Sermon by Reverend Dr. John Mann | January 31, 2021 Mark 1: 21-28 Once upon a time I went to a church service where a church minister was “inducted” into his new congregation. These events come with high hopes for what lies ahead. Part of the event is that a minister will give what’s called…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John Mann | January 24, 2021 Mark 1: 14-20 Sometimes the way to tell the story of a Bible reading is to ask, “Is this story telling us to do anything, and if so, what?”  In today’s reading there is one phrase that rings out to me and which I want…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John Mann | January 17, 2021 The story that we read in the Gospel of John today is part of a larger story. Jesus calls his first disciples – the people who would form his core group of followers. The first words Jesus speaks in the story as John tells it…

Sermon by Pastor Bill Chadwick | January 10, 2021 Mark 1: 4-11 Mark’s gospel is the briefest and plainest of the four accounts.  In the beginning of Mark we find no manger, no shepherds, no magi, no birth narrative at all, no 12-year-old in the Temple, just Boom!  Jesus as an adult, being baptized by…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | January 3, 2021 John1: 10-18 Maybe last year at this time you made some New Year’s Resolutions. Some of them didn’t turn out like you expected. That happens in any year, but 2020 upended a lot of expectations. If you had resolved to stay home and read…

Sermon by Pastor Bill Chadwick | December 27, 2020 Luke 2: 22-40 This is one of my favorite passages of scripture for several reasons.  It’s not well known.  It shows up in the lectionary the first Sunday of Christmastide when many people don’t come to church.  The second reason I like this passage is that…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | December 13, 2020 Luke 1: 47-55 Years ago, on Christmas Eve I went to the grocery store to pick up a few last-minute items. I was in no particular hurry. If you go to the grocery store on Christmas Eve, you will find people who are in…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | December 6, 2020 Mark 1: 1-8 Once upon a time, there was the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It was in a world that desperately needed people who told the truth.  The world needs people who tell the truth. But…

Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | November 29, 2020 Mark 13: 24-37 The beginning of Advent for Christians is a time when we remind ourselves that God is always in the process of coming into the world. Our challenge is to be ready for that when it happens. And to realize it’s always…

Sermon by Pastor Bill Chadwick | November 22, 2020 Deuteronomy 8:7-18, 1 Thessalonians 5: 12-18 Today is the last Sunday before Advent.  In the Revised Common Lectionary the theme is Christ the King Sunday and that is the direction I had planned to take for this sermon and service.  But it’s also the last Sunday…