FIRST UNITED CHURCH of CHRIST

In today’s lesson, Jesus is asked to name the greatest commandment, and his answer is one of the “basics” of Christian faith.  What might it teach us today …?

Back to Basics

Psalm 90:1-6, 12-17; Matthew 22:34-40

In the seventeen years I have been preaching regularly, I have probably written sermons on this text a dozen times. And as I thought back over those sermons, they all said pretty much the same thing: loving God and your neighbor is a lot harder than it sounds.

That’s pretty much what I am going to say this morning, too,

Continue reading Back to Basics

This was the last of three Sundays talking about stewardship — but maybe not in the way you might have expected ..

Making and Sharing

Note: The images referred to in this sermon can be found online at http://www.janrichardson.com/wisdomspathprintenlg.html and at  http://www.janrichardson.com/bestsupperprintenlg.html; the numbers refer to slides in a Powerpoint Presentation.

John 6:1-14; John 6:35

The three words in this year’s Stewardship theme – “Growing, Making, Sharing” are three words that we can use to describe the church at its best:·

1 The church is like a growing tree that reaches down to receive living water, reaches upwards and outwards into the world, and is – at its heart – filled with what is holy.·

2 The church is the place where we make something of our lives – both in the sense of developing our character and living our vocation, and in the sense of making sense of what happens to us and around us.·

3 The church is the table where we gather with all of humanity – all of creation – to receive and share the gifts of God.

Continue reading Making and Sharing

Worship – and especially sermons — often seem to be full of words …  So in this sermon (and the two to follow), we will be using our eyes as well as our ears to “listen” for the message.  I encourage you to follow the link to the picture as you read …

Growing

Luke 8:4-15 & John 6:35;  Jeremiah 17:7-8

Note: The image used in this sermon is “Mother Root” by Jan L. Richardson,

It is somewhat unnerving to encounter major financial crises in the week leading up to the beginning of our Stewardship season. But stewardship is about much more than money, and certainly about much more than anxiety about money. Stewardship is about receiving the gifts of God with gratitude, and about using the gifts of God with courage, imagination, extravagance, and joy. Continue reading Growing