One thing have I desired of the Lord... that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...Psalm 27:4
We were blessed to have our Bishop Brenda Bos preach for Pastor Diana's installation as well as welcoming Pastor and George into membership here at Bethel and, of course, installing Pastor as our minister.
Her sermon takes the three readings selected for the day, Numbers 6:22-27, 1 Cor, 12:12-31a, and John 20:19-23, and weaves them into a beautiful story of God's peace in our lives.
Photo by Jan McKee
The sermon today takes the reading from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a as it's jumping off point. The apostle and pastor Paul uses the metaphor of the human body to describe how intimately connected we are in the church. Unfortunately, we sometimes lose sight of this connectedness, this inter-reliance, and we fail to recognize God in the faces we see around us. God uses prophets and pesterers to bring us back the love of God and gift of our siblings around the world.
Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash
On this Second Sunday of Epiphany Pastor Diana preaches. This weeks reading are Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and John 2:1-11. Pastor Diana preaches about Jesus turning water to wine and to keep your eyes open to the signs we have in life!
On this Baptism of Our Lord's Day, Pastor Russ shares two stories from the Bible about the Jordan River and how it becomes symbolic of life's challenges and call to commitment. God rarely has us stay in one place for very long...in our personal lives, our relationships, our careers, our congregation. We are "here" and we come to understand God is calling us to be "there"...a new place. How does our baptism into Christ help us with these challenges? Pastor Russ' sermon is entitled "Walk Wet."
Photo by Jonathan Crews on Unsplash
John 1:1-18 shares the most pivotal event in all of human history...when God became one of us in Jesus. What does that mean for us? How should we respond to such an event? Pastor Russ' last sermon as interim pastor is entitled, "More Than A Visit."
