The dictionary definition of the word “abide” includes, “to accept or act in accordance with; to follow, keep, hold or stand by; to respect”. Does this sound like your relationship with Jesus? In today’s Gospel (John 15:1-8), the image of the vine and the branches is used to illustrate how Christ and we are alive…
A Place of Grace
Sermons (Page 42)
In the spirit of Christ, Pastor Eric chose several “C” words to describe the voice of Jesus…each providing us with things we need: Captain (assurance), Coach (instructing), Critic (assessing) and Choir (inspiration). We are given Courage and Certainty, Care and wise Counsel. When we take the time to listen, we know Jesus is calling us. Hearing…
The gospel for the third Sunday of Easter is always one in which the risen Christ shares food with the disciples, meals that are the Easter template for the meal we share each Lord’s day. Jesus both shares the disciples food and shows them the meaning of his suffering, death, and resurrection through the scriptures:…
The story of Easter continues as the risen Lord appeared to his disciples. The disciples were captive and living in fear behind locked doors. Jesus told them that He was the way, the truth of God. God does not want us to live in fear or doubt withholding the love of God from those who…
He has Risen! He has Risen indeed. Pastor Eric said, according to today’s text, “The promise is Jesus is ahead of you”. Resurrection is powerful, intense and it can scare us. In our lives, what keeps us going is the Resurrection promise of Jesus that there is more. We are challenged, that if we believe…
Each year, we begin Holy Week by waving palms and exclaiming, “Hosanna in the highest!” We remember Christ’s journey to the cross so that we may have life. Today, on Palm Sunday, we heard Mark’s passion story told through song and scripture readings. Members of our congregation inserted narrative while playing the parts of the characters…
Living, dying, loving, hating. There is a whole lot of mystery in our Gospel today, John 12:20-33, as Jesus talks about seeds planted in the ground. It is almost as if Jesus is speaking to his disciples and to us in a type of code. He uses things of the earth to describe things of…
Pastor Beth began her sermon today with the Robert Frost’s poem, “Lodged”. “The rain to the wind said, ‘You push and I’ll pelt.’ They so smote the garden bed That the flowers actually knelt, And lay lodged – though not dead. I know how the flowers felt.” Many of us have felt like those flowers…blown…
John 2:13-22, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jesus drives the money changers and people selling doves sheep and cattle out of the temple. Pastor Eric told us that stories are memory devices and so are songs and sayings. There are thousands of songs about Love. There are sayings that we have heard over…
Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, “I’m a little pencil in the hands of a writing God who is sending love letters to the world.” Pastor Eric suggested that perhaps rather than a pencil, we are crayons in God’s hands. Sometimes whole, sometimes broken, always a community of many colors. Our scripture readings for this…