophet who would call God's people to "prepare" for a time when God's glory would be revealed. 

The gospel of Mark says that John the Baptist was this prophet. He called God's people to repent and to prepare for God's glory revealed in Jesus.

The story of John the Baptist challenges us today to be reminded of who we are, especially in times when we have not heard God's voice in a long time, or in times when we do not live like God's people.

Guest Speaker Gene Reynolds. First Week of Advent.

This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday,  a day when we recognize and give special emphasis to the reality that Jesus is King of the World.

Christ the King Sunday is kind of a bridge between Ordinary Time and Advent. During Ordinary Time, we have followed the teachings and parables of Jesus. We are disciples learning the ways of our Rabbi.

But on this Sunday we remind ourselves that we are not following any ordinary rabbi. We are following the inaugurated King.

This Sunday, we will be challenged by Jesus' parable about servants who are given bags of gold. Some are faithful and invest it. One is not and, instead buries the gold in the ground. When the master returns, he is pleased with those who invested the gold and is angry towards the one who does not.

Whenever we hear these kinds of stories where people are examined and judged, it can be tempting for us to slip into thinking that the Christian faith is a kind of religious or moral test, that God has given us an arbitrary assignment and we better do it or else incur God's wrath.

But, that does not fit with the life of Jesus. Jesus said that he didn’t come to call the righteous but the sinners; he said that he came to seek and save that which was lost. The tax collectors and prostitutes would have failed any moral and religious examination, but Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that they would go ahead of them.

So, what's going on here? What might it mean to hide a gift? To keep it away from the presence of others? And how might this inform our reading of this story?

It has often been said that Jesus has a way of "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable." Our story this Sunday is no exception. In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells the story of ten bridesmaids, each with oil lamps. It is a story about judgement and preparation. For many of us, judgement is seen as a scary or negative thing. Certainly, this story calls out the religious leaders of Jesus' day, those who believed that they were in a secure place because of their religious purity. Yet, if we view this story from he lens of those who have been marginalized, oppressed, found themselves on the under side of power (people like Mary, John the Baptist, and others), this is a story about anticipation, about longing for God to make things right. It is about a God who is not neatly and easily defined by those who claim that he is on their side. Join us as we seek to be challenged by the words of Jesus.

When choosing the date of our Grand Opening, we did so along with the observance of “All Saints Sunday,” (All Saints Day was Nov. 1st) when the Church throughout the world celebrates the reality that we are part of a beautiful tapestry-those who have gone before us, the great cloud of witnesses.

Any time the Church gathers, in any neighborhood, village, or urban center, we are simply adding our voice to that great story.

This year's celebration of All Saints Day is particularly special as churches throughout the world celebrate the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. And there is much to celebrate! We celebrate the proclamation of the gospel of grace, the availability of the scriptures to people in their own languages, and the affirmation of the calling of lay people to serve God in the church and in the world.

Along with this celebration, this is also a time to give pause. We grieve the divisions within the Church, the ways that we have failed to live up to Christ’s prayer that the Church would be one. We grieve separation and marginalization present in this beautiful family.

May we be a people who join in the chorus of All Saints, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ who is Lord of the world, and worshipping the one God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.