Sermons
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 Advent 2022
The First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022
More Light and More Truth — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from the Season After Pentecost
November 20, 2022
Stewardship Dedication Sunday
God’s Presence in Other Nations– Sermon by Matt Marston
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November 13, 2022
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Eternity Hidden in Our Hearts– Sermon by Matt Marston
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November 6, 2022
All Saints’ Sunday
The Table and the Cup — Sermon by Matt Marston
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October 30, 2022
The 21st Sunday After Pentecost
Why Does God Hide? — Sermon by Matt Marston
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October 23, 2022
The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
God in Our Mistakes — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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October 16, 2022
The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Is God on Our Side? — Sermon by Matt Marston
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October 9, 2022
The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
God Known in Atonement — Sermon by Matt Marston
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October 2, 2022
The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
Blood and Bread — Sermon by Matt Marston
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September 25, 2022
The Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
The Presence of an Elusive God: The Frightening Presence of God — Sermon by Emily Harbin and Matt Marston
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September 18, 2022
The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
WHWY: An Unknown Name — Sermon by Matt Marston
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September 11, 2022
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
What’s in an Image? — Sermon by Matt Marston
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September 4, 2022
The Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Partial Vision — Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 28, 2022
The Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
One Day at at Time — Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 21, 2022
The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
More Than We Imagine– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 14, 2022
The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
Buried Treasure– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 7, 2022
The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Final Judgment and Good News — Sermon by Matt Marston
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July 31, 2022
The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
A Resurrection Like His — Sermon by Paul Baxley
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July 24, 2022
The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
A Mutual and Mysterious Blessing — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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July 17, 2022
The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
A Dip and a Journey — Sermon by Janet Cleland
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July 10, 2022
The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Faith. Hope. Sight. — Sermon by Frank Granger
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July 3, 2022
The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Repentance: Fight the Powers– Sermon by Matt Marston
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June 26, 2022
The Third Sunday After Pentecost
Minding Our Thoughts — Sermon by Matt Marston
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June 19, 2022
The Second Sunday After Pentecost
Burn the Notebook — Sermon by Matt Marston
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June 12, 2022
Trinity Sunday
Why We Should Name the Trinity Three Ways — Sermon by Matt Marston
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June 5, 2022
Day of Pentecost
The Presence of the Future — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from Easter
May 29, 2022
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
A Song of Humility — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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May 22, 2022
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Abounding Love — Sermon by Matt Marston
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May 15, 2022
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
On the Night He Was Betrayed — Sermon by Matt Marston
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May 8, 2022
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
Sheep in Autonomous Clothing — Sermon by Matt Marston
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April 24, 2022
The Second Sunday of Easter
Honest Thomas — Sermon by Matt Marston
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April 17, 2022
Easter
Your Own Personal Easter — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from Lent
Palm Sunday
April 10, 2022
Journey to the Cross: The King Crucified – Sermon by Matt Marston
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 3, 2022
Journey to the Cross: How Low Can you Go? – Sermon by Matt Marston
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 27, 2022
Upward in Faith — Sermon by Yerahm Hong
The Third Sunday in Lent
March 20, 2022
Peter and the Sour Patch Gospel — Sermon by Emily Harbin
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 13, 2022
Our Journey to the Cross: Unexpected Love — Sermon by Matt Marston
The First Sunday in Lent
March 6, 2022
Our Journey to the Cross: Concrete Hope — Sermon by Matt Marston
Sermons from Epiphany
The Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 27, 2022
Now I See — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
February 20, 2022
Drinking Living Waters — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 13, 2022
Where We Find Life — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 6, 2022
The Promised Healing — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
January 30, 2022
Outside of Ourselves — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 23, 2022
Water Jars Worth Leaving — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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The First Sunday after the Epiphany
January 9, 2022
Hidden Revelation — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from Christmas
January 2, 2022
The Second Sunday of Christmas
An Invation to Investigation — Sermon by Janet Cleland
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December 26, 2021
The First Sunday of Christmas
Jesus and the Sin of the World — Sermon by Matt Marston
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