Sermons
Sermons from the Season after Pentecost
September 16, 2018
17th Sunday of Pentecost
How is the Church Called to Bring Good News to Those Trapped in Poverty?
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September 9, 2018
16th Sunday of Pentecost
How Should the Bible Guide Christians As We Reflect on Matters of Public Life?
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September 2, 2018
15th Sunday of Pentecost
Do, Do, Do, Be Not, Do, Be Not — Sermon by Frank Granger
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August 26, 2018
14th Sunday of Pentecost
Just a Symbol? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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August 19, 2018
13th Sunday of Pentecost
Wisdom and Knowledge — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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August 12, 2018
12th Sunday of Pentecost
The Opportunity for Healing and the Limit of Time — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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August 5, 2018
11th Sunday of Pentecost
For Building Up — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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July 29, 2018
10th Sunday of Pentecost
Make the People Sit Down — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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July 22, 2018
9th Sunday of Pentecost
Botton Up or Button Down — Sermon by Brandon Pendry
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July 15, 2018
8th Sunday of Pentecost
The Power of a Grudge — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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July 8, 2018
7th Sunday of Pentecost
He Could Do No Deed of Power — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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July 1, 2018
6th Sunday of Pentecost
Reach Out and Touch — Sermon by Janet Cleland
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June 24, 2018
5th Sunday of Pentecost
Seeing Challenge Through the Eyes of Faith — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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June 17, 2018
4th Sunday of Pentecost
A Seed for Deliverance — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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June 10, 2018
3rd Sunday of Pentecost
The Ways of the King and the Way of Faith — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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June 3, 2018
2nd Sunday of Pentecost
Rediscovering Sabbath — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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May 27, 2018
Trinity Sunday
When There Is No Simple Answer– Sermon by Frank Granger
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May 20, 2018
Pentecost Sunday
Open to More– Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Sermons from Easter
May 13, 2018
Seventh Sunday of Easter/ Ascension Sunday
Open to Serve — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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May 6, 2018
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Open to One Another — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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April 29, 2018
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Open to Explore — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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April 22, 2018
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Youth Sunday
The Shepherd and the Sheep! — Sermon by Elli Scarborough
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April 15, 2018
Third Sunday of Easter
Open! — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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April 8, 2018
Second Sunday of Easter
I Doubt It! — Sermon by Doug Ivey
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April 1, 2018
Easter
The First Word of a New World — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Church Year Seasons
The Christian Year calendar is our guide for worship and Christian faith formation. The beginning of the Christian year is the season of Advent, approximately four weeks before Christmas Day, and continues with special days and seasons following the life of Christ and the mission of the church.
There are two major cycles in the Christian Year. One is the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle that is focused upon Christmas. The other is the Lent-Easter-Pentecost cycle that has Easter as its focus. The other periods in the year are referred to as “ordinary time.” This is not because they are “ordinary” days. Ordinary is taken from the word for “ordinal” numbers. The Sundays during this time are designated by the “first,” “second,” “third,” Sunday after Pentecost, for example. Therefore, they are designated “ordinary” time because of using ordinal numbers to mark them.
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Advent
From the Latin word, adventus, Advent means “arrival” or “coming” and marks the coming of Jesus as human being into the world. Including the four Sundays prior to Christmas day, this season is used as a time of preparing for the coming of the Christ child. Advent marks the beginning of the church year and is the first season in the Christian calendar. While our calendar begins with January 1, the church year begins with Advent.
Christmas
The season of Christmas is actually a period of twelve days which begins on Christmas Day and continues through January 5. We typically think of the season of Christmas as beginning after Thanksgiving and concluding on December 25. However, for the Church, December 25 is the culmination of the waiting, and marks the beginning of Christmas.
Epiphany
The Day of Epiphany follows the twelve days of Christmas. Epiphany, as a day and season of celebration, has been around as long as the celebration of Christmas. Epiphanies are those instances where gods reveal themselves, and make themselves known to humanity. Our January 6 celebration, as Christians, emphasizes the epiphany, or manifestation of God, and represents the revelation of God to the world in Jesus Christ.
Lent
Lent is a season of prayer, penance and self-discipline, beginning on the Wednesday of the seventh week before Easter. The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is forty days prior to Easter, not counting Sundays. The sixth Sunday in lent is Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week. Holy Week includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and officially ends on Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday then begins the season of Easter which lasts for seven weeks.
Easter
Easter Day commemorates the day of resurrection of Jesus following the crucifixion. Easter is more than a day of celebration in the Christian calendar; it includes a period of seven weeks, and is known as The Great Fifty Days. The full period of Easter continues from Easter Sunday to the day of Pentecost.
Pentecost
The day of Pentecost is the Sunday following the end of the fifty days of Easter. The Day of Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus in the immediate days after the ascension of Jesus.
Sermons from Lent
March 25, 2018
Palm Sunday
Deserters? — Meditation by Paul Baxley
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March 18, 2018
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Global Magnetism — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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March 11, 2018
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
But Wait! There’s More — Sermon by Frank Granger
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March 4, 2018
The Third Sunday in Lent
Making Sense Later — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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February 25, 2018
The Second Sunday in Lent
A Community for Costly Discipleship — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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February 18, 2018
The First Sunday in Lent
Is Baptism Necessary — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Sermons from Epiphany
February 11, 2018
Transfiguration Sunday
Saying Yes and Saying No — Sermon by the Rev. Emily Hull Mcgee
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February 4, 2018
The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Relentless Energy — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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January 28, 2018
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Rediscovering a Compelling Authority — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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January 21, 2018
The Third Sunday after Epiphany
Reluctant Repentance — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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January 14, 2018
The Second Sunday after Epiphany
A Calling for Those Days… and These — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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January 7, 2018
The First Sunday after Epiphany
Find Another Way — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Sermons from Christmas
December 31, 2017
The First Sunday after Christmas
Unfinished — Sermon by Brandon Pendry
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Christmas Eve 5:30 p.m.
Joyful Singing and Silent Seeking — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Sermons from Advent
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 24, 2017
A Song of Discovery — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Third Sunday of Advent
December 17, 2017
A Song of Recollection — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The First Sunday of Advent
December 3, 2017
A Song for Restoration — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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Sermons from the Season after Pentecost
Christ the King Sunday
November 26, 2017
Christ Above All — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
November 19, 2017
What Will We Do With What We’ve Been Given? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
November 12, 2017
The Relational Question: How Do We Cultivate Healthy Relationships? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
November 5, 2017 — All Saints Sunday
The Healing Question: How Do We Offer Healing to Those Wounded by the Church? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 29, 2017
The Formational Question: How Do We Share Faith with Our Children? — Sermon by Janet Cleland
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The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2017
The Calendar Question: How Do We Offer Faithful Ministry When Sunday Morning is no Longer Sacred? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Ninteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 15, 2017
The Evanglestic Question: How Do We Invite People to Faith in Jesus Christ? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 8, 2017
The Mission Question: Why Church? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 1, 2017
The Foundational Question: What is a Christian? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2017
Getting on with the Journey — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 10, 2017
Unlikely Heroes — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 3, 2017
Changing Habits — Sermon by Frank Granger
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The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 27, 2017
A Hard Lesson in Humility — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 13, 2017
Believing and Confessing — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 6, 2017
More than Enough? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 23, 2017
Following Jacob or Following God? — Sermon by Brandon Pendry
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The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 9, 2017
Intense Struggle — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
July 2, 2017
Are Prophets Welcome? — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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The Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 25, 2017
What’s in a Name? — Sermon by Amanda Lewis
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The Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 18, 2017
At the Right Time — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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