The Good News isn’t just for Sundays.

 

Sunday, September 13, 2026

September 13, 2026 - Miriam who?

Okay, Moses did lead his people out of Egypt. But he didn’t do it alone—there were plenty of others involved. And so it is with us at St. James. The Rev. Abby VanderBrug invites us to learn how your unique gifts fit perfectly into the body of Christ, and why you don't have to be a 'Moses' to make a big difference.
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Sunday, September 6, 2026

September 6, 2026 - The Blood of the Lamb

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves explores Exodus’s Passover story, emphasizing blood sacrifice’s significance, its biblical roots, and its connection to Jesus’ sacrifice. It highlights sacrifice as transformation, not appeasement, and underscores remembrance in the Eucharist, shaping Christian identity as redeemed through Christ’s blood. The focus is on understanding sacrifice’s spiritual meaning beyond literal interpretation.
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Sunday, August 30, 2026

August 30, 2026 - Noticing God

God needed to put a blazing bush in Moses’ way to get his attention. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves asks “…what is the equivalent for us of the blazing bush? God is continually reaching out to his people in many and various ways. Are we curious? Do we notice?”
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Sunday, August 23, 2026

August 23, 2026 - Who Are You?

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves starts a series of sermons keyed to the Moses story from Exodus, and today he examines the question of who we are, the courage displayed by Shiphrah and Puah, and the part we’re here to play: “God works out the salvation of His people through…ordinary people doing their part. We all have a part to play.”
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Sunday, August 16, 2026

August 16, 2026 - Learning to Trust

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves talks to us about Psalm 37 “Do not fret…” as a window into the practicalities of learning how to trust in God.
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Sunday, August 9, 2026

August 9, 2026 - Life's Storms

Jesus called to Peter to get out of the boat and walk on water. And he did, but then he noticed the storm around him. In an intensely personal story, the Rev. Nicole Simopoulos-Pigato asks us “…what storm are you navigating right now in your life,…and whose voice do you hear calling to you through the wind?”

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Sunday, August 2, 2026

August 2, 2026 - Carrying the Baskets

The Rev. Abby VanderBrug preaches on the parable of the feeding of the 5000. Christ performed that miracle, but today, just like the disciples then, “Christ still asks us to carry the baskets, to get out there and to do our part of the miracle. We can be nourishment for our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
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Sunday, July 26, 2026

July 26, 2026 - The Power of Love

All our readings today demonstrate the power of love in so many ways. The Rev. Abby VanderBrug allows that “When we discover the treasure of God's Kingdom, we don't lose everything, we finally understand what everything is worth.”

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Sunday, July 19, 2026

July 19, 2026 - Gardening and Faith

Commenting on Jesus’ parable and the example set by Jacob in our readings for the day, the Rev. Abby VanderBrug offers that “We don't need a perfect field. We just need to keep our eyes and hearts on being good soil. And we simply need to keep returning to God with the life that we have with what we've been given, trusting that the gardener is already at work.”

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Sunday, July 12, 2026

July 12, 2026 - Studies in Contrast

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves examines the contrasts St. Paul and Jesus draw in our readings for today. Are we growing toward God, or away from God? What kind of soil are we cultivating: “…what might you do to improve the fertility of the soil in your heart so that faith can grow and develop in you?”

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Sunday, July 5, 2026

July 5, 2026 - Defining Greatness

This Sunday we celebrated St. James Day and heard of James and John cluelessly lobbying Jesus for status. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves shows us how Jesus sets them straight, explaining that “ Jesus is saying your greatness is not measured by how many people serve you, but whom you serve.”
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Sunday, June 28, 2026

June 28, 2026 - Here I Am

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves takes on the incredibly difficult and troubling story of Abraham and Isaac: “…it's all consuming, bewildering, indescribable…But [it] helps us to understand. God says, ‘There is nothing more important than you.’ "
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Sunday, June 21, 2026

June 21, 2026 - Hagar's Time

Abraham banished Hagar and Ishmael, but God came to her rescue. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves explains that “…divine love extends to all people…There are no limits to God's love. No one, no people are outside the bounds of God's concern, and kindness, and love.”
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Sunday, June 14, 2026 (8am)

June 14, 2026 - Joy and Laughter

In our Genesis reading today, God presents Abraham and Sarah with a lot of laughs. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves encourages us to enjoy that laughter: “…go out and enjoy life, pursue joy knowing that…It's an invitation to serve, to look out for others, and to savor the gifts that God has given us in this beautiful world and to respond to Him in praise and worship.”
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Sunday, June 14, 2026 (10am)

June 14, 2026 - Jesus' Team

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves takes a coach’s inspiration from this year’s baseball themed Vacation Bible School: “We are part of the team that Jesus sends out and equips to do his work in the world. Let us be bold and fearless members of that team.”
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Sunday, June 7, 2026

June 7, 2026 - What if?

Fear has held back many a soul. The Rev. Abby VanderBrug explores how Abram must have felt after receiving marching orders from God, but how he nevertheless stepped into the unknown: “God is not limited by our assessment of ourselves because God sees much more than our fears…”
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Sunday, May 31, 2026

May 31, 2026 - Truth and Mystery

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves dives into the Trinity “…with great humility, recognizing that the truth and the mystery of God is always beyond us…The Trinity is at heart an expression of the deep unfaltering and life-giving love between the Father, the Son and the Spirit.”
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Sunday, May 24, 2026

May 24, 2026 - Let It Flow

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves reaches into his book of metaphors to challenge us with the Holy Spirit on this Day of Pentecost: “We're called to be rivers of God's living water, not reservoirs. We don't hold onto it. We let the spirit flow out of us.”
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Sunday, May 17, 2026

May 17, 2026 - Letting Go

The disciples weren’t ready for Jesus to leave them on that Ascension Day. They kept looking for him where he used to be. But the Rev. Abby VanderBrug explains that instead, “The living Christ is where new life is…and the promise of the gospel is that God will never let go of us.”
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Sunday, May 10, 2026

May 10, 2026 - Resident Aliens

The Rt. Rev. Susan Brown Snook visits St. James with the message that in many ways we are all “resident aliens” with much work to do: “Living the kind of life that recognizes that every person has inherent dignity and value, and every relationship is a sign of God's love.”
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Sunday, May 3, 2026

May 3, 2026 - Heart Knowledge

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves gets his chance to preach on John 14 on a Sunday instead of at a funeral. This lets us dive deeply into the concept of faith and doubt, what we can know, what we cannot know, and how to live with that: “We could say that there are some things that we know with our head, and some things that we know in our heart. Both can be true…we can train ourselves to develop a ‘heart knowledge’ of Jesus.”
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Sunday, April 26, 2026

April 26, 2026 - An Authentic Story

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves loves to preach on the many Easter Resurrection stories because they seem so authentic, and they can speak to us: “…the key is that we are quiet, that we listen, that we hear the voice of the risen Jesus and respond to that call.”
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Sunday, April 19, 2026

April 19, 2026 - Stay With Me, Jesus

The Emmaus Road that Cleopas and friend trod was a sad journey for them. But they asked the stranger they met to stay with them the night, and in so doing met the risen Christ. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves offers us a prayer to use when we’re out on our own sad Emmaus roads: “Stay with me, Jesus.”
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Sunday, April 12, 2026

April 12, 2026 - Honest Thomas

The Rev. Abby VanderBrug thinks Thomas has been given a bad rap with the Doubting moniker: “You didn't believe what everyone else was saying and you had the courage to say so out loud in a room full of people who disagreed with you. Now that takes courage.”
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Sunday, April 5, 2026

April 5, 2026 - Who We Are

Mary at the tomb thought Jesus was the gardener. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves explains how we recognize others can define who we are as well: “May we be given the grace to identify Jesus for who he truly is, so that we can come to know who we truly are.”
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Friday, April 3, 2026

April 3, 2026 - The Cross

The Rev. Abby VanderBrug examines the cross as a symbol of both sorrow and love. “It is the sign of God's very heart, the victory that refuses violence, the sacrifice that restores the world.”
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Thursday, April 2, 2026

April 2, 2026 - Hope for a Broken World

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves uses the centuries old Japanese art of kintsugi to examine what the “broken” body of Jesus can tell us today: “Let us see that brokenness is not the final word, and that living into our failings allows for brokenness to be restored, to come back more beautiful.”

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Sunday, March 29, 2026

March 29, 2026 - Strange Kingdom

As he entered Jerusalem, Jesus didn't look or act like your ordinary king, and as the passion narrative plays out, the Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves frames it as "...a ridiculous love story."
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Sunday, March 22, 2026

March 22, 2026 - A Time for Honesty

The Rev. Abby VanderBrug takes us into Lazarus' tomb to describe the burial clothes with which he's been bound, asking us whether we've bound ourselves in our own metaphorical burial clothes, and what that has done for us. She notes Lent is a time for honesty: "It's a time when we look at ourselves and we tell it like it is, and when we tell God things like they are."
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Sunday, March 15, 2026

March 15, 2026 - Looking, Seeing, and Recognizing

Our readings today are full of folks who can look, see but can’t recognize what they are seeing, and then there’s one in particular who can’t see but eventually does recognize. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves allows that “…It's hard for all of us to look and see and recognize in ourselves how we really are.”
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Sunday, March 8, 2026

March 8, 2026 - Living Water

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves visits the well in Samaria to get into the head of the Samaritan woman. He offers: "We're not to be reservoirs of God's love. We're to be streams, streams that flow out from us, streams of living water that flow out through us to those around us."
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Sunday, March 1, 2026

March 1, 2026 - Recognizably Religious?

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves examines how both Abraham and Nicodemus came to faith. Noting that "...Faith is always a gift. It's a miracle..." he asks this Lent that we examine the big question of how faith is manifested in our lives? 
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Sunday, February 22, 2026

February 22, 2026 - God's Free Gift

As we enter Lent, the Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves urges us to accept God's unconditional gift of forgiveness:  "God's gift is still free and still available to all. And if we receive that gift, we're able to be completely honest with God and ourselves about the reality of our sins and failing."
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Wednesday, February 18, 2026

February 18, 2026 - Heart Surgery?

As we enter Lent, rather than giving up something, the Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves offer ways we might take up something: "Let's all find a spiritual practice that renews our heart."
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Sunday, February 15, 2026

February 15, 2026 - Perfect Clarity

Peter, James, and John needed a transfiguration event to see Jesus for who he truly was. But the Rev. Abby VanderBrug posits that "...though we walk through the world blindly most days, sometimes we are lucky enough to see these moments of perfect clarity: the story that's beneath the story, the reality that's beyond reality, the truth that encompasses all truth."
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Sunday, February 8, 2026

February 8, 2026 - Salt of the Earth

In our gospel reading Jesus calls us "salt of the earth". The Rev. Dr Mark Hargreaves explores what Jesus meant by that: "Like salt, we're to get out of the saltshaker, make a difference...it's a question that each of us faces. How are we going to be the salt of the earth?"
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Sunday, February 1, 2026

February 1, 2026 - What is enough?

After waiting a long time for the Messiah, Simeon saw Jesus in the temple and departed. That was enough for him. The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves asks us "What would we have to experience or know or discover to find the peace and the fulfillment that Simeon found that day in the temple?"
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Sunday, January 25, 2026

January 25, 2026 - Walk Without Fear

The Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves connects the prophet Isaiah, Psalm 27, and various gospel passages to emphasize that Jesus is the great light of which the prophet spoke, and that "...the light beckons us to walk without fear into the world, building God's alternative kingdom."
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Sunday, January 18, 2026

January 18, 2026 - Young Angel

On this Outreach Sunday, Elizabeth (Beth) Beall, the Executive Director of Tijuana's Vida Joven Foundation, tells the story of a young boy named Angel to demonstrate how "...God's light and healing are still on the move, flowing through you."
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Sunday, January 11, 2026

January 11, 2026 - An Invitation

On this baptism Sunday the Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves lays out the essence of baptism: "What we see in the baptism of Jesus is a glimpse into the nature of God...It's a glimpse into the divine, and it's also an invitation."
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Sunday, January 4, 2026

January 4, 2026 - What do we see?

The Rev. Abby VanderBrug asks us to look again at that scene in the barn, offering that "We can be the ones whose eyes are opened to this miracle and all that has been given to us."
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