Sermons are listed below with the most recent sermons first. Sermons may be browsed by date, books of the Bible, speaker, and more. Check back often for updates.
Bushwacking
This is the fifth week of our Extended Advent series, and the second week of a the 20th century Advent model. This is also the first week of our indoor livestream worship after we stopped in-person worship. Let us continue to pray for our community as we work to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In reading this week’s scripture, as we believers are called to “prepare the way of the Lord,” maybe part of that is preparing the trail in…
Watching & Waiting
This is the fourth week of our Extended Advent series, and the first week of a the 20th century Advent model. This is also the first week of our in-person outdoor worship! When the Gospel of Mark was written, there must surely have been a sense of dread as upheaval and even violence were familiar occurrences. The end of all that was known must have felt immanent. The people must have been waiting for the straw to break the camel’s…
Wisdom & Revelation
This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday and our third week of our Extended Advent series. It may seem as though all of our scriptures so far have been focused on eschatology (the theology of the last days). This is a fair assessment. Even when we follow the shorter four-week Advent schedule, the first of these is always an eschatological selection. This is because our preparations for the arrival of the Christ child parallel our preparations for the second coming…
Uncertainty & Preparedness
Pastor Lea continues our Extended Advent series. Continuing with Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, Pastor Lea notes the imagery of labor pains for the suddenness of “the day of the Lord.” With this in mind, we might ask whether we actually recognize how much time we have to prepare for what is to come. Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Don’t miss our Sermon Note for this week’s message available here.
Starting with Why
Pastor Bob begins our Extended Advent series this Sunday beginning with a scripture text that doesn’t necessarily seem as though it’s a the right choice for beginning the Advent season. But as we’ll hear, Paul uses a Greek word that specifically speaks to us in this time and helps us to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ. Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Don’t miss our Sermon Note for this week’s message available here.
Rejoice
Pastor Bob concludes this year’s Stewardship series on this All Saints Sunday with an invitation to rejoice! Perhaps the idea of rejoicing seems strange in this time on a day when we name those of our loved ones who have been lost in the last year. Our scripture remind us that there is nothing that God cannot make new! Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25
Respond
Pastor Lea brings another sermon in our Stewardship series with a reminder that God calls us to respond to the amazing transformative work that God does with us all! How will you respond? Scripture: Isaiah 58:5-12
Renew
There is so much bringing us stress and anxiety in this time. We may be worried about wildfires and storms, illness, the political climate, and so much more. This third Sunday in our Stewardship series focuses on our need for renewal and where we might go for the source of that renewal. Scripture: Isaiah 40:21-31
Rethink
This week, we continue our Stewardship sermon series, where we will RE:IMAGINE ministry looking forward to 2021. This week, Pastor Lea invites us to rethink our spiritual lives. Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-7
Reveal
This week begins our Stewardship sermon series, where we will RE:IMAGINE ministry looking forward to 2021. The world has changed in so many ways, especially this year! We find ourselves struggling to learn how to do ministry in this time, and just as difficult is the likelihood that doing ministry in the future will be forever changed too! The “new normal” by not be a “normal” we’ve ever seen before. Even so, we are invited to live into the idea…
May it Please the Court
This is the fourth and final sermon in our series on Foundations, and this week’s message turns to practical theology. Bringing our message this Sunday is Rev. John Fanestil, who grew up in LJUMC and is a product of the nurturing community of faith in this congregation. In hearing this message, we celebrate the foundation of this community that makes it possible for members and friends to grow more fully in relationship with God. Scripture: Ruth 1:8-16
What a Gospel
This is the third in our series on Foundations, and this week’s message focuses on the of Methodism. Pastor Lea explores the important history of John Wesley and his brother Charles and the rapid expansion of Wesleyan theology and practical faith. Scripture: 1 John 4:16b-21 Resources noted in this sermon: A Plain Account of the People Called Methodists (a letter written by John Wesley in 1748) Wesley and the People Called Methodists (a look at Wesleyan history from Richard P.…