Readings: Genesis 12: 1-4a; 2 Timothy 1: 8b-10; Matthew 17: 1-9 Preacher: Deni Mack Did you hear the first line of today’s first reading? God said to Abraham, “go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” And God promised to bless Abraham so that Abraham would be a blessing… read more →
Readings: Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4: 1-11 Preacher: Marilyn Catherine For me, speaking as a woman, our first reading presents a story overrun with thorny barbs. How do I weed through this thicket? Inspiration comes in a visit to Lamberton Conservatory. It is luxuriantly green, warm, comfortable in this tropical garden. Coincidently I sat near a giant, evergreen, treelike perennial… read more →
Readings: Sirach 15: 15-20; 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10; Matthey 5: 17-37 Preacher: Meghan Kellogg How old were you and where were you when you first learned the ten commandments? Did you memorize them? Did you understand what they meant? I’m going to guess that if you learned them as a child in primary school, you may have figured there were some… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 58:6-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16 Preacher: Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler For some weeks now, our readings have touched on discipleship. But today, coming shortly after Jesus calls the first disciples, that call—our call, yours and mine—can’t be missed. In Isaiah today, God challenges God’s people to live their faith boldly. Assertively. Honestly. The Israelites have been complaining. “We observe the… read more →
Readings: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5: 1-12a Preacher: Gloria Ulterino BRRR! It’s cold out there! Frigid, in fact! So cold that schools were cancelled once this week! Besides all that, this weekend’s readings are a real challenge. For they remind us: we are “the humble of the earth.” And yet, we are the very ones chosen “to shame… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13,17; Matthew 4: 12-23 Preacher: Susan Howard I’ve noticed recently that shining a light for others is not always a gentile act. It’s not always peaceful and loving like lighting a candle or shining a flashlight. Sometimes it’s like a principal standing in front of her school with a baseball bat yelling at ICE agents… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3; John 1: 29-34 Preacher: Liz Webster Do you have small children in your life? I have two; my granddaughter is 4 and my grandson is 1. Almost every time we see each other, they both break into huge smiles… their faces just light up! Both Lynda and Clint become beacons of God’s… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17 Preacher: Patricia Young In the Scriptures for today, the Baptism of our Lord, which brings to a close the Christmas season, we encounter a grown-up Jesus. And what an introduction it is! In the first of Isaiah’s Servant Songs, Jesus bursts onto the scene, as the chosen one, anointed with God’s Spirit, who will… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12 Preacher: Irene Goodwin Today many protest for No Kings. However, in the Hebrew Scriptures we read how the Israelites prayed for a king. They received a long list of bad kings. They continued to pray for a king in the tradition of David; a king who would bring prosperity and freedom… read more →
Readings: Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23 Preacher: Liz Gillette-Clarke Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—a family made holy not by extraordinary circumstances, but by the unwavering faith and trust of two ordinary people. Mary and Joseph were asked to embrace what seemed impossible, and they did so… read more →