Title: The life of the dead Date: June 27, 2010 Texts: Gen 49:29-50:24, Heb 11:32-12:1, Lk 23:50-24:3 Author: Isaac S. Villegas I think there’s a new theme developing in my sermons over the past year or so. I really think the gospel is about our whole bodies. The good news is about our material lives,… More
Sermons
Worship is more than preaching. Each worship gathering draws from the wealth of gifts of the community. We have rotations of volunteers who share the responsibilities of preaching, song leading, and service planning. We take turns reading the assigned Scripture readings for the day. The high point of our worship is our time for response and sharing. Since we believe that anyone can offer an interpretation of the Bible, we provide time in our worship for people to offer their own reflections on the Scriptures and the sermon.
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Waiting for Elijah
Title: Waiting for Elijah Text: 1 Kgs 21 Date: 6.13.2010 Author: Chris Gooding The ministry of the prophet Elijah only takes up five and a half chapters of 1st and 2nd Kings. Six and a half in the entire Bible, if you include the nasty letter that he writes to king Jehoram in 2 Chronicles… More
What are we doing here
Title: What are we doing here? Text: Luke 8:26-39, 1 Kings 19:1-15 Date: June 20, 2010 Author: Thomas Lehman Eight years ago I took up a new hobby: I gamble. I have never purchased even one lottery ticket, and I don’t sneak off to Las Vegas or Atlantic City or the nearest Native American casino… More
Pallbearers
Title: Pallbearers Text: Luke 7:11-17 Date: June 6, 2010 Author: Catherine Thiel Lee I have a friend who makes icons. Well…she doesn’t really make icons, but kind of. I’m not talking about the symbols on your computer that show a little picture of your file. I mean religious icons, pictures of Jesus or Mary or… More
This Wisdom uttered made the sky
Title: “This Wisdom uttered made the sky…” Date: May 30, 2010 Text: Proverbs 8 Author: Meghan Florian Absolute in flame beyond us Seed and source of Dark and Day Maker whom we beg to be Our mother father comrade mate… Be here Be now ~ James Taylor & Reynolds Price Does not wisdom call, and… More
The Pueblo of God
Title: The Pueblo of God Date: May 16, 2010 Texts: Exod 18:13-26, Ac 1:15-26 Author: Isaac S. Villegas It’s good to be back here at church with you. As most of you already know, these past two Sundays I was in Dallas, Texas, visiting a Mennonite congregation—Iglesia Menonita Luz del Evangelio, trans. Light of the… More
Burst upon us
Title: Burst upon us Text: Acts 6:36-43 Date: April 25, 2010 Author: Catherine Thiel Lee Well, I sort of laughed to myself last week at Isaac’s sermon. He preached about the story of Jesus eating breakfast after his resurrection with his disciples, on how ordinary it all was, and on what it means for us… More
153
Title: 153 Date: April 14, 2010 Texts: John 21:1-14, Acts 9:1-6 Author: Isaac S. Villegas I love this story about Jesus, this story in John’s Gospel about his appearance to the disciples. I love it for the details, the strange details; the care John shows in getting the story right. Usually, the Gospel of John… More
Easter in us
Title: Easter in us Date: April 4, 2010 Texts: Isa 65:17-25; Ps 118:1-2, 14-24; Acts 10:34-43 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.” That’s one of the last lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Let Christ… More
Bodies Matter, part 2
Title: Bodies Matter, part 2 Date: April 1, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Texts: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Place: CHMF Author: Isaac Villegas This sermon is titled, “Bodies Matter, part 2,” because I preached “Bodies Matter, part 1” in Cary this morning. Some of us held a footwashing service at a detention center operated by the Immigration and… More
Bodies Matter, part 1
Title: Bodies Matter, part 1 Text: John 13:1-5 Date: April 1st, 2010 (Holy Thursday) Place: ICE Detention Center, Cary (NC) Author: Isaac Villegas (Note: this sermon was part of a footwashing worship service that was held at a hidden Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center; our footwashing protest received some media coverage: “Protesters hold demonstration”… More
In the world
Title: In the world Texts: Ps 118:1-2, 19-29; Phil 2:5-11 Date: March 28, 2010 Author: Isaac Villegas What does it mean to be Christians in the world? How are we supposed to live as witnesses to God’s love? Those are basic questions for us. But as a way to answer them, I thought I’d stir… More
An Anatomy of Sin
Title: An Anatomy of Sin Texts: Lk 15: 11-32 Date: March 14, 2010 Author: Isaac S. Villegas So far, during this season of Lent, we’ve talked a lot about repentance and forgiveness. Now I think it’s time we talked about sin. Why do we want to sin? We know it’s bad for us, or bad… More
The time is now
Title: The Time Is Now Date: March 7, 2010 (3rd Sunday of Lent) Texts: Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9 Author: Monica Schmucker The passages this week got me thinking, what is it that motivates people to change? What sparks repentance? It strikes me that Jesus issues a warning to repent and Isaiah an invitation to repent.… More
Fruit: dying into the future
Title: “Fruit” Text: John 15:1-5 Date: March 7, 2010 Event: Ervin Stutzman’s installation Author: Isaac S. Villegas A few years ago I started a vegetable garden in our front yard. I was thrilled to see the fruit growing from the long vines—grape tomato vines entangled with large slicing tomatoes, growing into one another, all mixed… More
Escape
Title: Escape Date: February 28, 2010 (Lent 2) Texts: Ps 27, Philip 3:17-4:1, Lk 13:31-35 Author: Isaac S. Villegas The Pharisees want what’s good for Jesus. They respect his ministry and want him to survive. These Pharisees may even consider Jesus a friend of their own ministry. So, according to Luke’s Gospel, “some Pharisees came… More
Lent as metaphor and reality
Title: Lent as metaphor and reality Texts: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13 Date: Feb 21, 2010 Author: Tom Lehman Lent began four days ago on Ash Wednesday, as it always does. Lent is the least cheerful of the seasons in the Christian year. It is sometimes understood as a time to suspend earthly pleasures. Some… More
Wurstessen (Ash Wed)
Title: Wurstessen Date: February 17, 2010 Texts: Gen 3:19, Isaiah 58:1-12 Author: Isaac S. Villegas March 9th, 1522. Zurich, Switzerland. It was the middle of Lent. About twelve people got together at the house of Christopher Froschauer and had a feast of sausage. Eating sausage during Lent was strictly forbidden by the church, and back… More
Freedom for what?
Title: Freedom for what? Date: February 14, 2010 (St. Valentine’s Day) Texts: 2 Cor 3:12-4:2; Lk 9:28-36 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17)—that’s what Paul says in our passage from Second Corinthians. Freedom. What does it mean to be free? I want to give… More
Dirty pockets, lint balls, and love
Title: Dirty Pockets, Lint Balls, and Love Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Date: February 7, 2010 Author: Meghan Florian I work part time as a Wedding Assistant at Duke Chapel, so most Saturday afternoons find me alternately scurrying around the chapel in uncomfortable shoes, or sitting in the back pew and listening to as many as… More
The weakest member
Title: The weaker members Text: I Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21 Date: January 24, 2010 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “The members of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary” (I Cor. 12:22). That’s what Paul says in our passage from I Corinthians—Ben mentioned this verse in his sermon last Sunday, and I’ve been thinking… More
A material Spirit
Title: A material Spirit Date: Jan 10, 2010 Texts: Acts 8:14-17 Author: Isaac S. Villegas “They can beg and they can plead / But they can’t see the light, that’s right / ‘Cause the boy with the cold hard cash / Is always Mister Right, ‘cause we are / Living in a material world /… More
A Faithful Remnant
Title: A faithful remnant; or, On being part of a faithful remnant when your girlfriend insists upon packing heat. Texts: Jeremiah 31:7-14 Date: January 3, 2010 Author: Chris Gooding Prayer: O LORD of hosts, we recognize that we have often not been very good at explaining your work among your people, Israel. Help us to… More
Christmas meditations
Title: Christmas meditations Date: Dec 27, 2009 Texts: Lk 2:1-20, 2 Cor 5:17-21 Author: Isaac Villegas First Meditation (Lk 2:1-14): “News is power” Knowledge is power. News is power. I think it was in the Economist that I read about how financial firms pay a lot for cutting edge communication technologies. The firm that gets… More