Spirituality

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October 2019

“On Mustard, Mulberry, and Meanwhiles”/ Luke 17: 5-10; Amos 5:6-7, 10-15/ Rev. Rodger Allen/ 9-29-19

By |October 1st, 2019|Sermons|

Long before the current very-popular “Downton Abbey” movie, and long before the “Downton Abbey” TV show, PBS showed a different TV series with some things in common with “Downton”; it was called “Upstairs Downstairs.” The title refers to the two groups of people who live in an early 20th-century British household – the gentlemen and ladies who own the house and are part of England’s upper class are the “Upstairs” folks, and their servants are the “Downstairs” folks, because that’s where their living quarters are. The series covered many years in England’s history, and included such major events as the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, and the 1929 Stock Market crash, but the episodes which were the most interesting were not the ones about those historic events, but those which had to do with certain characters who occasionally appeared in the household. Every once in a while, someone would arrive who couldn’t be easily categorized as either an “upstairs” person or a “downstairs” person, and didn’t really fit in with either group – for example, a so-called “commoner” dating one of the upstairs people, or a businessperson making a good living, but without the “proper” background to admit them to the “upstairs” category. […]

June 2019

“Living Generously Begins with Trust”/Matt. 6: 19-21, 24; I Tim. 6: 17b; I Cor. 8:1-7/Rev. Rodger Allen/6-2-19

By |June 10th, 2019|Sermons|

             As our Stewardship Committee has  presented to you in the past, we have become convinced of the wisdom of a “year-round stewardship program,” as opposed to one or two Sundays in the Fall, talking about only pledge cards. Stewardship, of course, is about much more than pledge cards; it incorporates use of our talents, our time, our church building and other resources, care of creation . . . And we want to use all those responsibly throughout the year – so we don’t think about “stewardship,” here, only on each second Sunday of November. Our stewardship theme for this year, as readers of our church newsletter know, thanks to Steve Blair, is “Living Generously Begins with Trust”- yes, same as today’s sermon title. And the foundational Bible verse for this year is Second Corinthians 8:7: “But just as you excel in everything . . . in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us . . . see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” […]

May 2019

“Growing in Faith”/Hebrews 5: 11-6:1Acts 16: 1-5/Rev. Rodger Allen/5-26-19

By |May 30th, 2019|Sermons|

Bible passages from the book of Acts are recommended for our consideration each year at this time. After Jesus’ resurrection on Easter and his ascension into heaven forty days later, his disciples started telling his story and sharing his teachings, to people in and beyond Jerusalem, eventually resulting in the formation of Christian churches. So on the Sundays following Easter, we often review the stories of their doing that – and those stories are found in the book of Acts. One thing the book of Acts emphasizes is that the early church grew, as the story of Jesus was told. It grew in numbers, and it grew in faith. “Growing in numbers” is a concept we pretty easily understand, though it’s not quite as easy a thing to actually do as we would like. “Growing in faith” is a little more ambiguous phrase: what all does it mean, to “grow in faith”? […]

November 2018

“Where Is Your Treasure”/11/4/18/Scripture: 2 Kings 4:1-7; Mt 6:1-6, 19-21, 24/Rev. Laurie Williams

By |November 6th, 2018|Sermons|

          Ahhh, another Fall Campaign: so exciting!  Actually, I really like the theme the Stewardship Committee has presented throughout 2018 at various times and in a variety of ways.  “Where Is Your Heart?” comes from our Matthew, chapter 6, passage and is focused on verse 21:  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Notice that it doesn’t say that the treasure follows the heart, but that the heart follows the treasure.  It points to what is central in our lives, whatever our most important treasure is:  is it money?; is it family?; is it cars?; is it God and the will of God?  […]

September 2018

“Dear Ephesus: 3. That You May Become”/Rev. Rodger Allen/Eph. 3: 1-9; Eph. 3: 14-21/9.2.18

By |September 6th, 2018|Sermons|

  Our look at the first chapter of the “Letter to the Ephesians” concentrated on “who you are” – who the Ephesians were, both as a culture and as Christians: members of God’s family; forgiven; adopted, by God’s grace – like all Christians, including us. Our look at the second chapter examined “how you became who you are”: it is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that Christians move from a state of being separated from God and without hope of eternal life to a situation of reconciliation and peace with God. We also heard how Christ offers us peace with one another as well; dividing-walls between Jews and Gentiles, or between any two segments of humanity, are broken down by Christ. […]