Things to Ponder

By St. Mary‘s UCC, Silver Run, MD

Sermons, Reflections, and Musings from St. Mary‘s United Church of Christ, Silver Run, MD, Pastor Sam Chamelin... more

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FAQs about Things to Ponder:

How many episodes does Things to Ponder have?

The podcast currently has 170 episodes available.

Things to Ponder episodes:

August 24, 2022 August 21, 2022 - Turntable Gospel: ”Samurai Cop” by Dave Matthews Band
Sermon Text: Luke 15

Sin isn't the truest thing about us, and it's not the place to start when we think about God. Love is the place to start. When we start with love, we see how beautifully made we are, how beautiful the world is, and love calls us to our best and most authentic selves. Because of this, the most authentic sound of faith is joy and celebration.

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19min
August 15, 2022 August 14, 2022 - Turntable Gospel: ”Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
Sermon Text: Mark 3:1-6

When we are in pain, we seek connection more than solutions. Empathy is the spiritual virtue of connecting with others in their pain so that it can be processed and healed. Our best religion is a religion of empathy. Jesus becomes irate when he sees his people practicing sympathy - seeing pain, but staying far away. We are called to run up that hill alongside of others.

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26min
August 08, 2022 August 7, 2022 - Turntable Gospel: ”Dangerous” by The Who
Sermon Text: Mark 11:12-25

Fear is powerful because it is clarifying and drives passion; fear makes us feel alive! It is entirely natural for us both as individuals and communities, which makes our fears spiritually critical. In the wake of Jesus, communities of faith needed to be warned about the tendency for change to come for the change-makers. And so he warns with pastoral affection - there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear.

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19min
August 01, 2022 July 31, 2022 - Turntable Gospel: ”Dirty” by grandson
Sermon Text: Ecclesiastes 3:16 - 4:7, Luke 4:31-37

The central question of grandson's song, and this generation: "Is hope even viable?" Ecclesiastes will meet this hopelessness with honesty, and Jesus will meet it with compassion. To be the church is not to cast judgment on those who suffer, but to get our hands dirty is offering hope to all.

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20min
July 25, 2022 July 24, 2022 - Come On Back
Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 7

This is a weird story for a VBS, but it is an important one for believers. After chasing gods and relevance for years, Samuel finally calls the people back to their truest selves. And together, they commit to God. A powerful story in a world that is constantly seeking to call us away from our most essential self.

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14min
July 18, 2022 July 17, 2022 - Vacation Bible School...For Whom?
Sermon Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Matthew 19:13-15

God wants to reach you and teach you in those spaces that you thought were for someone else. Spiritual formation is never one person or group doing something for another person or group. It is always a communal work. We are shaping and are shaped, iron sharpening iron. So what does a great week of VBS look like?

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16min
June 27, 2022 June 26, 2022 - Little Old Church Lady
Sermon Text: Luke 8:43-48

Roe v. Wade thrusts the local church back into the work of addressing national issues. When the issues come close, we discover we aren’t talking about ideas, but about people who want healing, relationship, peace. And there's a small, unnamed saint who draws near to Jesus for that healing, and invites us to do the same.

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22min
June 20, 2022 June 19, 2022 - The Paradigm of the Prophetic
Sermon Text: 1 Kings 19

When we live our lives tethered to a deep contemplative life and God’s ongoing provision, we will walk with the wisdom and grounding of Elijah. This is the deep life to which we are called if we are serious about a life of meaning, purpose, virtue. It’s either that, or be swallowed by the darkness of ignorance, folly, and destruction that defined Elijah’s world and ours. But we can make a choice.

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23min
June 13, 2022 June 12, 2022 - The Two Poles of Trinity
Sermon Text: Proverbs 8

Trinity - three persons, one God. It's not just a way to understand God, but also ourselves – we are one, we are ourselves, living moving and breathing in this world. And yet we are inextricably part of a community – the community that is God, and the community that is one another. And only when we embrace that tension do we discover our truest selves, and get called deeper into the mystery of our faith.

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21min
June 07, 2022 June 5, 2022 - The Nation Born on Pentecost
Sermon Text: Acts 2:1-21

Pentecost exists prior to the Church. But on this Pentecost, we weren't given a book, or a new law, but the Holy Spirit. The message is clear: the law we live by is the Holy Spirit, who is making everything a new creation. Pentecost is a call to new life and a creative spirit.

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15min

FAQs about Things to Ponder:

How many episodes does Things to Ponder have?

The podcast currently has 170 episodes available.