Sermons Dec. 29, - Oct. 6, 2019 - St James by-the-Sea

Sunday, Christmas 1
12/29/19
Words Matter
Unpacking John’s Christmas gospel reading, trying to put into words the concept of God (The Word; “logos” in Greek) becoming flesh (“sarx” in Greek) is the subject of today’s sermon by the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo. Read
now.

Wednesday, Christmas Day
Learn to receive
12/25/19
Why do we often find it difficult to receive Christ? And if we do receive Him, why is it just at Christmas, wrapping Him back up and putting Him away until this time next year? The Rev’d Mark Hargreaves emphasizes that “….His life gives us hope and the promise of new life in Him … The gift available to all people if they simply receive
it. So let us be people who receive that gift and not leave God’s gift of Himself all wrapped up.” Read now.

Tuesday, Christmas Eve
Taking Jesus home
12/24/19
With a somewhat humorous take on religious petty thievery the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves leads us to understand “We don’t come to church on Christmas Eve just to remember a birth from a long time ago…We’re meeting to celebrate the fact that this child grew up, and won for us the promise of new life…and still lives with us by his spirit.”
Read now.

Sunday, Advent 4
12/22/19
Christmas Deliveries
At a time when frenzied postal workers are busy delivering presents for Christmas, the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves looks to today’s gospel reading from Matthew 1:18-25 to point out three far more significant deliveries: “…a message, …a baby, and deliverance from sin.”
Read now.

Sunday Evening, Festival of Lessons & Carols
12/15/19
Keep Christmas Strange
In his homily at our Lessons and Carols service the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves notes that “…many of us, have Christmas celebrations that are comfortable in their
familiarity.” He on the other hand wants us to keep Christmas strange, as this is no ordinary birth, and this is no ordinary baby we
are celebrating. Read now.

Sunday Morning, Advent 3
12/15/19
No Loitering
On this Rose Sunday the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves draws parallels between Mary’s waiting for the Christ’s birth, to our waiting for Jesus second coming at the end of time. But this waiting isn’t simply loitering, it is waiting with a purpose. He says “Just as surfers pay attention to the movement of the waves, so we must strive to pay attention
to the movement of God by his spirit in our lives.” Read now.

Sunday, Advent 2
12/8/19
Prepare
Walking further into the Advent season the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo talks to us about the choices we make, big and small, each day, that shape our lives, and how “advent is really an incredibly gracious invitation to….prepare the way of the Lord, to accompany God in the work of burning away the chaff of all that opposes God in our lives and our world, and to just
make choices that bear fruit, one day at a time.” Read now.

Sunday, Advent 1
12/1/19
Are You Ready?
Kicking off our season of Advent the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves turns our attention to the second coming of Christ and how well we’re preparing for that day. “We’re called to wager our very lives on the good news of Jesus and of his new kingdom.” Are you ready?
Read now.

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day
11/28/19
Great Thanksgivings
The Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo uses our national Thanksgiving holiday to explore the cultural history and habit of giving thanks (or not), asking “why are we so quick to ask for things and slower to give thanks? Why is gratitude so often an afterthought?” Instead of us staying silent, she gives us six concrete steps to bring a voice to
Thanksgiving in our daily lives. Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 24 (Christ the King)
11/24/19
King Jesus
Celebrating the Feast of Christ the King provides the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves the
opportunity to explore the power that Jesus wielded, and how it differs from the
kinds of power we normally associate with kings of this world. He encourages us “to be a people of power
who exercise that power in the same way that our King Jesus did, a power to be transformed and a power to serve others and to be a transforming presence in the world.” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 23
11/17/19
Embracing Uncertainty
Using today’s fairly apocalyptic gospel reading from St. Luke, the Rev’d Mark
Hargreaves discusses the topics of certainty, faith, and uncertainty, and urges us
to learn to embrace uncertainty as a foundation of faith: “We might even find that as we dare to let go of those temples … we start to grow and become people who
truly live by faith …” Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 22
11/10/19
Service Above Self
On this Veteran’s Day The Rev’d Mark Hargreaves honors service to country, and
through the lessons for the day extends an invitation beyond that to service to the kingdom of God: “Our purpose is not simply fulfilling our dreams. Our true purpose emerges as we align ourselves with God’s Kingdom.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 21, All Saints
11/3/19
Sainthood
In today’s celebration of the Feast of All Saints, the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo
reviews for us the many qualities we think of when we speak of the Saints. But she asks to go further, to “Allow God, and God alone, to fill the empty places in your heart with love, and in so doing, find that you too, are a saint.”
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 20
10/27/19
Youth Sunday
On this Youth Sunday we were lead in worship by many in our vibrant Youth Program, including impressive speakers Michael Kozma and Charlotte Dinovo who both addressed the issues in our day’s Bible readings through their eyes.
Read now.

Sunday, Pentecost 19
10/20/19
Heart Writing
Finishing our series on the prophet Jeremiah the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves leaves us with the promise of a New Covenant, one written not on stone tablets, but on our hearts: “We are all included in God’s new covenant. We are the people who know God, whose sins are forgiven, and whose hearts are inscribed by God.”
Read now.

Sunday Pentecost 18
10/13/19
God’s Plan for Your Exile
Back with the Prophet Jeremiah, the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves uses the Babylonian exile to illuminate the many exiles in which we might find ourselves, asking us to “…take a moment to reflect on our lives. Where have we been in exile? Maybe we feel as if we’re in exile now. Do we feel as if God has a plan for us?”
Read now.

Sunday, Feast of St. Francis, Pentecost 17
10/6/19
It’s crazy
On this crazy day in church when we invite all manner of animals to be blessed, the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves strikes a parallel with the craziness of St. Francis, St.
Paul, and even us at St. James. So when you come to think about it, maybe it’s not so crazy. Just maybe “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom
and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Read now.