Sermon Archives December 30, 2018 – October 7, 2018

First Sunday after Christmas
12/30/18
The Light of Christ
As we approach a new year the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo offers that “…it is a good time to step out into the light and to let the light shine in the dark places of our hearts and fears…The light of God is the light of love and healing, it shines, and the darkness did not overcome
it..”
Read it.

Christmas Eve
12/24/18 (5pm)
Yes, Virginia….
It’s Christmas Eve and the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo has the temerity to ask and even offer proof there is a Santa Claus, stating that “….nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world….[she continues] God bless you with a deep, profound yet childlike faith this Christmas Eve. Merry
Christmas!”
Read it.

Fourth Sunday of Advent
12/23/18
Rejoice!
In his final Advent sermon, the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves focuses on the joy of the Christmas season, and asks “let’s look to rejoice this Christmas to look past the frivolity and the sentimentality and to see the wonderfully profound truth that in this baby Jesus, God has made himself
known.”
Read it.

Third Sunday of Advent
12/16/18
The Prophet Mary
On this Rose Sunday in Advent the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo challenges our sometimes tame and safe depictions of Mary by examining her prophetic words in the Magnificat, words that “…demand our attention…burden us…[and] challenge the powers of this world when our culture gets entangled in oppression and the degradation of those
we’ve been called to protect and advocate for.”
Read it.

Second Sunday of Advent
12/9/18
Is it well with our souls?
Diving deeper into the meaning of Advent, the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves asks tough questions and urges “Let’s use this advent season to take an honest look at ourselves, to see where we need to repent, to guard against those areas of complacency, safe in the knowledge that we are a loved and forgiven
people.”
Read it.

First Sunday of Advent
12/2/18
Your spiritual DMV!
Drawing from real life experiences the Rev’d. D. Rebecca Dinovo leads us into the season of Advent with humor and purpose, asking us to “Wait on God and don’t lose hope, embrace patient waiting as a spiritual practice as you engage others in those sometimes very long lines of
life.”
Read it.

Christ the King Sunday
11/25/18
A King like no other
On the Feast of Christ the King the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves explores a Kingship like no other, and advises that as we paint the picture of our lives, we “…not forget to begin with the most important character, to put Jesus, the King of Kings, in the center — to start there, and then all the other details will fall into
place.”
Read it.

Thanksgiving Day
11/22/18
Blessed  Mommy Minister
Trying to see yourself through others eyes is the subject of the Rev’d D. Rebecca Dinovo’s message this Thanksgiving day. Relating personal stories, Mo. Rebecca suggests that “Today is a great day to count those blessings, to step outside yourself and see what others see when they look at the blessings you
have.”
Read it.

The 26th Sunday of Pentecost
11/18/18
The Faith Muscle
After a week of human loss at our church and widespread suffering in both our state and world, the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves looks to the twin themes of anguish and hope that the nearing Advent season brings, and gives us simple guidelines on nurturing the faith that “…enables us to steer a path through this world with its pain
and its sadness.”
Read it.

The Commemoration of All Souls
11/11/18
Remember Me!
On this Commemoration of All Souls, coincident with both Veteran’s Day and Remembrance Day, the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves surveys the many ways we seem to forget God, and posits that God came in Christ to say, “You’ve forgotten me, so I’m going to come in a way that you’ll never 
forget.”
Read it.

The Feast of All Saints’ Day
11/4/18
After a week where we’ve seen unspeakable evil visited upon our brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh The Rev’d. D. Rebecca Dinovo invites us to ponder the power of resurrection that calls us “…to be saints in God’s Kingdom, a Kingdom where death cannot hold us, a Kingdom where death cannot contain God’s
people.”
Read it.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
10/28/18 (7:30am service)
Christ the Pioneer
At the early service the Rev’d Mark Hargreaves, referring to the epistle to the Hebrews, discusses how Christ is described as a pioneer leading us to God, and that the journey is not always easy, concluding “So let us strive for perseverance, to follow Jesus, the pioneer of our
faith.”
Read it.

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
10/28/18 (10am service)
Speaking Truth in Love
At the later service Andrew Holden, freshly returned from two weeks at SUMMA Theological Debate Camp, describes his experiences there, and picking up on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Church in Ephesus, allows as how in this contentious time we can ”Through speaking the truth in love, …mature as
humans and as Christians, allowing ourselves to grow closer to God and to be part of the body of people built by love, this church.”
Read it.

Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
10/21/18
Planting Seed Corn
Visiting us this Sunday from Agape House at SDSU, the Rev’d Darin Johnson opens a window into that ministry, illuminates their relevancy to today’s students,  and encourages us to have the “wisdom that a harvest cannot come if we eat the seed instead of plant
it.”
Read it.

Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
10/14/18 
Finding Grace
If you think God’s grace is so hard to receive, try doing nothing.
That’s the message from the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves as he explores this great topic: “…grace precedes our practice of the good works that come from following Jesus. Grace is an inspiration for us to follow Jesus
more closely…”
Read it.
 

Feast of St. Francis
10/7/18 (7:30 service)
Crazy Stuff…
At the early service celebrating the Feast of St. Francis the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves catalogues a litany of crazy things we observe of St. Francis, St. Paul, Jesus, and even God, concluding with St. Paul that “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. And God’s weakness is stronger than human
strength.”
Read it.

Feast of St. Francis
10/7/18 (10:00 service)
…For the Birds
And at the later service, in a sanctuary full of men, women, children, and many beasts, the Rev’d. Mark Hargreaves celebrates those many birds to whom St. Francis preached, demonstrating how “They show us about living a worry-free life, and…teach us how much God loves
us”.
Read it.