Category: Sermons

Evangelism often relies on guilt, shame or fear to motivate people. But those aren’t good news, and they’re not where God’s posture towards us begins. Jesus’ baptism is an invitation for all of us to remember the heart of the good news: that we are God’s beloved children, and God delights in us.

Evangelism so often comes across as bad news. But God loves all of us, and is already at work in each of our lives. The story of the magi visiting Jesus demonstrates God’s persistent love for us – and that is good news worth sharing!

Gift-giving is central to our Christmas celebration. Hannah gave her son Samuel a coat every year as her way of remaining present with him. So too we can be present with those God has brought into our lives when we give of who we are and what we have. Raising our voices can be tangible!

It’s hardest for us to speak up in the circles that know us best. But those circles – our families, our co-workers, our friends and neighbors – are where we have the most influence. So how can we find the confidence to live out God’s calling among the people who know us best? We find the answer in a little town called Bethlehem…

Ironically, too often in the midst of our preparation to celebrate Christmas, we forget to actually celebrate. The same is true of our work for justice – we burn out or get overwhelmed. The third Sunday of Advent reminds us this work belongs ultimately to God, not us. So we need to take time to pause and rejoice that God is faithful!

Who do you most identify with in the Christmas story? Maybe we most love Mary and Joseph, or the magi on their road trip, or the shepherds. The song Mary sings while she’s pregnant with Jesus is a reminder that Christmas is about more than gifts and parities… it’s about God rescuing the world. What does that mean for us? Well… it depends on where we are in God’s story.

Have you ever been silenced? It doesn’t feel good. No wonder so many of us don’t speak up for what’s right. We feel ignored, unimportant or unworthy. But Mary’s story shows us that God calls us to speak up, to join in. All God requires of us is a “Yes”.

Churches often approach serving as an opportunity to take Jesus to people who don’t know him. But Scripture insists that God is always ahead of us, already at work. How can we learn to approach serving as pilgrims, looking for where God is already at work?

Churches think of Discipleship primarily in terms of learning more about God. But we only become more like God when we let ourselves be known by God. What does it look like to become a church that makes it easy to be known by God?