June 7, 2020 – Jonathan Chute “Many”
Sermon: sermon
Our scripture for Trinity Sunday is the story of Creation as told in the first chapter of Genesis. It pictures God acting to bring about a magnificent, orderly universe. Genesis was written around six centuries before Jesus, shortly after the Jewish exile in Babylon. The writer draws images and themes from the Babylonian creation story, but tells a rather different tale of how things came to be. As you might expect, Genesis 1:1-2:4 is the text for Jonathan’s sermon, “Many.”
Scripture: scripture
June 14, 2020 – Jonathan Chute “Comic Timing”
Sermon: sermon
In this week’s scripture Abraham welcomes three strangers to his home out in the wilderness. He and his wife, Sarah, share with them the best of what they have, trying to make them feel welcome. These visitors have some important work to accomplish. After receiving their generous hospitality they announce that this couple, now in their 90s, will soon have a child. It is an outlandish, extraordinary promise. Sarah cannot help but laugh at the news. Genesis 18:1-15, and 21:1-7 provides the text for Jonathan’s sermon, “Comic Timing.”
Scripture: scripture
June 21, 2020 – April Herron “An Invitation to Awareness and Action”
Sermon: sermon
Just in time for Father’s Day, our series of readings from Genesis delivers the story of a father and his children. Though childless into old age, Abraham has received a promise from God that he will be the father of a nation. Now, at long last with two sons, Abraham is filled with gratitude. He hosts a feast to mark a major milestone in young Isaac’s life. But elation soon turns to distress. A moment of reckoning has come. His wife Sarah demands that Abraham banish the other child. It is a low point for Abraham. Not for the first time, God gets involved in an all-too-human saga.
What do we see of ourselves in this story? What do we learn about God? The scripture text is Genesis 21:8-21. April’s sermon title is, “An Invitation to Awareness and Action.”
Scripture: scripture
June 28, 2020 – Jonathan Chute “Take a Hike”
Sermon: sermon
Today’s text is one of the hardest stories in all of scripture. After Abraham and Sarah’s long wait for a child to fulfill God’s promise, now the Lord commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. It seems impossible. How could God first lead them into the future and then take that future away? It is a story that has provoked more questions than answers among those who hear it. Genesis 22:1-14 is the text for Jonathan’s sermon, “Take a Hike.”
Scripture: scripture
