Sermons

Sermon: Praying for God’s Future

/ Joe Dennis / 1 Comment

When Jesus teaches us how to pray, he gives us what is now known as The Lord’s Prayer. The prayer emphasizes three things:

  1. God is a member of our family.
  2. There are three requests we are making — bread, forgiveness and deliverance.
  3. We should trust that God will provide.

Most Christians are comfortable with the idea of God as family and trusting that God will provide. And our for the most part, our requests for bread, forgiveness and deliverance are easy to comprehend. However, when it comes to forgiveness, The Lord’s Prayer commands us to forgive those who have sinned against us, just as God forgives us when we sin against God. Jesus tells us that forgiveness received is forever linked with forgiveness given.

Jesus is clear: prayer is effective and God responds. But it’s most effective when a prayer is paired with our willingness to act lovingly in relationship to others … all others.

Homework: Every single person here has someone they need to forgive … Forgive them, reach out and pray for them.

Praying for God’s Future • Sermon by The Rev. Elaine Puckett • Luke 11: 1-13

“Praying for God’s Future”
Sermon by The Rev. Elaine Puckett
Luke 11: 1-13
Aug. 4, 2019

Listen to The Word in Song, “To You I Call.“

Sermon: Finding Balance

/ Joe Dennis

In Luke 10:38-42, Martha expresses frustration that while she is doing all the housework related to hosting a guest, Mary is talking to Jesus.

Martha asks Jesus if this bothers him? But rather than empathize with Martha, Jesus says Mary is doing exactly what she needs to be doing by listening.

This is pretty groundbreaking for Biblical times, because rabbis typically didn’t preach to women, but Jesus was talking directly to Mary. But he didn’t criticize Martha for what she was doing, either. Because in faith, we need both “being” and “doing.” Our challenge is to find the balance.

Homework: Make some notes to yourself about how much time you spend “being” and how much time you spend “doing.”

Finding Balance • The Rev. Elaine Puckett

“Finding Balance”
Sermon by The Rev. Elaine Puckett
Luke 10: 38-42
July 28, 2019

Sermon: Who is my neighbor?

/ Joe Dennis

When Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, his instructions are very clear when a lawyer asks him how to receive eternal life. Jesus says we are to love God, and also to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus later emphasizes that your neighbor is not just your friend, family member or person with whom you share common beliefs. Your neighbor is also the person distinctly different from you, even someone whom you may consider your enemy.

To love our neighbor requires us to open up our hearts and minds to all God’s people.

Homework: Who comes to your mind when you envision the person you would least like to look upon as a neighbor? Pray for that person every day this week.

Sermon: Who is my neighbor? • The Rev. Elaine Puckett

“Who is my neighbor?”
Sermon by The Rev. Elaine Puckett
Luke 10:25-37
July 21, 2019

Sermon: Ascension

/ Joe Dennis

Sin is a topic we often try to avoid. However, the sin Christ sets is free from is the kind that requires use to genuinely change something about who we are. Sin is something we have to think about. But the good news is that when Jesus ascended, his absence opened up to us the possibility that the presence and power of God would be made available to use wherever we are.

Ascension by The Rev. Joe Gunby

“Ascension”
Sermon by The Rev. Joe Gunby
Luke 24: 44-53
June 2, 2019

Sermon: None Dared Ask, For They Knew

/ Joe Dennis

The Gospel of John doesn’t end with Jesus’ resurrection. There’s one more story in John 21, in which Jesus appears to seven disciples as they are fishing. At its surface, it’s a simple story. The disciples are struggling at catching fish; Jesus appears to them and tells them to cast the net on the other side of the boat; they do as Jesus says and catch a lot of fish; Jesus transforms the fish into a massive meal.

This story has much more to the plot than what happened. The significance is in what didn’t happen — for the first time, the disciples didn’t question if it was Jesus. They knew it was him. They had faith. The disciples entered a new mode of seeing Jesus — not with the eyes but with the heart. And we can learn to see Christ in the same way.

This story assures us that the God who gave us physical sight at our birth can give us spiritual sight at our rebirth.

“None Dared Ask, For They Knew”

“None Dared Ask, For They Knew”
Sermon by The Rev. Joe Gunby
John 21: 1-19
May 5, 2019

Sermon: Hail Thee, Festival Day

/ Joe Dennis / 1 Comment

When the resurrected Jesus meets the Marys after they found the tomb empty, he tells us them to “rejoice.” It isn’t just a command. It’s a type of greeting — a cheerful, “Hello!”

The King James Bible has a unique interpretation of Matthew 28:9, in which Jesus says, “All hail” to the Marys. The word “hail” has a unique meaning — it means that something is good, and in the greeting of someone else, you call out the goodness for all that is. When we say “Happy Easter,” we’re hoping that the other person will be able to fully enter into the festivities of the celebration.

Today is the feast of Easter — when death has been swallowed up in victory and love proves stronger than death. The Christian faith is a kind of party that connects to the whole of creation. All hail!

“Hail Thee, Festival Day”
Sermon by The Rev. Joe Gunby

Click to listen to the Easter Sunday choir anthems for the day.

“Hail Thee, Festival Day”
Sermon by The Rev. Joe Gunby
Matthew 28: 1-9
April 21, 2019 • Easter Sunday

Sermon: “In the Time of Trial”

/ Joe Dennis

Prayer is a practice with which many of us struggle.

It’s seems like such a waste of time to sit in nothingness. We begin to think, “Wouldn’t it be better to be more productive with that time?” Our anxieties begin to arise. Our deepest fears are unwrapped. Our saddest thoughts become present. These are the times in prayer when we just might be at the forefront of something good.

Our anxiety over the future, our frustration over our job, our concern over an ailing loved one — these are the places where we fail and fall, and these are the paths back to God. Rather than run from it, go down into the darkness a little further and see where it leads. God will be there.

Prayer is less something we do, and more something we find ourselves in doing. God must do it within us, or it will not get done: when our faith is dried up, God graces us with streams of living water in the most parched places of myself.

Sermon: “In the Time of Trial”


“In the Time of Trial”
Sermon by The Rev. Joe Gunby
Luke 22:39-46
April 14, 2019 • Palm Sunday