Fire, Judgement and New Life

August 18, 2019
Season of Pentecost

Jesus declares that he has come to bring fire to the earth; in the Bible, fire is a symbol of God's judgement.  What gives that Jesus is bringing judgement into the world!?  I thought Jesus was only about love and peace!!

Pastor Rob reflects on the relationship between God's judgement and God's love in our world and in our lives.  Fire brings destruction, but fire can also create space for new life, as is the case with forest fires.  So to in our lives, God's judgement may humble, unsettle and even unbind, but it does so to create space for new life.  Based on Luke 12 with references to the prophet Jeremiah.  

Middle Aged Hero of Faith

August 11, 2018
Season of Pentecost

In Genesis 15, Abraham and God have a heart to heart.  Abraham confesses his frustrations with the parts of life that aren't going according to plan.  In fact, Abraham isn't quite sure of how life will unfold in the future and he is quite unsettled.  God responds to this prayer, not with a plan, but with the night sky and promise of millions of descendants.

Pastor Rob suggests that in this story, Abraham reveals himself to be a Middle Aged Hero of faith!   

Psalm 8 and Apollo 11

August 4, 2019
Season of Pentecost

50 years ago humans landed on the moon.  At that time, humans saw the earth in space for the first time; it was breathtaking!  People around the world cried out, in the words of the ancient Psalm, "O Lord, how majestic is your name in all of the earth!"  The beauty of the heavens bring us to confess the belief in a creator.


Yet how do we know that God cares for us, especially as we become increasingly aware of how small the earth is relative to the cosmos.  We find ourselves, once again, speaking the words of the ancient psalms, "When I consider your heavens...the stars and the moon, what are human beings that you are mindful of them?" Pastor Rob reflects on the words of Psalm 8 and how we might answer the question posed in this ancient prayer.

Praying with the body

July 28, 2019
Season of Pentecost

"How do we pray?" the disciples asked Jesus.   Even the most faithful have questions about prayer; we know we should do it, but we often feel like we do not have the skill set...or the words!  In this sermon, Pastor Rob reflects on how we could benefit from focusing more on our body and less on our words when we pray.  In Scripture, people and even Jesus are often praying with their full body.