It Came Upon the Midnight Clear was written by Unitarian Minister Edmund Sears in 1849. Both angels and people do a lot of bending in that carol. Why? Why did they cut out the third stanza back in 1935? What did it say, and what might we gain if we put it back?
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial UMC by Rev. Anne Robertson on November 29, 2020.
This sermon brings us the intersection of a secular holiday (Thanksgiving) and a Christian Holy Day (Christ the King or the Reign of Christ). The first celebrates gratitude and the second the day when human power will give way to the rule of Christ in the realm of God. Viewed separately, each has its pitfalls. But when we look at the two days together—the holiday and the Holy Day—the key to protecting ourselves from both errors comes into view. Watch and learn about the humble mind of Christ.
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial UMC by Rev. Anne Robertson on November 22, 2020.
If there’s one thing that 2020 is asking of us, it’s to have courage. But how do we get there? Where does courage come from and how do we get it when we don’t feel like we have enough?
Texts: 1 John 4:18
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial UMC by Rev. Anne Robertson on November 15, 2020.
Leaving home is hard, whether we are leaving our physical or metaphorical home. But there comes a time when we all need to do it; and, when we do, we can find the courage to walk out the door into a new world through love. The story of Ruth shows us what that looks like.
Text: Ruth 1:11-19a; John 15:9-17
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial UMC by Rev. Anne Robertson on November 8, 2020.
New wineskins, new cloth, new birth–they’re all different ways of seeing and describing what’s needed both externally and internally for spiritual transformation to happen. Want a different take on what it means to be “born again?” This is it.
Texts: Mathew. 9:14-17; John 3:1-10
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church by Rev. Anne Robertson on October 25, 2020.
The story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 is well-known. Paul is blinded and knocked to the ground by a vision of Jesus as he is traveling to Damascus to persecute Jesus’ followers. But while the focus of the story is on Paul, the hero of the story is just a regular follower of Jesus in Damascus named Ananias. Ananias already knows what it will take Paul another couple of decades to grasp: The mature fruit of spiritual growth is the ability to love even our enemies.
Text: Acts 1-19
This sermon was delivered to Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church by Rev. Anne Robertson on October 11, 2020.