Greater Works! John 14:1-14 Today’s Gospel reading is filled with good news and a little confusion that invites our questions and interpretations. Scripture is not intended to end our questions, but to be the beginning of a spiritual conversation: we don’t check our minds at the door when we enter the sanctuary but open to […]
Abundant Life! May 11 John 10:1-10, Acts 2:42-47 “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” That was one of Jesus’ two mission statements. The other is: “The Spirit of God is upon me, because God has appointed me to preach good news to the poor. God has sent me to […]
Let’s Go for a Walk” Luke 24:13-35 Easter is about movement. Resurrection moved the cells as well as the soul of Jesus: in ways we cannot imagine the Crucified One came to life and shared the news of God’s everlasting love for each of us. God’s resurrecting energy empowered and inspired the frightened women and […]
Take a Breath – The Second Sunday of Easter – April 27, 2014 John 20:19-31 And Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That night, according to John’s Gospel, the disciples were still in hiding; they had heard the amazing story of Mary Magdalene’s encounter in the garden. They knew the tomb […]
Easter Festival Service Practicing Resurrection John 20:1-18 He was her best friend, her companion, the one who delivered her from demonic darkness, the one whom she loved above all others. She was a leader among his women followers, someone he trusted fully, and a voice of experience and wisdom. She knew the darkness of life, […]
Easter Morning Worship at the Beach Matthew 28:1-10 “Don’t be afraid!” I suspect that when the angel gave that message the women thought, “It’s easy for you to say.” This whole week had turned their lives upside down: they were still in shock from the arrest, the brutality, the abandonment, and the cross. The one […]
Good Friday Meditation “A Suffering God” German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who spent his last days in a German concentration camp, asserted that only a suffering God can save. Surely his words come alive as we reflect on the meaning of Good Friday. Jesus, God’s beloved child, is abandoned, beaten, and crucified by those he sought […]
A Celebration Worth Remembering A Sermon Preached by Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly, Palm Sunday April 13, 2014 Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 21:1-11 I love parades. I’ve been to the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, CA and still watch the Rose Bowl Parade during brunch every New Year’s morning. I love fireworks […]
A Theological Triptych: Meditations on Light amid Darkness A Sermon Preached by Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly on March 30, 2014 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-7 This morning we are embarking on something a little different: a theological triptych. A triptych is a work of art in which paintings or etchings are displayed on […]
Living Waters Preached by Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly onMarch 23, 2014 Exodus 17:1-7 John 4:1-5 The other night I heard astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson echo the words of Carl Sagan, some four decades ago, “we are star stuff.” Tyson and Sagan are right; our origins are as old as the big bang and the […]