This sermon was first preached for the July 19, 2020 online worship service at Kalamazoo First Congregational Church. The full worship playlist can be viewed here. The sermon text is Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.
Tag: love
Building the Beloved Community: The Church of Gifted Learners
This sermon was first preached at Kalamazoo First Congregational Church on March 24, 2019. You can listen to the audio here. Text: I Corinthians 13:1-13 When I was in seminary, the church where I did my internship began using the Young Children in Worship curriculum for Sunday School. This is the same curriculum we use…
Known by Our Love
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 Jesus’s disciples really loved him. And they were probably learning…
Love Feast
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all…
Bigger Hearts
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… Matthew 5:43-44 Who is your enemy? Maybe there is someone who pushes all your buttons and gets you really mad. Maybe there…
Love is…especially important when we’re stressing out
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. …
God is Love Mobius
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 1 John 4:16 Find some paper–scrap paper or newspaper is fine, as long you can cut out a piece about one inch thick and 8-12 inches long. Take your nice long skinny piece of paper, twist…
Free From Shame; Free to Love (A Sermon for June 16th, 2013)
Luke 7:36-8:3 It’s a beautiful dinner party. Simon is known for these. Everything always comes off perfectly. The table settings sparkle. The flowers are fresh. The cocktails are classy. The food is presented in beautiful courses with garnishes. The guest list is small and select: all people who are model citizens—well-respected leaders—scandal-free. And it’s all…
Feed My Sheep (Sermon for April 14th, 2013)
sermon text is John 21:1-19 There was an article in the LA Times, recently, that circulated around the internet pretty quickly. The authors share a story from when one of them was in the hospital after surgery related to breast cancer. One of her colleagues felt a strong need to visit her in the hospital,…
Vulnerable Love (or, Loving Reality), A Sermon for Palm Sunday, 2013
Barrett and I are beginning to make friends with a couple who are considering moving to Central NY. They’ve been to visit a lot. “Frank” is a musician who comes through the area and plays locally on a pretty regular basis. They know there is a lot they like, and a lot of people they…
Extravagant Love, John 12:1-8 (Sermon for March 17th, 2013)
My husband, Barrett and I were married in December of 2004, and three months later, my grandfather died, unexpectedly. We were in school in Vancouver, and when I got news that my grandfather died, in New Orleans, I was disappointed to find out that my parents assumed I would not make it to his funeral….
the beautiful changes... 