Feel free to browse some of our sermons.
A Story of Two Dogs
March 29, 2020 Two dogs live in our apartment this year. You may know about Opie. He’s 11 ½ years old, as far as we know. We discovered him at the Denver Animal Shelter 10 ½ years ago. They didn’t know his name, his age, or much else. He’s white—unless he’s next to a truly... Read More →
Some Things are Just Holy
March 8, 2020 Let’s talk about the Sabbath. The lesson from Exodus also includes keeping God’s name holy and honoring the older generation. So, there are three valuable topics, but let’s talk about just one, the middle one, the hinge between the commandments about how we relate to God and how we relate to each... Read More →
Truth and Lies
March 22, 2020 Long ago, in a Tuscan village in Italy, a woodcarver named Geppetto carved a puppet and named him Pinocchio. He was created as a wooden puppet, but Pinocchio dreamed of becoming a real boy. So much did he want to become a real boy, and wanted people to see him that way, that... Read More →
The Quintessence of True Religion
March 15, 2020 Remember the man who told Jesus he had kept all of the commandments since his youth? How many people do you know who can say that? What I’ve heard is, the easiest, safest way to keep all three of the “thou shalt nots” in today’s reading from Exodus is to stay asleep.... Read More →
The What
Sermon AudioMembers of The Neighborhood Youth Project (NYP) participated in the leadership of worship, including the sermon. Near the end of the message, you will hear silence during which the youth come forward to display posters that read: “God Bless Everyone, No Exceptions.” The preacher speaks briefly and then the youth rearrange themselves to communicate another... Read More →
Go figure! Go, transfigured.
A sermon recording for March 3 is unavailable but the following manuscript can be read from Rev. Melissa Guthrie Loy: I thought about draping a veil from the ceiling to the floor, with some kind of unveiling… I thought about positioning a large mirror here in the front so you could see the image of... Read More →
Gift and Task
Sermon AudioJesus’ expansive welcome goes beyond just our children or the children in our neighborhoods to include all children of all times and all places. Jesus took all the children up in his arms. We can imagine that these were the children who were crying and being loud, they were the children that go to... Read More →
The Power of Song by George Manley
Sermon AudioAs part of our songs series, a church member shares his/her experience of the power of song.
The Power of Song by Bella Myers
Sermon AudioAs part of our songs series, a church member shares his/her experience of the power of song.
Part of the Choir
Sermon Audio“We are not solos; we are part of a choir—a family, a neighborhood, a workplace, a school, a congregation. As members of one body, as part of the choir, we are called to peace. Whatever we do, whether in word or deed or song or silence, may we do it all in the name of... Read More →
What Love Can Be
Sermon Audio“We need to hear voices that speak boldly of true love. We need to remember what love can be. Love can be passionate, fierce, tender. Love can be faithful. Made in the image of God we are passionate, fierce, tender beings. Where and how do you encounter human love? Divine love? How can The Song... Read More →
The Power of Song by Sam Tucker
Sermon AudioAs part of our songs series, a church member shares his/her experience of the power of song.
Sing Louder
Sermon Audio“From the ways we care for each other to the ways we care for our world, the earth and our neighbors–all of our neighbors–these are our love songs and songs of praise. In order for our song to be heard by a hurting world we must sing louder.”
The Power of Song by Travis Bogan
Sermon AudioAs part of our songs series, a church member shares his/her experience of the power of song. From Travis Bogan: It turns out that music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function. It seems amazing that something so profound can so often go unnoticed. Much like the air that we breath... Read More →
Fear and Great Joy
Message from Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018 This is the first time in some 60 years that Easter has fallen on April Fool’s Day. Easter moves around the calendar, unlike other holidays that are on set days. By ancient tradition of the church, the date of Easter is always the first Sunday after the first... Read More →
What’s Your Story? Paul Snyder shares
Sermon AudioIn worship services, in the newsletter, and online, we’ll be sharing stories from you about how the stories of the Bible have touched your lives. Many thanks to Paul Snyder for sharing a story this Sunday morning. Tell us… Tell us about a time when you were afraid and the presence of God was a... Read More →
A Reflection on Wisdom and Wonder, Travis Bogan
Sermon AudioDuring the month of July, we are privileged to hear reflections on Wisdom and Wonder. We are grateful for the voices and experiences of our church members.
What time is it?
Sermon AudioDuring the sermon, the congregation speaks the words printed below. Perhaps you will speak the words, too, and make them your prayer of thanksgiving: As we journey through life, God is with us. In seasons of rejoicing, we do not laugh alone. In seasons of mourning, we do not weep alone. When we sow and... Read More →
A Reflection on Wisdom and Wonder, Dottie Cox
Sermon AudioDuring the month of July, we are privileged to hear reflections on Wisdom and Wonder. We are grateful for the voices and experiences of our church members.
A Reflection on Wisdom and Wonder, Jim Tebow
Sermon AudioDuring the month of July, we are privileged to hear reflections on Wisdom and Wonder. We are grateful for the voices and experiences of our church members.
A Reflection on Wisdom and Wonder, Susan Cox
Sermon AudioDuring the month of July, we are privileged to hear reflections on Wisdom and Wonder. We are grateful for the voices and experiences of our church members.
Do Not Be Afraid: The Angels Sing
Sermon AudioThere’s something about those angel songs. The strings and the piano And the pipes of the organ and the voices of the choir. The way Luke tells the story Makes me think he knew something about music Maybe he was a singer himself Maybe he’d been in the choir Had played the lute or the... Read More →
Who We Are
Who We Are November 20, 2016 Philippians 4:4-9 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Sitting at lunch with a friend the other day, I reached into my pocket for a tissue and found instead a folded up piece of paper. It was a short list of things I’d thought of during breakfast that morning, things I needed to do... Read More →
Sabbath: Resist, Remember, Reimagine
Sermon AudioAs many of you know, we just wrapped up our Fall series titled, “The BIG Questions” where we explored all sorts of topics that are important to the Christian faith: “Who is God, Who is Jesus, What is the Bible, Why do we need the Church?” Well since Rev. Lee isn’t here today I decided... Read More →
Sharing Our Stories: Why I Give: George Manley
Sermon AudioOver the next several weeks, you’ll be hearing from church members about why they give, and why this church is important. Why do you give? Why is this church important to you? Read more about Our Path to Commitment.
Our Sacred Story
Sermon AudioThank you choir – your gift of song continually invites us into God’s presence. Will you pray with me? Divine Comforter, Gathering with this community week after week is a reminder of your presence and faithfulness. We are thankful for the Holy Scripture as well as your continuous revelation, which guides us toward justice, reconciliation,... Read More →
Who do you say that I am?
I may have told you before that the church I served before coming to Greensboro, in Northern Virginia, looked a lot like this one. I don’t mean the people – you all look like yourselves. I mean, the church building was almost exactly the same. It was built about the same time, early 1950s, at... Read More →
God Is
The other night, our home phone rang. Nobody really has our home phone number; we use our cell phones for everything, so when that phone rings, I know it’s going to be a telemarketer or somebody trying to upgrade our insurance. And yet, out of some ingrained habit, I always answer anyway, being, apparently, a... Read More →
For Such a Time as This
As part of our summer worship series on pop culture, today’s message features the British television show Dr. Who. I should start with a confession: I have never been much of a fan of Dr. Who. I’d never seen more than a handful of episodes, and those were watched under the guise of being kind... Read More →
Assurance of Grace
An excerpt from “Assurance of Grace” May 29, 2016: The thing about forgiveness is that it’s complicated. It’s rarely as simple as saying you’re sorry. It’s rarely as simple as somebody saying they’re sorry to you. In the case of the church at Corinth, it sounds like maybe there was one person who messed something... Read More →
This Changes Everything
Sermon AudioI guess what I mean to say is that I love the idea of heaven as a far-off perfect someday where we get to eat ice cream and dance full-bodied with the ones we love, and I also love the idea of heaven as something that breaks into life on earth, right into the here... Read More →
Sharing Our Stories, Babs Gordon
Sermon AudioFrom time to time we are inviting people from our community to share stories of how God is and has been at work in each of our lives. We come from many different places and bring different stories when we become a part of this community. Through the sharing of stories the history, the present,... Read More →
Someday Now
Sermon AudioA cool thing happened last fall on September 14, just before 6:00 a.m. You probably didn’t notice, and most of us didn’t hear about it until last month. But on September 14, just before 6:00 in the morning, two observatories – one in Louisiana and one in Washington – detected a gravitational wave for the very... Read More →
Ash Wednesday Meditation
Sermon AudioThis Ash Wednesday meditation is a reflection on Jan Richardson’s poem Return.
Like Those Who Dream
Sermon AudioThe wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing... Read More →
Written on Hearts
When we left off last week, the kingdom of Israel had just been divided, primarily because of the leadership (or lack thereof) of King Rehoboam, If you remember, we’re tracing the story of the Hebrew people this fall, from the time when they were slaves in Egypt to the wandering in the wilderness, to the... Read More →
The Ones Who Came Before
Sermon AudioThings are going to break. Relationships get broken. Traditions get broken. Lives get broken. Things are not the same as they were before. And yet. The story is not over. God always and forever remakes the promise with us, in spite of and through all our brokenness, God is faithful to us, to... Read More →
We Call Ourselves Disciples: Where We’re Going
Sunday’s sermon reflected on the recent General Assembly. Several blog posts highlight the assembly.
Not Surprising
It was as if someone had told them ahead of time that, if they only trusted, if they only believed, if they only had faith, it would happen just like it did. Dry bones? Wind? Flames? Different languages? It’s a lot to cover but let’s look at these stories. For many of us, they are... Read More →
Hymns that are Meaningful to Me
Members of the Elders and laity participated in and planned the day’s worship service. The following speakers shared reflections on their favorite hymns and music guided us through our worship. Many thanks to all who contributed on Laity Sunday. From Darilyn Knibb, Reflections on “In the Garden” My earliest memories of my paternal grandparents... Read More →
Five Smooth Stones
During Eastertide, the church season which follows Easter—once we have discovered the empty tomb and sung our “Alleluias!,” once we have said yes to embodying the light of hope and committed ourselves to living out the rest of the Easter story—we consider what it means to be people of the resurrection. Trusting that God is... Read More →
Easter Sunday: In Search of an Ending
Sermon AudioWhen the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away... Read More →
Lent 1: A Love Story
Let’s start of by saying that 40 days is a long time to do any one thing – to be out in the wilderness, to fast, to be stuck on a boat with a bunch of animals. At my house, it feels like 40 days since anybody’s been to school, but maybe that’s just me. You get... Read More →
Darkly Beautiful
Last year on Ash Wednesday, as we visited after the service, the ash and oil still fresh on our foreheads, someone said to me, “I’ve always liked Ash Wednesday, but I don’t know why. There’s something darkly beautiful about it.” And that phrase, darkly beautiful, stuck with me – all through last year’s Lent season,... Read More →