Advent I: Focusing on Christ

December. Christmas. The busiest time of year! It can be such an exhausting time of year. How do we fill our hearts with the love, joy and peace of Christ and not just all the "stuff" of Christmas? Advent, Advent Wreaths and Prayer.

Christ the King: Unlike any other

On this Sunday our church celebrated Christ the King Sunday. Before we focus on Jesus as a baby in Advent and Christmas, we remember him as the Triumphant King who rules for all time, having defeated death and sin. Today we focus on how Christ is a King unlike any other king or queen who has ever ruled on earth.

Reformation of Prayer

499 years ago, Martin Luther began what would be known as the Protestant Reformation.  In this sermon, Pastor Rob briefly reflects on the implications of the Reformation for prayer in the medieval times.  The bulk of the sermon ponders how the Holy Spirit may again be calling us into a Reformation, specifically in how we pray.

Stewardship Three: Our Common Trust

In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:13-16)."  In this sermon, Pastor Rob reflects on the purposes of our life, both as individuals and as a congregation..

Stewardship Two: Our Hope (even in this election season)

​This week we hear the story of a man named Jacob who wrestles with God (Genesis 32:22-31).  Our nation is wrestling with a very bitter and divisive national election.  All of this on a Sunday in which we were hoping to speak about hope!  Yet in the wrestling with this story from Genesis and even in our wrestling with election, we find our deepest hope in Christ. 

Stewardship One: Thanking God!

Jesus heals ten men; only one comes back to give thanks!  (Luke 17:11-19).  Kicking off a preaching series on Stewardship, Pastor Rob focuses on thanksgiving, especially for the ministry at St. Paul.

Increase OUR Faith

Pastor Rob ponders the prayer of the disciples: increase our faith (Luke 17:5-10).  This is frequently our prayer as we go through life's ups and downs.  So where do we get more faith?  To answer that question we consider how our culture's focus on a personal relationship with Christ means we often miss the communal dimension of faith.  There is a great abundance of faith  when we turn to the community.  We explore the power and nature at this communal sense of faith by reflecting on Saint Paul's words in his second letter to Timothy.