The Rev. George Adamik reflects on Jesus’s Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9) as a story of hope amid suffering and overwhelming challenges.
Worship. Serve. Grow.
Worship. Serve. Grow.
Sermons (Page 28)
The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista discusses Paul’s surprising claim in 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 that he became all things to all people: “The Apostle Paul invites us into a new world. He invites us to become full-fledged citizens of no man’s land, that place that calls all our allegiances into question so that we might truly learn the ways and customs of another. And in this world that offers us impossible and inflexible choices about who we consider a worthwhile ally or a potential adversary, about who is worth our time and who isn’t, what would it look like for you choose otherwise? To become the kind of person willing to love those you weren’t supposed to love?”
Ahead of the annual parish meeting, the Rev. George Adamik reflects back on a year of virtual services and parish life, and he shares several highlights of creativity, dedication, and growing ministries: “As Bishop Rob Wright says, the church does not close – it adapts. The church has adapted throughout its history… This experience is calling us to open up even wider than before.”
The Rev. Candy Snively reflects on Jesus’s call to the fishermen in Mark 1:14-20: “Have you ever felt that each day looks the same? Life is routine, nothing changes. I have felt this way many times, especially during this time of isolation.”
The Rev. George Adamik describes how we often talk about seeking God, but it is really God who is seeking us “and has been finding us from the beginning of Creation.” Today’s readings reveal God’s search for us: the story of Samuel and Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-10), Psalm 139 (“Lord, you have searched me out and known me”), and Jesus’s first disciples (John 1:43-51), as well as the life of the prophet and martyr the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Rev. Javier Almendárez-Bautista celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord and reflects on resilience and healing in the face of American violence.
On the Second Sunday after Christmas, the Rev. Carr Holland discusses the dreams of Joseph and the Magi and the revealed counterpoint of evil and suffering in the Christmas story, which is just as messy and complicated as our own contemporary world (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23).
On the First Sunday after Christmas, the Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats reflects on foster care and adoption and why this becomes an important, radical metaphor for Paul the Apostle (Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7).
On Christmas, the Rev. George Adamik reflects on how an encounter with Christ calls us beyond our defined experiences (Luke 2:1-20).