Joe Evans: When Israel Was a Child
The Rev. Joe Evans says that Hosea the prophet showed in his life, in his marriage to the prostitute Gomer, how God is related to each of us--and committed to us. Even if we’ve forgotten who we ever were and have walked so far away from the light that we can’t see our way back home, God still remembers us and loves us. That is the hope each one of us can cling to.
Anne Robertson: The Real Question of Job
The Rev. Anne Robertson says the real question of Job is: Why are good people good in the first place? The whole test of the book is Satan trying to prove that integrity and faith will vanish, even from a totally blameless and faithful person, once the reward of a happy and healthy life is removed. Whether or not Satan is right is the fundamental question of Job. So what does that mean for us?
Talitha Arnold: "Longing for Cucumbers"
The Rev. Talitha Arnold says the Israelites weren't starving. Their cry for melons and leeks and cucumbers was really a longing for home, or at least the taste of home. Two years earlier their life had been turned upside down””for the better to be sure””but still it’s hard to cope with such a radical life change. They thought they wanted to go back, but really they were longing for a place to call home now.
Dock Hollingsworth: The War of the Cravings
The Rev. Dr. Dock Hollingsworth shows us that first century Christians were just as greedy, lustful, and ambitious as we can be. And the writer of James addresses the common everyday sins that might look harmless enough, but are the true thieves of human happiness and congregational unity.
Magrey deVega: Tame Your Tongue
In his unforgettably practical sermon, the Rev. Magrey deVega presents and explains "The Top Ten Tongue Twisters that Talk about Taming the Tongue," based on James 3:1-12.
Noel Schoonmaker: Faith That Works
Dr. Noel Schoonmaker tells us that when James says in effect, "What good is faith without works, what good is Christian belief without Christian behavior?" the answer is, none at all. James isn’t just questioning the usefulness of faith without works, he’s questioning the validity of it. And James is very clear about what he means by 'works.'
Noel Schoonmaker: Doers of the Word
The Rev. Dr. Noel Schoonmaker points out in his sermon on James 1 that we are not Christians because we hear the word of God, or mentally affirm it’s true, but because we believe in Jesus Christ, who was the Word of God himself. And that Word of God become flesh in Christ healed the sick, touched the outcast, cuddled children, and overturned temple furniture.
Maxwell Grant: Beyond the Panic Room
In his sermon, the Rev. Max Grant says we live in a 'panic room world,' and there’s no disputing that these are fearful times for many. But we resist the idea of the church as a shelter, because it diminishes our sense of church as a sanctuary, a place that’s set apart, a place that stands for something different than the vicissitudes of life, even when they get scary.
Maxwell Grant: "Precarious Wisdom"
The Rev. Max Grants says Solomon becomes a great king after asking for wisdom, but it turns out he isn’t entirely a good person. He focuses so much on the getting that he no longer got understanding… and as a result, a few short years after Solomon’s death much of what he had achieved was gone for good. Which shows us that getting wisdom is not a once-and-for-all kind of thing.
Diana Butler Bass: Bread Enough for All
In her message on John 6, Dr. Diana Butler Bass says that bread is both real food and spiritual food in the age to come… and in the same way that actual bread is transformed by air, so the bread of Jesus is transformed by the Spirit.
Susan Cartmell: What Have You Done?
Dr. Susan Cartmell says the story of David and Bathsheba is about abuse, not an act of passion but abuse of power, and abuse of power is a pattern, not a single mistake. David’s debacle started with a single glance, and he kept falling down a slippery slope until Nathan the prophet sets him straight.
Kelly Hough Rogers: Abundance Born Out of Scarcity
Dr. Kelly Hough Rogers says John 6 offers two major miracle. First, the feeding of the 5000, and then the miracle of walking on water, revealing the divinity of Jesus to his disciples and to us, so that they would really know and believe on God’s terms. Both of these miracles can come alive for us when we celebrate communion.
Peter Wallace: Let's Dance
Day1 host and producer Peter Wallace offers a sermon on the two very different dances found in 2 Samuel and Mark 6, and encourages us to follow David's example of a liberated worship of God.
Kimberleigh Buchanan: The Strength of Weakness
The Apostle Paul boasts to the Corinthians of his weakness, turning boasting on its head, says Dr. Kim Buchanan in her sermon this week. Paul explains that it is in his weakness that the power of Christ becomes real. It is in his weakness that he experiences God’s grace most profoundly.
Martha Spong: All in the Same Boat
In her sermon on Mark 4:35-41, the Rev. Martha Spong reminds us that we weren’t in that boat in that storm, so the disciples' fearful response is understandable. Maybe we need to remember the times we’ve called out for help and wondered if God cared, and to admit that in the middle of such moments, even when help has come, we haven’t always recognized it immediately--or perhaps even appreciated it.
Chris Henry: Faith in a Seed
The Rev. Chris Henry says that these two parables about seeds in Mark 4 are perhaps not so much a description of what God does to us, but of what we are called to do for God. He encourages us to think of ourselves not as the soil, but as the sower--maybe we are the ones to whom these precious mustard seeds have been entrusted--we are to be active planters of the kingdom of God.
Ozzie Smith Jr.: When Jesus Comes Home
In his sermon on Mark 3:20-35, Dr. Ozzie Smith Jr. says "We hear Jesus make a bold claim about faith that may hurt our ears and sounding anti-family. However, Jesus recognizes the power of connection when there is faith in the family. Obedience to God matters.
David Hull: Benediction
In his sermon, Dr. David Hull says an authentic encounter with God challenges us to look at the needs of the world. “Here am I; send me!” was Isaiah’s cry in response to God’s invitation. So worship is always transformed into mission; Worship is not a wall to hide behind, but a door to walk through to a world in need.
Kimberly S. Jackson: Quack Like a Duck: Singing in the Rain
In her sermon on Psalm 98, the Rev. Kimberly S. Jackson says the psalmist encourages us all to remember the sunshiny days, the victories in life in the past, and to sing with gratitude to God about them. No matter what is going on around us in the world or in our lives we can praise God.
Jason Micheli: A Sheep Without Verbs
The Rev. Jason Micheli says that to profess that the Lord is your shepherd is to confess that you are a sheep--which really means you are lame, stubborn, stupid. Sheep don’t do any work by which they merit their worth; they’re only good for their wool and their meat. The only real work, if you can call it work, a sheep performs is listening to the shepherd’s voice.