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
There are all kinds of journeys – outward and inward. The stories of Abram and Sarai venturing out at God’s request, as well as Nicodemus’s nighttime visit to Jesus on his spiritual journey, remind us that faith is trust. We are called in our life’s journey to put our hand in Jesus’ as we go.
Photo credit: Michael Fenton @michaelrfenton
Why do we “celebrate” Lent? Does it have to be so depressing and dark? Intern Monica Holman explores the temptation to either turn Lent into some sort of suffering contest or to avoid the darkness altogether and shape it into something pretty and palatable. Does this ancient tradition still serve a purpose? Monica thinks so, especially today!
At the end of the sermon, Monica reads a blessing from the wonderful new book The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Find it on Amazon here.
Photo credit: christophe Dutour @senc74
At times, there can be a rhythm to church life that can lead to feelings of complacency, as if our walk with God has entered a “same old, same old” pattern of sameness. In this week’s gospel reading (Matthew 17:1-9), Pastor Russ Gordon sees a few disciples of Jesus perhaps slipping into this kind of complacency. They seem to be getting a little bit too accustomed to the wonders occurring around them. What happens next?
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There are a lot of changes happening around us! A lot of uncertainty, a lot of new things, and with that a lot of temptation to worry that we won’t be able to rise to the challenge, and that we just aren’t enough to handle it. Intern Monica Holman describes how God promises us that we are enough with God leading us, and how stepping into the sometimes-scary unknown is a step towards choosing an abundant life with God.
The blessing read at the end of the sermon is from Creating Space: A Prayer Book for Peace in a Time of Crisis and Chaos from LEAD. Click the link to learn more about the book, or about the wonderful work that LEAD does.
Photo credit: name_ gravity @name_gravity
This week, Pastor Russ urges us to add season and spice to our Christian lives! How do we allow our faith to become diluted, and what can we do about it? Take a listen!
Photo credit: Faran Raufi @faran_raufi
Reflecting on the prophecy from Micah and the Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew, Pastor Russ helps us to discern the “what” of following Jesus. While our culture celebrates the strong and the mighty, God leads us to restore justice to the lowly.
Photo credit: Priscilla Du Preez @priscilladupreez
This week Pastor Russ takes us on a fishing trip! Well, really it’s Jesus that calls us out to “fish for people.” Pastor Russ explores how the first disciples knew their trade well, understood how fish live, and were willing to go to any lengths to find them. What does this mean for Jesus’s calling to us today?
Photo credit: Chris Hardy @chrishardyphotography
This week we return to the prophet John the Baptist and hear his introduction of Jesus, the Lamb of God. What exactly is the role of a prophet, and what does it mean that the Lamb of God “takes away the sin of the world?” Intern Monica Holman discusses how Jesus invites us to follow him and see what vision God has for us and for the world.
Photo credit: Jerónimo Bernot @jerobernot1991
This week we’re celebrating “Baptism of Our Lord” Sunday, and it’s appropriate that it comes during a week when a river of rain is flowing across our skies. Imagine your baptism as more than a one-time event, but as a perpetual shower of God’s unconditional love.
We welcome back Interim Pastor Russ Gordon, an old friend of Bethel Lutheran Church. He reminds us of God’s never-ending and never-changing love.
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Happy new year and a continued merry Christmas! As we stand on the doorstep of 2023, Intern Monica Holman walks us through the names that were given to Jesus before, during, and after his earthly ministry, and invites us to ask ourselves what names and labels we carry; which ones were given to us, and which ones fit who God created us to be. As we hear in the story of Simeon and Anna, the church is the perfect place to be welcomed and celebrated for who we are.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Image credit: Photo by Monica Holman
Merry Christmas! In this shortened Christmas Eve sermon reflection, Intern Monica Holman asks what story you expect to hear on Christmas Eve and invites you to ponder what story you tell about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Image credits: “Ponder” by Hannah Garrity @A SANCTIFIED ART
For her final sermon at Bethel, Pastor Amy joins in dialogue with Intern Monica Holman about Mary and Elizabeth, what lies at the core of Christian worship, and what she hopes and dreams for Bethel going forward.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Image credits: Pastor Amy Beveridge, Pastor Marj Funk-Pihl, Monica Holman
Our Advent series From Generation to Generation continues with Pastor Amy's reflection on getting along with family during the holidays. Through the Joseph story, we consider....for better or worse...the things we carry from our families. Plus a short humorous list of the ways Jesus kept his boundaries with family.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Image credit: James Besser @jcbesser
Pivotal moments happen in life. Each one is an impactful turning point, signaling big change; you know the future will unfold in an unexpected way. Perhaps no such moment is bigger than the one described in Luke chapter 1, when the angel Gabriel appears before Mary of Nazareth and informs her that she will give birth to a son named Jesus. How does Mary react to this monumental news, and how do we react when God calls on us?
(Our own Mary) Pastor Mary Stein-Webber, guides us through this passage. And afterward, she reads “Gabriel’s Annunciation,” a poem by Jan Richardson that imagines this moment through the hesitant mind of Gabriel, who pauses to reflect before massively altering the course of a young woman’s life.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Poem credit: Jan Richardson www.janrichardson.com
Image credit: Jan Richardson “Gabriel and Mary”
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Advent is here! We begin the journey to Christmas with the theme “From Generation to Generation.” Hear Intern Monica Holman speak on origin stories, starting with the the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew. She invites us to look to where we came from to discover where we are going.
Photo credit: A childhood photo of Monica with her beloved great-aunt.
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
This week in observance of Christ the King Sunday, we did a special in-person service of singing and prayer that sadly, does not translate well to the online worship experience. In Pastor Amy’s closing weeks, we also had one last confirmation rite to celebrate. So today, instead of a sermon, we offer two brief statements of faith by the high school students we honor and support.
Photo credit: Kier... In Sight on Unsplash.com .
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Join us this week for a classic meditation on the good life. What does that mean in the context of faithfulness? What are the alternatives we often choose instead? What is the work before us in light of all that is God? Warning: This sermon was delivered in the midst of children and babies. To our delight, their little feet and voices herald their presence in our midst.
Photo credit: Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash.com .
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. Thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
This All Saints Day in our scriptures, Jesus takes on an absurd question about resurrection and heaven. His answer demands we contend with the God of the Living. Pastoral Intern, Monica Holman, delivers the message this week inviting us to see ourselves, even in our deaths, as part of God’s unfinished story.
Photo credit: Daniel Salgado on Unsplash.com .
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We record it live each Sunday. You’ll even hear the swishing of Pastor Amy’s alb! We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. We want to thank our musicians and in particular, Brent Keast for all the hard work and investment in sound production over the last two and half years. It was an amazing run. And thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
This Reformation Sunday, we reach the end of our four month series on Acts. Today, the epilogue to the tremendous shipwreck. What happened to Paul once he reached safety? The same things that always happened and why this is liberating rather than stifling. Just a short reflection this week on a day when baptisms and first communions carried us through worship.
Photo credit: Alex Grodkiewicz on Unsplash.com .
Dear Online Family: We are in a digital ministry transition. Thank you for your patience as we post Simply the Sermon during this time. We record it live each Sunday. You’ll even hear the swishing of Pastor Amy’s alb! We will keep you updated on upcoming developments. We want to thank our musicians and in particular, Brent Keast for all the hard work and investment in sound production over the last two and half years. It was an amazing run. And thank you to all of you for gathering faithfully in this virtual space.
Are you in a purple congregation living the political tension? As Pastor Amy prepares to depart, she humorously reflects on what can soothe our red and blue anxieties. Our inspiration again is Paul and his fellow prisoners. At long last, they set out for Rome escorted by centurions and soldiers. When the winter storms rise, he gives the guidance we all need right now: stick together and we’ll get safely to shore.
Photo credit: Clay Banks on Unsplash.com .