by Stacey Hilliard | May 15, 2022 | Sermons
For our third week of understanding what it takes to turn death into life, we will take a look at the way Jesus expanded his ministry, not just after he was gone, but during his own lifetime. Of course we know he picked twelve people right at the start of his ministry, but it sometimes flies under the radar that Jesus also picked 72 others to help him transition from place to place. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” Jesus tells them in Luke 10:2. Ain’t it the truth?
— Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | May 8, 2022 | Sermons
As we continue to look at how we can participate in God’s work of turning death into life, we move from last week’s emphasis on embracing death to the way of life Jesus taught his disciples: To embody service. In the book of Philippians, Paul gives us a glimpse of the mindset we need to serve as Jesus did. The poem that appears in Philippians 2:6-11 is thought to be the earliest known hymn of the church. Join us on Sunday to explore what it has to teach us about humility and service.
— Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | May 2, 2022 | Sermons
Last Sunday we talked about the three things that can help both individuals and churches be a vehicle for God’s work of turning death into life: To embrace death, to embody service, and to multiply the effort. Now it’s time to spend a week considering each of those three things more in depth. This week we’ll consider the concept of embracing death and what Jesus may have meant by teaching his followers to take up a cross and follow him.
— Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | Apr 30, 2022 | Sermons
The tomb is empty and Jesus is on the loose. There are a number of stories of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples; but in almost all of those cases, they don’t recognize him at first. It’s been a wild week for them and nobody is really sure what has just happened or what comes next. The same is true of us. We are unsettled at every level as the pandemic, the world, the church, and our own lives shift around us.
Like the disciples we ask: Jesus is risen; but what now? If we can’t go back, how do we chart a course forward when we don’t really know where we’re going or how to recognize Jesus? We’ll talk about it Sunday.
— Pastor Anne
by Stacey Hilliard | Apr 18, 2022 | Sermons
The oldest manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end with chapter 16 verse 8: “So [the women] went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” There are no post-resurrection appearances in this earliest version of the story, which is often thought to represent the preaching of Peter. It’s just the empty tomb and a guy in a white robe telling them that Jesus had risen and was already beating a path back to Galilee. The women flee.
While we know the other versions of the story, it’s worth considering why Mark might have decided to end his gospel here. What does it have to teach us?
