Sermon Text: Deuteronomy 11:7-21

God is not mindless about land, but cares for it, so the Lord sees your faithfulness on it and sees your unfaithfulness on it.“ There is an ominous – perhaps a fatal – presumptuousness in living in a place by the imposition on it of one’s ideas and wishes.” Scripture calls us to this agrarian work, to tell the truth about our land and our selves. Our first, most faithful step isn’t to do, but to listen. An agrarian people must be a contemplative people. Action emerges from silence. Planting emerges from pasture walks. Design emerges from seasons. Repentance emerges from confession. Programming emerges from observation.  Because good land, good economy, good communities come from deep faithfulness. Listen. And it is listening, to God, ground, and neighbor, that we come to learn how we live faithfully in this place, a place that Christ gave himself for.

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Sermon Text: Genesis 11:1-9, Philippians 2:1-13, Luke 4:1-13

The Church is the body of Christ, so we reflect Christ's nature - fully human, fully divine. Therefore, there's nothing we do in the church that doesn't have eternal, spiritual ramifications. When it comes to stewardship, all of it draws us to Christ or obscures Christ to us. So as we go through the "administrative" parts of the church in the coming months, let us look with the eyes of faith - pray, listen, discern, and commit.

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Sermon Text: Acts 1

The Church is the body of Christ, so we reflect Christ's nature - fully human, fully divine. Therefore, there's nothing we do in the church that doesn't have eternal, spiritual ramifications. When it comes to stewardship, all of it draws us to Christ or obscures Christ to us. So as we go through the "administrative" parts of the church in the coming months, let us look with the eyes of faith - pray, listen, discern, and commit.

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Sermon Text: Proverbs 3:1-12; Matthew 19:16-26

So when we talk stewardship, we aren’t first talking about budgets, but about a vision. We aren’t talking about money, but about how we align our lives with a world being renewed by Christ, How do I take ALL of me and let Christ’s power flow from me and from us?  That’s the question of stewardship!

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Sermon Text:  Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16

Our associate conference minister, Sheresa Simpson-Rice, joins us to celebrate World Communion Sunday, and to reflect on a faith that calls us to a wider view of God's welcome for all people around the table!

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Sermon Text: James 2

We continue in James, who reminds us that if we are to be faithful people, we must do, not just believe. The minute we ask, "How do I love God?" we are into the realm of religion.  Religion based in love requires discipline and sacrifice, but it also makes space for joy. If we would love God well, let us "lift our hands, that our hearts may follow."

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Sermon Text: James 3; Mark 9

Our desires are central to our identity, and to our faith. Jesus calls out the apostles because they wanted greatness, instead of relationship.  Jesus' brother, James, teaches us to pay attention to our desires that we might live a wise life.

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Sermon Text: Ephesians 4:17-32

We welcomed 5 new members at St. Mary's, and we reflected on Ephesians' call to be a certain kind of community.  Because God has blessed us with "every spiritual blessing in Christ," we commit to following him. In doing so, there are some things we do, and some things we don't. In doing so, we lean into the shared calling we have as a community of Christ.

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Sermon Text: Psalm 104

We all desire renewal, and that's certainly a healthy part of what it means to be human. But we can seek renewal and never consider God's place in it. The scriptures tell us that all renewal begins in God's work.  God is moving, we discern, and then we respond. If we are serious about real renewal in our lives, it begins by listening carefully to the Spirit, and planting our feet firmly in God's promises.

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Sermon Text: Psalm 70

The opening to Psalm 70 has been prayed more than any other scripture, "God, come to my assistance!"  Our need of God is at the core of our existence and our prayers. But then the psalm goes to pray against one's enemies. How can we understand this in light of Christ and his cross? Are we really supposed to pray against others, or is there a healthier, truer way to pray this prayer?

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