View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Fred was a robust man who was everyone’s friend at church. Every Sunday morning after worship, he would greet me, a little boy, with a huge smile: “vel, Timoteus, how are ve?” A grandfather figure, he exuded warmth; I could feel that he cared about me, even when he teased me. He spoke with a German accent that was quite different from that of my rural…
View Archived Sermons New! Listen to this sermon Sermon #1: To What or Whom Do We Listen? – J .D. Penner – Feb. 6, 2011 Ephesians 4:14-16 The late Elmer Iseler was a man of few words. Some who may not have worked with him might have thought this strange, seeing as he was a conductor of great skill and ability. But for those who sang or played under him, one quickly realized that his…
View Archived Sermons New! Listen to this Sermon Text: Ephesians 4: 25 – 5:2 IntroductionSome momentous events occurred this week. On Monday, US President Obama gave his State of the Union Address to a packed Congress. Perhaps the most significant was to see Democrats and Republicans sitting inter-mingled together, rather than in groups where they could taunt each other. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Harper arrived in Morroco and got a first hand education on what the…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Jeremiah 29: 4-7 What are the three most important things to consider when looking for and purchasing real estate? Location, location, location. And what is the point of this cliché? It matters where you are. It matters how you understand where you are. And these things matter because somehow our lives are less anxious and more meaningful when there is some congruence between our location and…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Ephesians 4:1-16 I’ve heard the story and maybe you have too of a pastor who could not – try as he might come up with anything to say as he worked diligently throughout the week on his sermon. This is every pastor or preacher’s worst nightmare. Each time I prepare a sermon I pray that the Holy Spirit might gift me with the words I need, or…
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View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this sermon I sit here on Christmas day and I am silent, truly silent. Today I actually notice the hum of the freezer and the whisper of the furnace blowing through the vents. I look out the window and see the Linden tree pods gently swaying in the breeze. I have been doing my best this advent season to take time each day to be silent and do my advent readings, but…
View Archived Sermons NEW! Listen to this Sermon Matthew 1:18-25 Our text for this week begins, “Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way… and the story is launched.This story, as told to us by Matthew, ushers us into a world full of power and its use.As we listen to this story we will hear about the power of Hebrew genealogy and patriarchy, the power of a violent and disturbed King Herod…
View Archived Sermons Texts: Luke 1:47-55; James 5:7-10 Encounter with the Divine I love traditional Christmas carols! I confess to feeling a little guilty in saying this. The theology and historicity of the lyrics in the carols can be suspect, and the ‘schmalziness’ of some can be off-putting. Yet, I like the sentiment behind them; and, the ‘schmalz’ can be very effective. The ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from the Messiah and the Bach Christmas oratorio are absolutely wonderful. But,…