Worship
Join us for Worship on Sundays at 9:00 am and other events throughout the month. For recent sermons, find the pdf in the Sermon Archive below.
Timothy W. Shirley - April 20, 2025
Rise Up
Luke 24:1-12
The Prologue
Each of the four Gospels record a story about the empty tomb, each version highlighting different aspects describing resurrection. From the scant information provided by the earliest Gospel in Mark to the most elaborately detailed account given by John, we are gifted with a varied portrait that indicates that something amazing, something truly magnificent, took place following Jesus' burial, editorial enhancements, embellishments, and exaggerations assumed. One thing that all the Gospels have in common, however, is that the women are given star billing, the honor and privilege of being the first on the scene and subsequently, after some understandable disbelief, the first to bear witness to this history altering event. The prominence of the women in the story is a reminder that the story of Jesus continues to reveal that resurrection is a shared experience, that those who are perceived to be the last and the least are raised, that Jesus continues the never ending work of social justice, always lifting up those considered the lowly and downtrodden, advocating for anyone who has been presumed to be relegated to the margins, the fringes of society. In the realm of God there are none who are dispossessed, second class, disenfranchised in any way! That, beloved faith community, is the ongoing power of resurrection, of being raised to new life!
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Luke 19: 28-40
The Prologue
The huge contrasts that have defined this Lenten season now come to the forefront, in full view, as we experience the highs and lows, the ecstasy and agony of Palms and Passion. Most churches today will celebrate the intoxicating high of a Palm Sunday parade, mimicking a very temporary triumphal entry, a false positive that purportedly took place more than 2,000 years ago as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey or a colt! Pick your poison! Is it any wonder the biblical writer chose an ass for this maudlin procession, this most iconic and ironic death march? Oh, how foolish everything appears to be at this moment in time! How quickly the crowd’s incongruous cacophony of “Hosannas” and calls to “Crucify Him” converge, creating a toxic, a muddled, messy mix that can only lead to crucifixion! Many services this morning will play a game of let’s pretend that ends in euphoria, a blatant denial of the horrific events that culminate by the week’s end. Today, we dare celebrate with palms, but we do so with the sobriety that comes with knowing and even remotely experiencing what comes next. We lean into the dynamics, the polarities of Holy Week’s Passion, engaging the full range of every emotion imaginable. The cross looms! Easter beckons! In the end, we know who wins! Yet, our sense of loss should never be so quickly mitigated, so neatly assuaged.
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What more can we say about the parable of the prodigal than has already been said? The very title given this story lends itself to a misinterpretation of the story, for the beauty in the story is found in the mystery, the confusion about just who is the real prodigal in the parable. It is a rich text, full of wonderful images revealing the gracious hospitality of God, and also provides quite a telling window into human nature. Greed and jealousy give this tale its fuel! How many times in our lives are we able to see ourselves in this story? We make mistakes. We make poor decisions. And at the end of it all we are invited to a great banquet feast in the realm of God. One of the hidden gems in the story, a caveat that often gets overlooked, is that this tale is part of a trilogy of parables known as the "party parables"! These three vignettes serve as a reminder that our God invites us to one big party!
“Party Like a Prodigal Sermon” PDF coming soon
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Scripture References:Luke 3:21-22, Luke 3:15-17, Acts 8:14-17
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Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-6
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