Sermons

Current Series

Why and What We Pray

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson will be preaching about the Lord’s Prayer throughout Lent. He will progressively move through the prayer over six weeks. The prayer we recite each week is filled with deep and meaningful expressions of our faith, yet these phrases are also called to shape how we express and activate our faith. The overall focus for Lent is on the practice of prayer. This sermon series will explore and reflect on one of the most known and significant prayers of the Christian faith. Let us remember the words of C. S. Lewis who said, “We pray not to change God, but to change ourselves.”

Spiritual Resiliency

If there is one thing that 2020 has encouraged us to do it has been to develop spiritual resilience.  What does scripture and our faith tradition have to say about being resilient in times of difficulty and challenge? 

Messiah Preparation

The season of Advent is one of preparation and anticipation. The sermons in this series are meant to help us prepare our hearts and minds for this holy season.

Here are the sermons that will be included in this series:

  • November 29 - Hope: Grafted to the Family Tree
  • December 6 - Proclaim: Preparing the Way
  • December 13 - Response: Living in the "Not Yet"
  • December 20 - Children/Youth Lessons and Carols of the Christmas Story
The Pesky Parables

Jesus taught in a unique story form called parables. It was through this form of telling stories that Jesus could communicate significant themes about God, grace, judgment, and the Kingdom. The stories were able to share these truths through metaphors and illustrations. The unique part of parables are the various ways we can interpret what Jesus was seeking to communicate through those parables. Jesus told these seemingly simple stories, yet they were meant to disturb, inspire, and speak of God’s hope for the world.

God’s Initiative – Jesus’ Footsteps

This sermon series will explore in detail the words Jesus recited in the synagogue in Luke 4. Each phrase of what Jesus reads ends up being a living reality of his ministry. These same phrases are meant to shape our ministry as a church, too.

Living the Promise

In this sermon series Rev. Wilson will explore God's initial covenant of a Promised Land and the journey God's people followed to get there. The dates, Scripture readings and sermon titles are:

  • Aug 16       Genesis 12:1-9              The Original Promise
  • Aug 23       Exodus 3:1-12               God Hears Our Cries
  • Aug 30      Exodus 16:1-3                Not Absence but Transformation
  • Sept 6       Numbers 13:25-33       A Promised Future
Social Distancing: 1st Century Church Style

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson will be approaching his messages in June by reflecting on epistles written from prison and extracting values for us today during our time of social distancing.  There is much to glean from Paul and the Pauline school with the letter written from prison and a distance to churches seeking to find purpose and vision for their life together.  Below are the scriptures and themes for the June sermon series.

Lent 2020
Our theme for the season of Lent this year is Open the Door, which is based on a book by the same name by noted author and spiritual guide Joyce Rupp.
 
The theme of the door is particularly apt for the church in this time. Through the image of the door, Rupp’s book helps us to explore the personal, spiritual dimension of liminality, inviting us to explore our own fears and longings about growth and change from a spiritual perspective.
Supporting Actors & Actresses in the Bible

The nominees for the Academy Awards have been announced and awards will be presented in February. Among the nominations are those for Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role. Other than the Oscars, most supporting actors and actresses don’t get much notice.

The same is true of supporting roles in the scriptures. For the next several weeks we’ll be looking at some of the “supporting actors” in the Bible. Characters who play a small but significant role in the sweeping story of the scriptures.

God Bless Us Every One: The Redemption of Scrooge

Every Advent, we take a journey that prepares us for the coming of the Christ Child in our world and in our lives, a journey that prompts us to reflect on where in our lives we need redemption and transformation.

Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic A Christmas Carol is a story of redemption and transformation. Ebenezer Scrooge is greedy, selfish, and indifferent to the suffering of those around him. Confronted by the ghost of his business partner Marley and challenged by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, Scrooge undergoes the kind of redemptive transformation that is at the heart of the Christmas story.

This beloved Christmas classic forms the framework for our Advent series God Bless Us Every One: The Redemption of Scrooge. Join us on this Advent journey beginning Sunday, December 1.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Traditionally one of the tasks of interim ministry is to strengthen ties with the congregation’s denomination. And while Saint Andrew has strong ties with the region, it is helpful from time to time for congregations to pause and remember their history and core beliefs. And since so many of Saint Andrew’s members come from other denominations, this may be an opportunity for some members to learn more about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

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