Sermons Sept. 29-July 7, 2019

Sunday, Pentecost 16
9/29/19
Dare to Hope
Completing our sermon series on the Prophet Jeremiah the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves explains Jeremiah’s new found hope, contrasts it from unthinking optimism, and asks “Let us dare to look at the despair and injustice of the world and not be content to say, ‘Oh, it’ll be all okay in the end.’ Rather, let us strive to work with God on the
side of the angels and work to establish the Kingdom that will one day be built amongst us.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 15
9/22/19
Balm in Gilead
Continuing our series on the Prophet Jeremiah the Rev’d Dr. Mark Hargreaves explores “how we express deep, raw, negative emotions such as grief, anger, and the desire for revenge …” and concludes that “… in the tears and passion of honest lament, we meet God and faith is forged and shaped by an improbable but stubborn hope.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 14
9/15/19
Season of Invitation
On this Rally Sunday the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves continues his survey of the prophet Jeremiah, but shows us in the New Testament that the Old Testament prophets didn’t have the last word. With St. James now launching a Season of Invitation, Fr. Mark asks us to “think who might we invite to share…Who are we sharing the good news that we
see proclaimed throughout the whole of scripture?” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 13
9/8/19
Clay in the Potter’s Hands
Continuing our sermon series on Jeremiah the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo shares some striking personal experiences to relate how God molds us into the people we are, allowing that “When we let the Creator meld us, we learn who we really are and we discover our true identities.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 12
9/1/19
Crystal Clear Water
Just back from vacation, the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves continues our series on the 
Prophet Jeremiah’s disdain for the ways in which the people of Israel have strayed from God, and asks us to look for parallels in our own lives, suggesting “let’s listen to the booming voice of Jeremiah speaking to us across the centuries, and let us
leave our cisterns alone and seek only Jesus, the source of living spring, spiritual water.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 11
8/25/19
God Is the DJ
Launching a sermon series on the prophet Jeremiah and commenting on how the young Jeremiah was called, the Rev’d. D. Rebecca Dinovo notes that “We are all called by God. Every one of us, according to God’s purposes for us. What are God’s purposes for you?”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 10
8/18/19
Baptism of Fire
Today’s passage from Luke describes a fierce Jesus ready to bring fire and division upon his people. The Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo unpacks this challenging text, and concludes that “Jesus calls us to interpret the present time and see that false peace is not the way forward. God’s peace, achieved through self-giving love, must be
our goal as individuals, families, communities, and nations.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 9
8/11/19
Fear vs. Faith
At a time when society is driven in many ways by fear, the Rev’d. D. Rebecca Dinovo points us instead in the direction of faith: “When we let go of fear and step out in faith, God goes with us. We can afford to take risks, we can afford to be generous, we can afford to share, we can afford to step out into the unknown…and in doing so, experience
life more abundantly.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 8
8/4/19
What to do? Ask God. 
On a weekend punctuated once again by unspeakable violence in Texas and Ohio, the lessons for the day are rich with God lamenting the waywardness of his people. The Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo offers that “…we are forced to reckon with the fact that we have a calling and even an uncomfortable responsibility as
people of God to respond
in word or deed. As the Church and as individuals, 
Scripture invites us to ask today: “What would you have us do, God?” “And then,” she says, “be ready to do it. I don’t have all the answers, none of us do,
​but God does.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 7
7/28/19
St. James the Greater
Celebrating St. James Day the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves talks about what we know of James, and how he came to be associated with the cathedral of
Santiago de Compostela and pilgrimage. He prays “May we come to see ourselves as a band of pilgrims, each with our own strengths and weaknesses, supporting and serving one another as we
seek to head together in the direction of God’s kingdom.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 6
7/21/19
What Do You See?
How is it that Amos and God saw things so differently? The Rev’d Mark Hargreaves asks us to pay attention to how we see things and how God may see things, and “…the good place to start that…is to look at the person of Jesus Christ…When we make that shift and see Jesus as the New Testament writers see him, we’ll be on our way to seeing
the world as God sees it.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 5
7/14/19 
Checking for Plumb
The priests in the Bible often have it all wrong. Taking today’s Old and New 
Testament readings the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves uses the prophet Amos’ plumb line and Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan to illuminate that “We can all be ready and expectant to be used by God. We all have a part to play in developing God’s Kingdom.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 4
7/7/19
Keep It Simple
Naaman the great Syrian commander elaborately journeys to the king of Israel to seek a cure for his leprosy and is astonished by the prophet Elisha when told all he needs to do is wash seven times in the Jordan River. The Rev’d Mark Hargreaves uses this Old Testament story to illustrate St. Paul’s point that we are saved by God’s grace
alone: “It’s a simple message … the faith which unites us is deep and simple. And I pray that we, like Naaman, find in God the cleansing and the healing which only He can bring.” Read now.