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 the Season After Pentecost
September 10, 2023
The 15th Sunday after Pentecost
Unexpected Mercy– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 27, 2023
The 13th Sunday after Pentecost
Sharing the Gospel– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 20, 2023
The 12th Sunday after Pentecost
Sinning and Trusting Boldly– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 13, 2023
The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Gift, Not the Law– Sermon by Matt Marston
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August 6, 2023
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Good News, Not a Good Deal– Sermon by Matt Marston
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July 30, 2023
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
God’s Love and Romantic Love– Sermon by Matt Marston
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July 23, 2023
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Is God a Celebrity?– Sermon by Matt Marston
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July 16, 2023
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Kingdom Clothes– Sermon by Emily Harbin
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July 9, 2023
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Long Live the King?– Sermon by Matt Marston
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July 2, 2023
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Good For You — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Loving Truth — Sermon by Gerald Wright
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June 25, 2023
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Sexuality and Community — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Establishing Boundaries Around Property, Ideas and Services — Sermon by Michael Helms
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June 18, 2023
The Third Sunday after Pentecost
Even When No One is Looking — Sermon by Frank Granger
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“279” — Sermon by Mike Cleland
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June 11, 2023
The Second Sunday after Pentecost
What’s in a Name? — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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Worship as Rest — Sermon by Matt Marston
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June 4, 2023
The First Sunday after Pentecost
Gotta Serve Somebody — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Idols in 2023 — Sermon by Howard Germany
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May 28, 2023
Day of Pentecost
Feeling the Spirit — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from Easter
May 21, 2023
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
Does God Require Blood? — sermon by Matt Marston
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May 14, 2023
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Life By Drowning — sermon by Matt Marston
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May 7, 2023
Children’s Sunday
How Much Does God Love the World? — sermon by Janet Cleland and the Sixth Grade Children
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April 30, 2023
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
A New Community — Sermon by Matt Marston
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April 24, 2023
The Third Sunday of Easter
Holy Nudges — Sermon by Dan Randall
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April 16, 2023
The Second Sunday of Easter
Proper Confidence — Sermon by Matt Marston
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April 9, 2023
Easter
In the Present Tense — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Sermons from Lent
Good Friday
April 7, 2023
Forgiving God — Sermon by Emily Harbin
Maundy Thursday
April 6, 2023
Good to Be Born? — Sermon by Matt Marston
The Sixth Sunday in Lent/Palm Sunday
April 2, 2023
Loved to Death — Sermon by Matt Marston
The Fifth Sunday in Lent/Youth Sunday
March 26, 2023
Facing Uncertainty — Sermon by Nick Bailey and Addison Aycock
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 19, 2023
A Heck of a Surprise — Sermon by Matt Marston
The Third Sunday in Lent
March 12, 2023
The Judgment of Grace — Sermon by Matt Marston
The Second Sunday in Lent
March 5, 2023
The Irritation of Grace — Sermon by Matt Marston
The First Sunday in Lent
February 26, 2023
The Fragility of Forgiveness — Sermon by Emily Harbin
Sermons from Epiphany
Transfiguration Sunday
February 19, 2023
Highs and Lows — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
February 12, 2023
The World as it Is — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 5, 2023
Love is a Narrow Way– Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 29, 2023
Living Permanently in a Temporary World– Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 22, 2023
Blessed are the Double Agents– Sermon by Matt Marston
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The Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 15, 2023
Temptation Unveiled — Sermon by Matt Marston
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The First Sunday after Epiphany
January 8, 2023
A Surprise Baptism — Sermon by Matt Marston
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Epiphany Sunday
January 1, 2023
Following the Stars — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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Sermons from Advent 2022
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2022
Festival of Lessons and Carols
December 18, 2022
The Second Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2022
Beyond the Shadows — Sermon by Emily Harbin
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The First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022
More Light and More Truth — Sermon by Matt Marston
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