Jesus Is Comin’ to Town! (3/25/18)

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; John12:12-19

Wilhelm Morgner, Entry of Christ into Jerusalem

On Sunday, March 25th, we heard the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as it's told in the Gospel of John. It's the shortest of the four accounts of Palm Sunday. In the introduction to the sermon, I sang a little bit of Bruce Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town." Alas, no audio of this event survives.

Seeing Jesus (3/18/18)

Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 12:20-33

 Wheat

By User:Bluemoose - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=333105

I've officiated a lot of funerals since I began my ministry at Rehoboth Presbyterian Church. I've seen lots of flowers in funeral homes, and sometimes those floral arrangements include a spray of wheat. On Sunday, March 18th, we heard a story from the Gospel of John in which Jesus compares his death and resurrection to wheat being planted in the ground. This sermon also includes an important lesson that I learned from Rev. Dave Carver when I was in seminary.

Visible Promises, Abundant Mercies (3/11/18)

Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21

Coventry Cathedral, baptistery window by John Piper 

On Sunday, March 11th, we celebrated the sacrament of baptism as we welcomed Mason O'Casek into the family of saints here at Rehoboth Presbyterian Church. We also heard the story of Moses and the bronze serpent, one of the most unusual stories from the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as a very, very familiar passage from the Gospel of John.

The Thirteen Commandments (3/4/18)

Exodus 20:1-17; John2:13-22

 Lucas Cranach, The Ten Commandments

On Sunday, March 4th, we examined the Ten Commandments, as they appear in the Book of Exodus. This is one of those Bible stories that is so familiar, that sometimes we don't pay close enough attention to it. Even worse, we tend to view it as simply a checklist of behaviors that we have to follow, rather than understanding it as part of a larger covenant between God and humanity.