Isaiah 40:28-31; Hebrews 12:1-2 I had a plan for my Friday. I had pages of notes from my conversations during the week with five athletes from our congregation, ranging in age from 13 to 70. I knew there were jewels of wisdom in those notes, and I was looking forward to turning them into a […]
Sermons
Just Be–A Sermon by Chris Hendrick
Psalm 121; Matthew 14:13a I come here today to bear witness. To bear witness to the transformative power of God’s creation and to the power of trusting God and yourself. I’m here to tell the story of a hike I took that unexpectedly ended up as a spiritual journey. That story begins almost 20 years […]
Blessed–A Conversation with Jesus
Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26 Really Jesus? Woes? I love the Beatitudes—the blessings—the way Matthew tells them. But this, the way Luke says you said it— it’s kind of stark, kind of harsh, even a little bit extreme. I’d like to blame it all on Luke and say that Matthew got your words right, but I’ve […]
Moments of Shared Joy
Romans 12:9-18; Luke 12:22-34 I already knew what I was going to order–an omelet with avocado, sauteed onions, black olives and extra goat cheese. I was looking forward to it. Even more, I was looking forward to catching up with my brunch companion, Jenny Baylor. I knew she had made a recent job change to […]
Called
Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 5:1-11 The picture was unambiguous–God seated on a high and lofty throne. Isaiah knew exactly what he was seeing. He knew exactly what he was hearing: the singing of the heavenly host, and then the voice of God calling him. Isaiah had many questions about this calling: why would God choose him? […]
Beauty Beyond What We See
Psalm 65; Philippians 4:4-9 “Remember,” the gentle, soft-spoken Buddhist monk began, “last time I asked you to practice focusing your awareness on your lustful thoughts. Did you notice your lustful thoughts this week?” I looked across the half-circle of meditation students and saw the startled faces of two newcomers. I imagined what they might have […]
With Love and the Will to Trust
Ephesians 4:1-6; John 7:37-38 This is the sound of one voice– one spirit, one voice: the sound of one who makes a choice…. What is the choice about which Nicola sings? I don’t know what the Wailin’ Jenny’s had in mind; I will share with you how I hear these words, especially as they illuminate […]
A Faith to Carry Us Through Life
We began our service today with a call to worship based on the mission statement our Board of Christian Education articulated several years ago. My plan was that these words would guide my reflections on our ministry of faith formation–a description of the amazing work our teachers and board members do, an exploration of […]
With Good Courage
Ive taken a lot of time lately to think about music and its powerful abilities to inspire courage, but first I think it’s important to look at that word, “courage”. What does it really mean? The first image I think of is the Cowardly Lion, known first and foremost for what? His lack of courage? […]
Standing Together
What a magnificent dream Isaiah proclaims–a dream he hears as God’s dream. Jerusalem as a joy, a delight-filled people, houses and vineyards, healthy babies and vital elders. It is a beautiful dream–and an amazing one. It is amazing that Isaiah could dare to envision such transformation in the face of his reality. Many scholars believe […]