Sermon Scripture: John 20:19-29 (NRSV) Celebrating Easter and new life of springtime, after a “long, cold, lonely winter,” (weather-related and otherwise) is only natural, right, and proper. And yet, the realities of life have a way of displacing our new-found joy. How do people of the Resurrection respond when feelings of fear, confusion, anxiety, or
Sermon Scripture: John 20:1-18 (NRSV) The good news of Easter is that God's new creation has begun. Jesus resurrection was the beginning of God's project to bring the life of heaven to earth! What God did for Jesus on the first Easter, God intends to do for us and all of creation! Jesus doesn't just
Sermon Scripture: Lamentations 5:1-22 (NIV) Walter Bruggemann says this: "One loss that results from the absence of lament is the loss of genuine covenant interaction, since the second party to the covenant (the petitioner) has become voiceless or has a voice that is permitted to speak only praise and doxology." Lamentations is an example of
Sermon Scripture: Lamentations 3 (NIV) Pastor Grace Easton helps us explore 3rd poem of Lamentations and its dramatic language processing the effects of personal and corporate sin through lament. Lament and Confession transform us. It recognizes an evil, and helps us imagine redemption. We express our lament, and are moved to action. We recognize the evil,
Sermon Scripture: Lamentations 2 (NLT) Where Lamentations chapter 1 saw Jerusalem attribute their own sin as a cause for suffering, chapter 2 makes God the primary actor. In this poem, God is portrayed as angry, retributive and to blame for the suffering of Jerusalem. Lament requires humility. Lament calls us into a proper view of ourselves.
Sermon Scripture: Lamentations 1 (NLT) THE VALUE OF LAMENT Lament is form of protest: Lament lets the world (and God) know that which is not right. To lament is to name the pain, suffering, or injustice in our lives and in the lives of others.Lament offers us a chance to express emotion: Lament offers us
Sermon Scripture: James 5:13-19 (NRSV) James ends his letter with a call to prayer. In the previous verses, he’s just talked about how Christians should live with patience for the day when all things will be made right. This patience should lead us to a life of faith-filled prayer. When we pray, we stand with
Sermon Scripture: James 2:1-17 (NRSV) How many of us, when enjoying our favorite candy, sort out our favorite flavors and ignore or trade the others? While this practice of sorting and evaluation is harmless when it comes to candy, the unfortunate truth is we all have a tendency to do the same thing when it
Sermon Scripture: James 1:9-11 (NLT) Money. Whether you have a lot or a little, it’s easy to obsess over money. The Bible has some important wisdom to teach us about money. Here is just a short sampling: • Prov. 22:7 says, “The borrower is slave to the lender…”• Malachi 3:10 tells us to “Bring all
Sermon Scripture: 3:12-18 (NRSV) The rise of “fake news” has made it difficult to discern what news is legitimate and what news is just trying to confirm biases and stoke fear of the other side. It turns out, though, this kind of confusion isn’t new. Early Christians faced a similar problem regarding wisdom. James’ letter
