Sermons

“I’ve got to go now, Julia, we got cows,” says a character in the movie “Twister,” as a cow flies past the front windshield, caught up in the wind of a tornado. We celebrate Pentecost this week, when the Spirit came in to the disciples as a violent wind and tongues of fire appeared above […]

Nationals or Phillies? Coffee or Tea? Urban, Suburban, or Rural? Asian, Black, Native, White, or Multi-racial? Lutheran, Catholic, or Evangelical? We naturally divide ourselves based on any number of things, many of which are core to our identity. This week we hear again from the Apostle Paul who writes to the Galatians about their own identity […]

This week we find the early church debating a pretty important issue: How do we know for sure that we’re in God’s good graces? How do we know if we’re doing enough to stay there? The apostle Paul has another idea: Perhaps instead of hustling to do the most, we can focus more on the […]

In worship this week, we continue the story of the early church as they sorted out what the requirements were for being a member of the church. In the midst of it, it seems that God, the Holy Spirit, may already know and we’re just playing catch up. Listen as Pastor Kate considers the ways […]

This week we hear the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. This story doesn’t get quite the same status and attention in our baptismal teachings as say, Noah or the Samaritan woman. His story is complicated. He lives on the margins of society and is often excluded and primed for rejection. It’s no […]

As we anticipate the end of this pandemic and looking forward to returning to in person services and activities, we must fully acknowledge some things have fundamentally shifted. Which makes this Sunday’s text at the beginning of Acts, one in which the disciples begin to find new ways of serving the community and living their […]

This week, some disciples can’t recognize the man they called Messiah only three days prior, and Jesus spends a whole day with them pretending not to know anything about the trauma that has gone down in Jerusalem. Here we see Jesus’s prankster side and we give thanks for laughter during these days that seem serious […]

This past year has felt, for many of us, like a long, extended Lent and Holy Week. As this pandemic year surrounds us with grief and loss many of us find ourselves looking for God – perhaps even doubting God’s existence. Much like the very first Easter morning, when doubt and disbelieve filled those who […]

While this Sunday we celebrate “Palm Sunday,” when we hear the story of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem from the Gospel of Luke, there aren’t any palm branches mentioned. There aren’t any “Hosannas!” proclaimed either. In fact, as Jesus nears the city, he stops and weeps over it, grieving that the people did not recognize God […]

On our final Sunday in Lent before we get to Palm Sunday and Holy Week, Jesus is on his way to enter Jerusalem but must make a couple more stops before he gets there. Each part of the story this week, Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection, the disciples not understanding, the healing of a […]