LIVING AND SHARING THE GOSPEL
The theme this week is what God’s grace looks like in our world. Our sermon text, from James chapter 5, emphasizes the value of community, especially in response to suffering (our own and others’). James helps us understand the role of prayer in a world where beautiful and terrible things can and do happen, as well […]
Monday Reverb – 27September2021 Read More »
Beautiful and Terrible Things James 5:13-20 (NRSV) You probably are familiar with the parable of the mustard seed in Mark 4:30 where Jesus compared the kingdom of God and the way the gospel spreads to a mustard seed. You might not know that there is a Buddhist parable also called the parable of the mustard seed, and it
GCI Sermon – September 26, 2021 Read More »
Wisdom from the Brother of Jesus James 3:13-18; 4:3, 7-8 ESV You wonder if the sight was familiar to him. Maybe he’d once watched his brother up there on that pinnacle—hesitating, talking to someone. Now he was there himself. This was the end of life for the apostle James. He was led here by an
GCI Sermon – September 19, 2021 Read More »
Taming the Tongue James 3:1-12 We recently commemorated the 20th anniversary of 9/11, a tragic day for America and the world. The hijacking of four passenger planes by terrorists on September 11, 2001, resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people, 6,000 injuries, $700M of damage to the Pentagon, and the loss of the Twin Towers.
GCI Sermon – September 12, 2021 Read More »
The Shabby Clothes of Christ James 2:1-17 ESV “All the crème de la crème watching us watching them.” This is the crowning line of the song “Masquerade” in the musical Phantom of the Opera. The song appears when the arrogant aristocrats throw a masked ball to show off their wealth and indulgence with no
GCI Sermon – September 5, 2021 Read More »
Do Not Be Deceived James 1:16-27 (ESV) 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[a] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of
GCI Sermon – August 29, 2021 Read More »
The Second-Hand Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-20 One of the runaway hits of 2021 is the Disney series The Mandalorian. This science-fiction saga set in the Star Wars universe follows the nearly silent Mandalorian bounty hunter on his adventures through space. This warrior strikes quite an image, and the first thing you notice is
GCI Sermon – August 22, 2021 Read More »
Choose Wisely Ephesians 5:15-20 The 1993 movie Groundhog Day features actor Bill Murray as TV weatherman Phil Connors who becomes snowbound in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day. If that weren’t bad enough, he becomes caught in a time loop where he repeats Groundhog Day (Feb. 2) over and over. The original script for the
GCI Sermon – August 15, 2021 Read More »
Listening to That Other Voice Ephesians 4:25-5:2 ESV We’ve all been through transitions. Some of them were scary, some exciting, some disappointing, but all of us went through them. Think about that moment—the first time you put on your Army fatigues and crawled into that creaky bunk. That first job when you learned the
GCI Sermon – August 8, 2021 Read More »
Making Every Effort Ephesians 4:1-16 Recently, a major news outlet featured an article about the significant political divisions in America. The journalist spotlighted a mother who was told by her son that he would never speak to her again because of the presidential candidate for whom she voted. It seems wrong that an ideology would
GCI Sermon – August 1, 2021 Read More »