Most weeks, our worship leader offers a 15–20 minute sermon based on the Scripture texts for the day.
Our regular preacher is pretty versatile. She’ll tell stories, pull together different ideas, lead a meditation, give the congregation an “assignment” to talk about in twos or threes, show a slide show or video, or sometimes even sing to the congregation. The sermon functions to deepen our reflection on the Scripture themes of the day, and often leaves us with a challenge or a question.
Scripture texts are outlined in the Revised Common Lectionary.
At the Crossroads
On this 17th Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari preached on Mark 8:27-38, which includes the question of Jesus to the disciples, “But who do you say I am?” It’s a timely question, which Rev. Cari pointed out in her introduction, referring to the political debate between the two contenders on the Tuesday before. It’s also…
On Medical Assistance in Dying
Today, Rev. Cari preached in response to a request posed in this way: “What would Jesus say about MAID?” She chose texts from Job 19 and Matthew 22:23-33, a response of Job to his “comforting” friend, and a controversy story of Jesus being tested by the Sadducees. She begins with a description of the “air…
On Mysticism
This morning’s Stump the Preacher topic was a request to understand mysticism in Christianity. So Rev. Cari pulled out Genesis 28 and 2 Corinthians 12, and reflected on them both. She also leaned on Richard Rohr a bit: he spent a week recently opening up the experience of Julian of Norwich, a 14th century female…
Jesus and “The Family”
Jesus had some surprising things to say about family in Matthew 10 and 12. Things that contradict the usual “family values” kinds of assumptions that regular folks have about him. This sermon is Rev. Cari’s attempt to make sense of the strange things he sometimes said, as well as help us in our relationships with…
The Gospel in Chairs
This was another sermon from the Rev. Jim Short, reflecting on Psalm 130 and Ephesians 4:25-5:2. The audio version may not do it justice, because Jim did one of his “many chairs” extravaganza sermons. The basic question is “How does God see us?”
Aug 4, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning, and his texts were Psalm 145 and John 6:1-21. He asks, “Does reading our Bible give you that ‘loaves and fishes’ kind of feeling? What does reading the Bible do for you? Is it like stone soup without the extras?”
July 28, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning, and his texts were Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 and Psalm 23. Jim looks way back in history and asks, “How and where, after the Emperor Constantine was baptized and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, did we lose our way?” Buckle up for a…
July 21, 2024
The Rev. Jim Short preached at Crossroads this morning. His texts were Ephesians 2:11-22 and Psalm 89, and in the sermon, he suggests a bit of composting! “What do you need to let go of in terms of things you learned along the way about faith and life? And how challenging is that for you?”
The Great Rummage Sale
Rev. Cari received a request to preach on Jesus’ words about “new wine in old wine skins” from Mark 2, and to specifically preach on the life of the church as institution. The requester said, “We worship this polyamorous God who desires justice for ALL people and who will not be contained. No matter how…
Stilling the Storm
For the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, Rev. Cari preached on Mark’s story of Jesus asleep in the boat while a storm rages around him (Mark 4:35-41). The disciples, frightened by the storm, wake him up and ask him, “Don’t you care that we’re about to be killed?” And he stills the storm. Rev. Cari’s take…