View Archived Sermons Shaped by Testing Our theme for Lent this year is Becoming Human: Called and Shaped by Jesus. And then the title for our first Sunday as given to us by our Leader materials, the resources we are using to guide our worship planning, is “Shaped by Testing,” Please note the top of your bulletin.Shaped by Jesus? Shaped by Testing? This lack of alignment between Shaped by Jesus and shaped by testing caused me to wonder, “is…
View Archived Sermons Lent II. During Lent this year, we have chosen to preach from this Lectern, instead of the pulpit and I must admit, it makes me feel a bit more exposed. And for a time, maybe that’s a good thing.This sermon is going to feel a bit like that as well, as I choose to share that lately I’ve felt a bit more in the dark than I have in a while. I share that…
View Archived Sermons New! Listen to this Sermon The letter to the Ephesians: This has been our focus text as a church since Christmas and though there are many different ways to approach a series our approach to this text has not been systematic. We didn’t exegete specific texts. We didn’t divide it up into parts to be sure we focused on the entire letter. We didn’t preach on it every Sunday – or five or…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Fred was a robust man who was everyone’s friend at church. Every Sunday morning after worship, he would greet me, a little boy, with a huge smile: “vel, Timoteus, how are ve?” A grandfather figure, he exuded warmth; I could feel that he cared about me, even when he teased me. He spoke with a German accent that was quite different from that of my rural…
View Archived Sermons New! Listen to this sermon Sermon #1: To What or Whom Do We Listen? – J .D. Penner – Feb. 6, 2011 Ephesians 4:14-16 The late Elmer Iseler was a man of few words. Some who may not have worked with him might have thought this strange, seeing as he was a conductor of great skill and ability. But for those who sang or played under him, one quickly realized that his…
View Archived Sermons New! Listen to this Sermon Text: Ephesians 4: 25 – 5:2 IntroductionSome momentous events occurred this week. On Monday, US President Obama gave his State of the Union Address to a packed Congress. Perhaps the most significant was to see Democrats and Republicans sitting inter-mingled together, rather than in groups where they could taunt each other. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Harper arrived in Morroco and got a first hand education on what the…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Jeremiah 29: 4-7 What are the three most important things to consider when looking for and purchasing real estate? Location, location, location. And what is the point of this cliché? It matters where you are. It matters how you understand where you are. And these things matter because somehow our lives are less anxious and more meaningful when there is some congruence between our location and…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Ephesians 4:1-16 I’ve heard the story and maybe you have too of a pastor who could not – try as he might come up with anything to say as he worked diligently throughout the week on his sermon. This is every pastor or preacher’s worst nightmare. Each time I prepare a sermon I pray that the Holy Spirit might gift me with the words I need, or…
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