A Memorable Sit-Down Meal” with Pastor Chris Kinnell

We welcome Chris Kinnell Today

Discuss this sermon »

On Giants and Storms

On Giants and Storms

1 Samuel 17:1a, 4-11,
1 Samuel 17: 19-23, 32- 49
Mark 4:35- 41

What do we learn from these 2 stories about the giants and storms in our lives? Among others, that they are best and most effectively addressed with humility, confidence, the ability to focus and to trust in God.

Discuss this sermon »

The One is Shining Forth

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 7 The One is Shining
Forth

Psalm 50:1-6  

“God speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” -Psalm 50
The Psalm that comes at the end of our series speaks of an active God whose light shines for all time and in all places. God is not silent, but calls the people to remember that they, too, can act on God’s behalf, holding all suffering peoples in hands of prayer and care and transforming the world that will shine bright into the future. May it be so.

Discuss this sermon »

We Wait, We Hope, We Stay

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 6 We Wait, We Hope, We Stay

Psalm 147:1- 11, 20c

“God heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” – Psalm 147
Today’s Psalm comes late in the Book and offers a glimpse of a time when the exiled outcasts are gathering back together and seeing their world built back up. We too, yearn for a re-gathering and a day when we sing our praises and play our instruments with abandon together again. We wait, we hope, we stay firm in our faith, knowing as our ancient ancestors did, that God is indeed holding our lives.

Discuss this sermon »

Whole Heart Hallelujah

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 5: Whole Heart Hallelujah

Psalm 111

“The works of God’s hands are faithful and just.” – Psalm 111 One mode of poetry in the Psalms is all-out praise and thanksgiving, such as the one for today. We also find praise  even in Psalms of lament and complaint because “God is good all the time and all the time
God is good!” Life is not always good, but when we engage in gratitude, we remember the evidence of God at work in our lives and we remember that indeed, God is holding our lives, even now.

Discuss this sermon »

CN Celebration Sunday

Discuss this sermon »

In God Alone

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 4: In God Alone

Psalm 62:5-12

 

“My one and only!” So many songs have utilized this phrase to express devoted love. This week we see that this tradition goes back all the way to the poets of the psalm tradition. This is a love psalm of trust in the Holy One and Only who is the rock and refuge in the midst of life that sometimes feels as fleeting as breath. We put our trust in the One who, indeed, is holding our lives.

Discuss this sermon »

Where Can I Go?

God is Holding Your Life Series: A Journey of Assurance Part 3 “Where Can I Go?”

Psalm 139.1- 18

“You have searched me and know me.” – Psalm 139
This week’s Psalm text brings home this message: we are in an intimate relationship with God. There is nowhere we go that God is not present—no state of our being that results in our being abandoned. God has knit us together, has woven us, knowing us from before our beginning. God, indeed, is holding our lives.

Discuss this sermon »

Awe and Wonder

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 2 “Awe and Wonder”

Psalm 29

 

“My God gives strength to the people and blesses the people with peace.” – Psalm 29
Strength and peace is the prayer of the Psalm this week. The Psalmist says “let me count the ways” that we can know the strength of the Holy One. With awe and wonder we behold the presence of God in all the elements of creation—water, fire, air, earth. And it is this glory that assures us that God, indeed, is holding our lives.

Discuss this sermon »

These Lives Are Precious

God is Holding Your Life: A Journey of Assurance Part 1: These Lives Are Precious

Psalm 72.1- 7, 10-14 (all from NRSV for this series)

 

“God delivers the needy when they call.” – Psalm 72
We do not live in a land ruled by Kings, as the hearers of our first Psalm of this series did. Nevertheless, the petitions of the psalmist for justice, deliverance, defense of the poor and oppressed, and peace for all peoples is an undergirding theme of our faith. We are reminded that a just society is one that proclaims “these lives are precious” and worthy of protection. God, indeed, is holding our lives. Let this be the witness of our lives.

Discuss this sermon »