Sermons

Rev. Dr. Chris Wilson's sermon series is entitled “A Risen People.” The concept behind the series is to consider what it means to be a people of the resurrection. A resurrection life is shaped from many perspectives. This series will explore six varied elements of resurrection living.

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.”

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? 

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

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.

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.

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

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.