Sermons

We want to see Jesus

Sermon for March 22, 2015 (Fifth Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin: Late last week, my son noticed that as the snow melted, the remnant of the lawn beneath it looked dead. He did not believe me when I suggested that all the snow was nature’s fertilizer. He could see the wilted, yellowed grass. Really, mom, it looks dead. If the small glacier on our front yard ever melts completely, I trust that the lawn will return to something green and living. That is the pattern of creation. Some gospels are easier to work with than others. Did you notice the disconnect between the inquiry of the Greeks and Jesus’ response in today’s gospel passage? Part of me hopes that the editor left out a couple of sentences. Sir we want to see Jesus. On most Sundays, we also might be ready to say that along with the Greeks. We want help. We want to be healed. We long for the presence of God. Is Jesus at home? We need to see him. Read More  Listen to this sermon Read more • Leer más → “We want to see Jesus”
Sermons

Sermon for March 15, 2015 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)

Sermon for March 15, 2015 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
Mr. Stephen Nagy, Seminarian (4 Lent): John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in Scripture. Quoted across pop culture from the rapper Wyclef Jean to the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, from the fastfood chain In-N-Out Burger to quarterback Tim Tebow. You can probably find it up on more billboards than all the personal injury lawyers strung together. And for good reason, for it could be called the Gospel in a soundbite:
    "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." (John 3:16)
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Sermons

Then God spoke all these words…

Sermon for March 8, 2015 (Third Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
Do you ever wonder why we do what we do? On Sundays in Lent, we recite the Decalogue as part of the Penitential Rite. We often hear them as a list of obligations to fulfill or action to avoid. Like the fashion Dos and Don’ts in magazine, only more serious. In fact, the Ten Commandments are a gift from the Almighty to shape the common life of a chosen people. They are not a code of law. They are markers of a covenant relationship. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Then God spoke all these words…”
Sermons

To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

Sermon for March 1, 2015 (Second Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
To make an end is to make a beginning. We mark the end of one musical era and the beginning of the next. We mark the end of one way of being church and the beginning of a new way. We may or we may not be ready for either. The end is where we start from. Read More Read more • Leer más → “To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
Sermons

And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness

Sermon for February 22, 2015 (First Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
The Gospel of Mark portrays Jesus as a driven man. Throughout the three years covered in the gospel’s 16 short chapters, Jesus is on the move from one place to the next, proclaiming the coming of the Reign of God with a real sense of urgency. His ministry has an immediacy that no other gospel captures. Jesus knows what God needs done, and there is no time to waste. Read More Read more • Leer más → “And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness”