by Stacey Hilliard | Mar 14, 2022 | Sermons
The most powerful stories are proven by their ability to live, grow, and continue to speak from age to age, culture to culture, people to people. Starting this week, we will turn to what is perhaps the central story of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Exodus. Week by week we’ll look at the pivotal stories within this experience to understand, not just how they shaped the ancient Israelites, but to hear what they might say to us today. Join us this morning as we consider the story of the Pharaoh and the Midwives.
Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | Mar 7, 2022 | Sermons
Many of us know the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness at the start of his ministry, as depicted in this famous painting by James Jaques Tissot. What we often overlook in that story is that Jesus didn’t end up in that situation by trickery or accident. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that it was the Spirit of God who led him there. Wait! What? What happened to “Lead us not into temptation?” What is God up to here, and what does that mean for me? Join me as we enter into the wilderness of Lent and think it through.
Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | Jan 10, 2022 | Sermons
Over the holidays, I spent some time praying about the direction of my sermons this year. The answer I received to that prayer was “courage.” I did one sermon on courage last year and you can watch it here if you missed it. But to start off this year, I’d like to go deeper.
We can’t meaningfully understand courage until we can wrap our heads around the nature of fear. The Bible has a lot to say about fear, and some of it seems contradictory. Where to begin? Since Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” that seems like a good place to start and will be the text for Sunday.
— Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | Dec 19, 2021 | Sermons
I was recently speaking with a man from the community who was both repelled and fascinated by the Church and religion. He had a lot of questions, but one in particular intrigued me. He asked, “What were holidays like Christmas originally designed to do for people? Is there a way to dial it back so that holidays actually mean something other than spending?”
I’ve been asked a lot of things over the years, but this question was new and is more important than I think the man asking it realized. At its core, this question is both an indictment of the Church and a plea for some shred of hope. It’s an indictment because, if the Church had been living its mission, the question would be unnecessary. But it also contains the hope that maybe there’s still some way to peel back all the layers and find something that can help us get through this life with a sense of meaning and purpose.
In this sermon, I explore his question and the larger meaning of Christmas.
— Pastor Anne
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by Stacey Hilliard | Dec 12, 2021 | Sermons
I don’t think there’s a time of the year when we are more focused on preparations than the Christmas season. We groan under the weight of baking, shopping, writing cards, wrapping, decorating, and all the things that go along with the season. And in the midst of all that hustle and bustle, there is this strange and annoying man in the Gospel—John the Baptist—telling us that there is yet one more preparation to be made. We need to prepare the way of the Lord. But how?
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by Stacey Hilliard | Nov 29, 2021 | Sermons
The first Sunday of Advent is the first Sunday of the Christian Year, which is structured around the life of Jesus. It seems natural that we would begin the Christian year with preparation for Jesus birth; but the Church has always recommended that we actually start at the end, with a discussion about the end of the world and Jesus’ return. I can be a liturgical rebel, but this week I’m going to go with the flow and start at the end. I spent a lot of time in my younger years focused there, and I learned a few things from that experience.
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