What Baptism means to me

Our church celebrated Pentecost this year with nine Baptisms.  We had people of a variety of ages baptized; it was a chance for us to reflect on what baptisms means for us.

Worship as witness

Jesus calls his disciples to be witnesses (Luke 24:48).  Often times we understand witness as either sharing the Good News or acts of charity.  I suggest in this sermon that worship is itself an act of witness…especially in 2015 when life is so busy!

Suffering and hope

As we move through the Bible this year, we have arrived at the ministry of Saint Paul.  His letter to the Romans is an unbelievable testimony about the work of God in our lives.  In this letter (what we call chapter 5!) Paul offers that in his life, his suffering has made him more hopeful.  How does this work?

How does Jesus do that?

In today's Gospel (Matthew 9:10-12), Jesus eats with a bunch of people known to be sinners and generally bad people.  But this isn't the only surprising this about this story.  Jesus isn't just about "tolerance" but "transformation."  That is real love