Speaker: Intern Pastor Miriam Hanson
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Sermon at Nazareth
This week, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. As the town that raised him, the Nazarenes ought to have an all-access pass to Jesus’s restorative power, right? Furthermore, as Jesus’s followers today, shouldn’t we expect full and immediate access to the Good News whenever we please? Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam explores how sometimes…
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Boy in the Temple
In this week’s lesson, Mary and Joseph lose an adolescent Jesus in Jerusalem, only to find him days later among teachers in a temple. We see a new perspective of God’s unconditional love for and value of children. Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam explores how we too can get trapped in our routines and invites…
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Spirit of the Lord upon Me
At the end of a year where many of us feel broken down and brokenhearted, it can be difficult to imagine how we will ever rebuild society and spirits. This week the prophet Isaiah reminds us that God is the greatest architect and that the Spirit of the Lord rebuilds us and brings life from…
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Daniel’s Hope in God
Our world is full of tension: so often we are stuck between doing what we want and what we know is right. For the prophet Daniel, tension rose as his faith – his hope – was tested. As we begin a new season in the church year – Advent – we find ourselves waiting and…
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Jonah and God’s Mercy
The story of Jonah is often told with an emphasis on the big fish that swallows Jonah up, but that’s only part of the story. Before he’s thrown overboard, before the fish, Jonah and his shipmates face a grueling, tempestuous storm. In these days following the election, you may very well feel caught in a tempestuous…
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All Saints’ Sunday
This Sunday we celebrated All Saints’ Day, a day where we remember the lives of those who have died in the past year. As we gathered to mark their lives, we heard from the prophet Elijah, whose story reminds us of the vulnerability of the human condition. Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam explores how despite…
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Golden Calf
Let’s face it: We are pretty impatient people. Waiting in lines, waiting for people to call us back, waiting for mail to arrive… Isn’t this what gave rise to same-day delivery, instant shopping online, and meal delivery services? Why wait when you could have it now! The Israelites struggled with waiting too. This week their…
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God Works through Joseph
This week we hear the story of Joseph – the favorite son blessed with dreams from God and a beautiful coat from his father – sibling rivalry almost turns deadly. Joseph says, “You intended to do me harm, but God intended it for good.” Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam explores what this really means for…
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Getting Along
Whenever two or more are gathered…it can be hard to get along. While this isn’t quite what Jesus says to his disciples in this week’s readings, it certainly does seem to be a fact of life for us. Jesus talks about listening: Listening to those we disagree with, to those who have wronged us, and to…
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Forgiveness
In the versions of the Lord’s Prayer we know, “debts” often gets translated as “trespasses” or “sins.” As we continue our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer, Intern Pastor Miriam explores what it means to trespass against God, and how forgiveness comes to us even in the midst of a perpetually sin-filled world. Accompanying Scripture:Numbers…
