Sermon Archive
Called Amid Chaos
Text: Isaiah 6:1-13 Our text and story for today have inspired a lot of hymns, including the one we just sang. And many others. A few weeks ago I talked about how Mennonites don’t really build ‘temples’ the way other denominations do. But I do think we make a...
Who Deserves Mercy?
Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10, 4:1-11 Jonah is a familiar story. One where if we have heard it too many times we forget its main purpose. We know in the ending that Nineveh repents and Jonah is a whiny baby. But what I would like us to do is pretend we are reading this story...
Our Foundation is Peace, Our Temple is Earth
1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:27-30, 41-43 Watch on YouTube here. There were three parts of this scripture that resonated in me as I prepared this week, and they are these: Now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side, without enemies or misfortune. So I’m planning to...
A God Who Lives in Tents
Text: 2 Samuel 7:1-17 Watch on YouTube It was when I lived in Jordan as a teenager (see image above) that I was first introduced to communities who were nomadic. These were folks who follow their herds of sheep or goats from place to place in the vast deserts and...
Idols for Our Anxiety
Text: Exodus 32:1-14 I’m sure some of you saw the movie Inside Out - the original, not the new one that came out this past year; I haven’t seen that one yet. Much of the story takes place within the brain, or maybe more accurately the imagined emotional center, of an...
Embodied Memory
Text: Exodus 12:1-13; 13:1-8 Watch on YouTube here. “Remember this day which is the day that you came out of Egypt, out of the place you were slaves, because the Lord acted with power to bring you out of there.” These are the words that God says after the story of the...
Joseph and the Dress of Many Colors
Text: Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34; 50:15-21 image: generated by deepai.org Watch a video of this sermon on YouTube. When I read the story of Morris Micklewhite and his tangerine dress, as a parent - especially as a parent of a boy - I really get all the feels. Like...
On Journeying: Adam Ramer on Mennonite Action and Organizing
Text: Mark 10:17-44 Beginning with the story of Jesus and his disciples on road together, Adam Ramer shares his own journey. After growing up at Madison Mennonite Church, Adam experienced drug addiction and recovery, found a place in political organizing and campaign...
God Keeps Promises
Text: Genesis 15:1-6 I am very well known in my family - or with my children, I guess, for never making promises. As any one who has spent any time with children will know, there’s and kind of constant litany of questions: Can I have…? Can we do…? Can we go…? Can I?...
Hannah’s Sorrow and Solace
Text: 1 Samuel 1:1-20 Before I get to Hannah’s story, I’m going to briefly share my own story, as well as part of a conversation I had with my friend and colleague Charlene this week. When Joe and I set out to have our first child, we were successful immediately....