Jesus heals a woman. After healing a guy. Before healing countless masses. Its his thing and they all seem to blur together. Hard to see any of them anymore. Hard to see our own, or believe the stories we are given, since its all part of the whole. Mark wants us to hear this story of the mother being healed so that we don't miss it. We're invited to hear our story of healing lest we discount it or disbelieve the promise that God is breaking into this world, our reality, and setting us free. Our sermon on Mark 1.29-39 for Sunday, Feb 3 2018.

We know Jesus. So do the demons. We can say Jesus' name. So do the demons. Do our neighbors know Jesus? Can they see Jesus through us? Or can they only see the demons? Our sermon for Jan 28, 2018 on having all the information and taking Jesus for granted. Rooted in Mark 1.21-28.

We may not even give it second thought. That word, that joke, that slur, that question. The one we've heard before and rarely give much more than a thought. Those words that are attached to God's blessed people, especially God's African American and immigrant people, and craft profiles, types and prejudice based on nothing but hurtful words. Nathanael tries to write off Jesus with a few words and Jesus goes to Nathanael for reconciliation. Jesus breaks Nathanael of his assumptions as Jesus breaks us of our need to be separate from each other. Our sermon on the power of The Word amidst our words from Sunday, January 14, on John 1.43-51

Jesus is born, all the angels sing hallelujah. That was Christmas Eve. Jesus is still an infant and now he's visited by a group of travelling strangers from who knows where who show up with strange gifts. Why does the gospel of Matthew tell us about these magi? Then again, why are gathering for worship around a baby? Jesus can't really do anything, yet. And here we are, standing around him, singing, praying and giving thanks. It must be more than pure toddler cuteness. Our sermon for the weekend of Epiphany on Matthew 2.1-12.

Whomever you are, wherever you find yourself, in whatever shape you are in, the Christmas story is your story given by God. Its a simple story, a renewing story, a story of love so deep that God will not stop until the Lord is not only among us but becomes us. You are a reflection of this age old story that we adore and we don't understand why we enjoy. You are loved, friend. Our sermon from Christmas Eve 2017, Luke 2.1-20.

People using God's name to defend their own agendas. Fires burning across the West. Fellow humans going hungry, having no clothes, struggling to find shelter. Hard to believe some days that God is doing anything good or that God can even accomplish much with this broken mess. Mark has a word for you. And to show us where God is abundant today, he takes us back, way way back to a time before days of light. Our sermon for Advent 2B 2017, Mark 1.1-8, "The beginning of the good news."

Jesus is giving it all away this week, its up to us what to do with it. The parable of the talents, as Matthew 25.14-30 is often nicknamed, is a cautionary one when we dwell in terror of God. We are prone to hoarding and keeping it all for ourselves and Jesus keeps calling on us to follow his lead. Give it all away. Its not really ours anyway. How can we live in the joy of serving our neighbors and sharing the precious gifts God has given us? Our sermon for 11-19-17 on Matthew 25.

Who are all those people following Jesus around? Jesus sees them and preaches who he sees from a high hill, so they must be important. As much as we find ourselves in the crowd, we are also turned by Christ to see the crowds ourselves. Who do we see? Our sermon for All Saints Nov 4, 2017 on Matthew 5.

Where are we in our relationship with God? Some of us might feel stuck in time, unable to move from a moment when we knew God was with us. We could be convinced that God was more abundant and visible at another time in our history than God is today. Our sermon opens with a silly pop quiz on church history and reminds us that, as much as we may have known Jesus as some point in our timeline, we equally know Jesus today. And Jesus isn't willing to stand still for long. Sermon for Reformation Sunday Oct 27, 2017 on John 8.31-36

Its nothing but a coin, worth little and easily lost in a home. It shows up between Jesus and group of adversaries and becomes a sign of human sin. We are all tempted to own and hold onto things, including our power over others. How can a small clay coin point us to the cross? How is Jesus going to use a coin to silence our want of authority, that we can hear the voices of God's people? Our sermon from Oct 22, 2017 on Matthew 22.15-23.