Sermons

The prophet Isaiah longs for the day when people will trust God and seek God's guidance, rather than depending on the power of military might and political alliances. Isaiah's vision is outrageous in it's simplicity. He dreams of a time a young mother will be bold enough to trust in God's presence so completely, to trust in God's ongoing care so implicitly, to trust in the power of God's love so totally, that she names her child "God is with us!" In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Isaiah proclaims this vision.
» read more

The prophet Isaiah proclaims that there is joy coming. And to those who first heard his words he must have seemed more than a little bit crazy. The Hebrew people to whom this wild proclamation is addressed have been living in exile in a foreign land, cut off from home and family and faith. Life was hard. Life was not in their own control. And all the signs they could see pointed to more of the same. The wilderness and the desert were nothing more than barriers between them and where they wanted to be. Joy was not at all what the exiles would have been expecting. It simply was not on the radar. And yet, Isaiah looks beyond the current circumstances and dares to envision abundance springing forth at every turn. "The desert shall rejoice and blossom." (Isaiah 35:1)
» read more

Deep within us there is a longing to live in a world which is shaped by peace. Not simply peace as the absence of conflict, but peace as the harmonious, interrelated connection of all that is. We look around at the brokenness, the pain, the violence which rises up at every turn, and we instinctively know that life was meant to be more than this. We see the suffering, we hears the cries for justice, we feel the divisions, and we want desperately for things to be different. In this season when "Peace on Earth" is proclaimed on everything from cards to banners to songs, the contrast between our longings and our reality can be disheartening.
» read more

Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, God is present and active in our lives and in our world! That is the message of Advent. It is a season which comes as the days grow ever shorter. The darkness and the cold seem a fitting backdrop for what we read in the newspapers every day. It would be so easy to become overwhelmed and simply give in to despair. But instead we dare to gather and proclaim the outlandish message that God has not abandoned us.
» read more