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.

Read More

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 the Season After Pentecost

September 10, 2023
The 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Unexpected Mercy– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

August 27, 2023
The 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Sharing the Gospel– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

August 20, 2023
The 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Sinning and Trusting Boldly– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

August 13, 2023
The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Gift, Not the Law– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

August 6, 2023
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Good News, Not a Good Deal– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

July 30, 2023
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

God’s Love and Romantic Love– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

July 23, 2023
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Is God a Celebrity?– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

July 16, 2023
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Kingdom Clothes– Sermon by Emily Harbin
PLAY SERMON

July 9, 2023
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Long Live the King?– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

July 2, 2023
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Good For You — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

Loving Truth — Sermon by Gerald Wright
PLAY SERMON

June 25, 2023
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Sexuality and Community — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

Establishing Boundaries Around Property, Ideas and Services — Sermon by Michael Helms
PLAY SERMON

June 18, 2023
The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Even When No One is Looking — Sermon by Frank Granger
PLAY SERMON

“279” — Sermon by Mike Cleland
PLAY SERMON

June 11, 2023
The Second Sunday after Pentecost

What’s in a Name? — Sermon by Emily Harbin
PLAY SERMON

Worship as Rest — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

June 4, 2023
The First Sunday after Pentecost

Gotta Serve Somebody — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

Idols in 2023 — Sermon by Howard Germany
PLAY SERMON

May 28, 2023
Day of Pentecost

Feeling the Spirit — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

Sermons from Easter

May 21, 2023
The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Does God Require Blood? — sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

May 14, 2023
The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Life By Drowning — sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

May 7, 2023
Children’s Sunday

How Much Does God Love the World? — sermon by Janet Cleland and the Sixth Grade Children
PLAY SERMON

April 30, 2023
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

A New Community — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

April 24, 2023
The Third Sunday of Easter

Holy Nudges — Sermon by Dan Randall
PLAY SERMON

April 16, 2023
The Second Sunday of Easter

Proper Confidence — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

April 9, 2023
Easter

In the Present Tense — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

 

Sermons from Lent

Good Friday
April 7, 2023

Forgiving God — Sermon by Emily Harbin

PLAY SERMON

Maundy Thursday
April 6, 2023

Good to Be Born? — Sermon by Matt Marston

PLAY SERMON

The Sixth Sunday in Lent/Palm Sunday
April 2, 2023

Loved to Death — Sermon by Matt Marston

PLAY SERMON

The Fifth Sunday in Lent/Youth Sunday
March 26, 2023

Facing Uncertainty — Sermon by Nick Bailey and Addison Aycock

PLAY SERMON

The Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 19, 2023

A Heck of a Surprise — Sermon by Matt Marston

PLAY SERMON

The Third Sunday in Lent
March 12, 2023

The Judgment of Grace — Sermon by Matt Marston

PLAY SERMON

The Second Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2023

The Irritation of Grace — Sermon by Matt Marston

PLAY SERMON

The First Sunday in Lent
February 26, 2023

The Fragility of Forgiveness — Sermon by Emily Harbin

PLAY SERMON

 

Sermons from Epiphany

Transfiguration Sunday
February 19, 2023

Highs and Lows — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
February 12, 2023

The World as it Is — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 5, 2023

Love is a Narrow Way– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 29, 2023

Living Permanently in a Temporary World– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 22, 2023

Blessed are the Double Agents– Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 15, 2023

Temptation Unveiled — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

The First Sunday after Epiphany
January 8, 2023

A Surprise Baptism — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON

Epiphany Sunday
January 1, 2023

Following the Stars — Sermon by Emily Harbin
PLAY SERMON

 

Sermons from Advent 2022

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2022

PLAY SERVICE

Festival of Lessons and Carols
December 18, 2022

PLAY SERVICE

The Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2022

Beyond the Shadows  — Sermon by Emily Harbin
PLAY SERMON

The First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022

More Light and More Truth  — Sermon by Matt Marston
PLAY SERMON