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 We often experience darkness as a negative - the absence of light. But throughout Scripture, God meets people in the middle of the dark. And it is often there, in the beauty of the dark, that God's love and grace are revealed.This Advent, we are invited to experience Hope in the Dark.Texts this week: Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 1:46-55

 We often experience darkness as a negative - the absence of light. But throughout Scripture, God meets people in the middle of the dark. And it is often there, in the beauty of the dark, that God's love and grace are revealed.This Advent, we are invited to experience Hope in the Dark.Texts this week: Genesis 37:5-11, Acts 2:14-21, Matthew 1:18-24

 We often experience darkness as a negative - the absence of light. But throughout Scripture, God meets people in the middle of the dark. And it is often there, in the beauty of the dark, that God's love and grace are revealed.This Advent, we are invited to experience Hope in the Dark.Texts this week: Genesis 15:1-21 and John 20:1-16

We often experience darkness as a negative - the absence of light. But throughout Scripture, God meets people in the middle of the dark. And it is often there, in the beauty of the dark, that God's love and grace are revealed.This Advent, we are invited to experience Hope in the Dark.Texts this week: Genesis 1:1-5, Song of Songs 1:2-6, and Exodus 20:18-21

In our latest worship series we are looking at the stories that Jesus told - the parables that are so familiar to many of them. In this first sermon in the series, we hear the explanation that Jesus himself offered for the parables, Matthew 13:10-17. This passage gives us an invitation to dig deeper in our reading of all the parables, to read them with fresh eyes. 

 What if now - in the middle of all that is happening - is the perfect time to be a community of faith? What if THIS is exactly what God has called us for? Together we dig deep into the story of Esther and discover the ways God is working behind the scenes in our lives. This week, we are looking at Chapters 7-9 of the Book of Esther   

  What if now - in the middle of all that is happening - is the perfect time to be a community of faith? What if THIS is exactly what God has called us for? Together we dig deep into the story of Esther and discover the ways God is working behind the scenes in our lives. This week, we are looking at Chapters 5&6 of the Book of Esther  

 What if now - in the middle of all that is happening - is the perfect time to be a community of faith? What if THIS is exactly what God has called us for? Together we dig deep into the story of Esther and discover the ways God is working behind the scenes in our lives. This week, we are looking at Chapters 3 & 4 of the Book of Esther 

What if now - in the middle of all that is happening - is the perfect time to be a community of faith? What if THIS is exactly what God has called us for? Together we dig deep into the story of Esther and discover the ways God is working behind the scenes in our lives. This week, we are looking at Chapters 1 & 2 of the Book of Esther

Unprecedented. Unforeseen. Extraordinary. Unparalleled.To say that 2020 has been weird is like saying that Michael Jordan was a "pretty good" basketball player. It seems as though normal - the normal we expected and anticipated for our lives this year, the normal we have come to count on - normal has died. What does this mean for our lives and our faith. Texts for this Sunday include John 11Follow us on facebook for our weekly livestream. 

What does the day of Pentecost say to us in the middle of a respiratory crisis; on the week that George Floyd was murdered and said "I can't breathe"? What does it mean when the crucified one - who was killed in a legal, brutal, public execution comes back and breathes on the disciples? Texts this week are Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23. Our primary recording had a glitch this week, so the audio is from our backup recording with more ambient sound. 

More Unsung Heroes of Scripture! The faithful women and men whose stories we often overlook when we read the Bible. Today we encounter Onesimus - A reminder that God remembers our names, and calls us to lives of purposeYou can read the story of Onesimus in the book of Philemon

The last sermon from our Unsung Heroes of Scripture series. The story of the women who followed Jesus is one of the most consistently overlooked stories of the Bible - a story of faithful compassion, service, and generosity. Our Scripture for the day was Luke 8:1-3 and Matthew 27:54-56, 28:1-8

 We are continuing to look at the Unsung Heroes of Scripture - the faithful women and men whose stories we often overlook when we read the Bible. Today we encounter Ananias - a faithful disciple who loved when it was hard, loved another who did not deserve his love. You can read the story of Ananias in Acts 9:1-22

We are continuing to look at the Unsung Heroes of Scripture - the faithful women and men whose stories we often overlook when we read the Bible. Today we encounter Shiphrah & Puah - women who show us the power of ordinary people in the face of the trial of life. You can read the story of Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1(Once again I am indebted to the insights of Dr. Wil Gafney) 

 Today we begin looking at the Unsung Heroes of Scripture - the faithful women and men whose stories we often overlook when we read the Bible. Our first Unsung Hero is Hagar - the slave who is overlooked and forgotten. Encounter in her story a new name for God. Read the story of Hagar in Genesis 16. (Cited in this sermon is the work of Dr. Wil Gafney)

We all have questions. Today, with Thomas the Apostle, we bring forward some of our questions. We tackle all sorts of little topics in this sermon: the Trinity, suffering, baptism, the role of Judas, and the classic: Will pets go to heaven. Listen as we wrestle with these questions - and wonder: What would you like to learn more about as you grow in relationship with God this year? 

What does Easter mean for us while we are socially distanced and isolated from one another? How do we celebrate Easter behind closed doors? Text: Mark 16:1-8

Sermon for the Sunrise Service on Easter morning. Texts included Genesis 8:13-18, 9:8-13; Exodus 14:10-14, 21-31; 15:20-21; Romans 6:3-11; and John 20:1-18 Musical reflection: Wade in the Water, performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock

Good Friday 2020 - a sermon preached during the Holy Week of quarantine, to and with the people of Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church. An image of Mattias Gunewald's Isenheim Altarpiece discussed in the sermon can be seen here.