SERMONS
Recent Sermons
Live Church 4/20/2025
“Grief & Hope”
Grief is a healthy response to Jesus’ death and a valid way to enter worship on Easter morning. And yet, grief is liminal, not terminal. The women form a circle of love at the empty tomb and are given hope amidst their mourning. When the angelic messengers tell them to remember, they do and they tell about it. The disciples do not believe their good news, but Peter, living in the in-between of grief and hope, runs to the tomb to see for himself. Resurrection often begins with a kernel of hope.
Live Church 4/18/2025
“Acceptance & Resistance”
Good Friday Service
A dramatic reading of Christ’s Passion according to John. As Jesus dies on the cross, one thief resists him and the other accepts him as Messiah. Jesus resists the empire but accepts his fate. We also are called to resist systems of power and oppression, and yet we ultimately have to accept that Jesus dies—and one day we will too. We have to discern what to accept as given and what to resist, what is “God’s will” and what is the result of our own unquestioned systems.
Live Church 4/13/2025
“Shouting & Silence”
Jesus doesn’t instigate his own parade. Instead, just his quiet presence alone inspires the multitude to shout out and praise God. When the religious leaders try to silence the crowd, Jesus tells them that the stones would shout if his followers were silenced. Stones are present throughout scripture, bearing witness, marking significant moments, pointing us to God’s enduring strength. How do we worship in silence and shouting? In speaking and singing?
