When Paul and Silas preach the reconciling love of God in the capital city, the dominant society punishes them for "turning the world upside down.” Today, in our currently-irreconcilable culture, when we preach God’s inclusive love, we should expect no less! Shall the fundamentalists win? Or can God call on a more loving publicist, like you?

Today we'll hear the story of Stephen in the Book of Acts. He's known as the first martyr for the Gospel. The root of the word 'martyr' comes from the word 'witness'. Maybe we can't all be (or don't want to be) martyrs, but what does it mean to take our witness seriously?

Today begins a month of stories from the early, post-Easter church from the Book of Acts. In today's story, Peter and John heal a man outside the Temple. The man was begging for money. Peter offers him something else, if only he'll fix his attention to see it.

Mark's account of the resurrection doesn't include an appearance by Jesus. The gospel originally ended with a preposition, surely causing his 8th grade English teacher to weep. Mark's gospel ends with the women fleeing the tomb in terror. But that's not the end of the story. How often are our lives like that? When have you had a chance to write a different ending to a part of your story?

As we think about peace, it is important that we don’t only see peacefulness and quiet as the goal. Peace often requires a stand. Sometimes conflict is required to break through injustice so you can get to peace. If we want to be blessed as peacemakers, we will need to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, to stand in opposition to the violence and injustice of the world, and to know that peace can only come from deep love, the kind of love you have to summon for those you don’t know, don’t understand, or don’t like.

The events of Palm Sunday flew in the face of all that seemed civil and polite for an occupied state of the Roman Empire. How dare this Jesus and his common followers mock the imperial parade celebrating the power and plunders of war? Who was this Jesus that compelled the people to wave palms and throw their cloaks on the ground in welcome? Join us on Sunday as wave our palms, sing our hosanna, and meet this Jesus who comes riding on a colt.

As we think about peace, it is important that we don’t only see peacefulness and quiet as the goal. Peace often requires a stand. Sometimes conflict is required to break through injustice so you can get to peace. If we want to be blessed as peacemakers, we will need to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, to stand in opposition to the violence and injustice of the world, and to know that peace can only come from deep love, the kind of love you have to summon for those you don’t know, don’t understand, or don’t like.

The storms of life don't cease. At any given moment, every human being alive is either 1) sailing into a storm, 2) navigating through a storm, or 3) coming out of a storm. Those are our only choices. Storms happen. This Sunday, we explore how to anchor ourselves to peace.

We will look at how true peace requires radical kindness (not just being nice), being able to see humanity and dignity in even our deepest of enemies. We acknowledge these relationships' deaths and believe that new life can be experienced. In conflicted times today, it is even more difficult to choose this path, but these are the times when we may need to most . . . and if we can't trust that the church can express new life, what are we doing?

We are living, historically speaking, in peaceful times. Compared to almost every other century, people alive today are less likely to die because of violence and war. It doesn't feel like that when we read the news though, does it? When world leaders rattle their sabers and try to convince us to live in fear, what if we could respond with a different vision instead? This week we'll read a passage from Isaiah, where nations stream to God’s holy mountain so God can teach us the ways of peace.

Humans can tend to sometimes be grouchy folks, quick to be at odds with each other, and masterful at building walls between us. The author of Ephesians refers to Jesus as our peace. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus breaks down the dividing walls we build. What does it mean to be one in Jesus? How can our faith lead to plant peace in new ways that will help us sow more shalom and wholeness in the world?

Join us for Ash Wednesday Worship

This Sunday we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday, the day when Jesus's true nature is revealed. Transfiguration does not mean the same thing as the word transformation. Transformation is when someone or something is changed or remade; whereas, transfiguration implies a revelation of one's true nature. Jesus is not changed on the Mount that day, he is known and revealed for who he truly is. Jesus is where humanity and divinity meet.

A chance encounter with an outsider and an unexpected request invite Jesus’ involvement and compel his compassion, challenging his place and plan at the beginning of his public ministry.

Exorcism was to the Early Church as psychotherapy is to us today. In a famous story from Mark's gospel, Jesus helps a very troubled man—a "demoniac"—get unstuck and live a better life. Bring your demons with you this Sunday; there's no place better for them than church!

Early in Mark's gospel, the crowds are big. They are following Jesus everywhere he goes. But the crowd isn't of one mind. It is a house divided and Jesus says that a house divided cannot stand. Some of the crowd want healing. Some of them are conspiring to destroy him. We also live in a world that isn't of one mind. And we feel the crush of that division. What does it take to be a house united in a world that feels crowded with conflict?

Religious leaders wondered why Jesus ate with "sinners and tax collectors." In the United States, there was a time when lunch counters were segregated, and most white Americans could not fathom dining with black Americans. But we are all one human family, and we are all sinners in the hands of a God who invites us to feast at the welcome table. Have you eaten? Are you hungry? Come and dine with the divine!

Mark's Gospel doesn't begin with stories of shepherds, angels, or magi. He begins with John the Baptist, gathering large crowds and preaching a baptism of repentance. Jesus, too, is baptized by John, with the heavens parting, and the Divine voice proclaiming “you are my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased”. And maybe, especially, right after Christmas, we need that reminder that we are God’s beloveds, and with us, God is well pleased. Isn’t that the lesson of Christmas? God chose to become one of us, to be one with us.

The magi followed a star, hoping to find a king at the end of their journey. Were they surprised to find him in a manger instead of a palace? What stars are guiding us? And what surprises and epiphanies await us?

A Light in the Darkness: We celebrate Jesus’ birthday at the darkest point of our year, right after the winter solstice as the days slowly start to lengthen. This is the night we gather in the twilight and light candles, as a reminder that Jesus’ birth was a light for people in the metaphorical gloom of occupation and war. How can we bear Christ’s light so the weary world can rejoice?

Scripture Lesson 1: Isaiah 11:1-4a, 6-9 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Lesson 2: Luke 1:26-41 The Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[ a ] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Mary Visits Elizabeth 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Lesson 3: Luke 2:1-5 The Birth of Jesus 2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[ a ]Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Lesson 4: Luke 2:8-20 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Sermon Text Coming soon!

“A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” Zechariah was a priest serving in the Temple, who lost his voice when the angel Gabriel came and spoke a prophecy to him about his son who was to be born, named John. After nine months of silence, Zechariah gets his voice back in time to announce his own prophecy. A promise for a better world than the one we see around us. This week, we’ll consider his words. “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.”

In a world full of hate and war, joy is our most faithful form of protest. Christmas calls up the full spectrum of emotions, everything from grief and lament to "sweet hymns of joy." From the ruins of war and exile, the ancient Jews rebuilt their joy. And so will we.

The prophecy from Isaiah becomes the prophecy used by John the baptizer as he preached a message of repentance. It’s a prophecy of both comfort and discomfort. Those who have been exiled will come home. Those who have exiled others will need to change their ways. Most of us are somewhere in the middle, in need of both comfort and correction. Come and find community in worship as we prepare our hearts for God’s way in the wilderness. “Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease”

This Advent, our theme is "A New and Glorious Morn" a line from the Christmas song, "O Holy Night." As we await the birth of a Messiah and the birth of a new and glorious morning, how might we hold onto hope that this is possible? Join us for the first Sunday in Advent as we journey together towards Christmas!

Today is Christ the King Sunday and we'll hear the story of King Josiah, which continues the theme we’ve been hearing from the prophets the past few weeks, about what kind of leadership God desires. Leadership that is honest, that is fragile like a shoot coming out of a stump, and that turns people back toward God.

Thanks to a disastrous marriage, the prophet Hosea became the first to uncover God's most consequential attribute: Long-Suffering Love. No matter how far we try to run, God waits for us to come home. God is in this relationship (with you) for the long haul.

In the Bible, when people worshipped false gods, they were clearly named. Nowadays, we still can worship false gods, but when they are money, or success, or something that society values, it can be harder to see. In our story today, Elijah shows the Israelites that their worship of the false god Baal is a weak substitute for the God of Israel.

Jesus preached a radical, upside-down gospel that lifted up the lowly and served those on the margins. But his disciples still longed to be great. How do we understand greatness in light of this Jesus? Join us on Sunday as we learn together how to be more like Jesus!

This month we've been talking about sowing seeds, and creating fertile conditions for community to thrive and grow. This week we'll consider what it looks like for us to bear fruit, as Jesus says his followers will do.

Jesus doesn’t say the Kingdom of God is like a semi trailer full of wheat. The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. How often do you think you'd be doing better if you had a really big, strong faith? Might it free you up to only need a mustard sized faith? 

While our faith may be personal, it is not private. We are called to support each other on our journeys of faith, maybe even by digging through a roof in order to get a friend closer to Jesus.

Jesus tells stories (parables) into which we try to fit ourselves and our worldviews. This Sunday, Rev. Victor shares a fresh take on The Parable of the Sower. If you have been feeling kinda “thorny” lately, Jesus has a suggestion for you.

Who wins in a wrestling match with God? Believe it or not, God invites us to strive and struggle with God; in fact, God prefers that to a lack-luster, lukewarm faith. Perhaps what awaits us on the other side of a wrestling match is a blessing.

God made promises to Abraham. It was with Abraham that God created the covenant, the promise that God would be with Abraham and his descendants. But that story hadn't played out as Abraham expected. What do we do when the life we get isn't the life we thought we would have? Abraham's wife, Sarah, laughed at God, when she was promised a child in her old age. Is that an act of faithlessness or a sign of the covenant?

We read scripture to know the stories of our faith and to see our own lives reflected in God's story. When we don’t know our stories, we don’t know who we are. We experience things in life and then assign meaning to those events by telling stories. The stories we hear and the stories we tell define and shape our world. Sometimes we tell that story better than other times. We begin this new program year at the beginning, in the Garden. Bring your bibles and let's journey through our story together.

Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.” Rev. Victor will sing the sermon in this end-of-the-summer musical celebration. Guest guitarist, Larry Chung, and Calvary’s gifted musicians will lead us in hymns and songs old and new. End this summer with delight.

Sometimes sabbath is portrayed as the antithesis of justice because it is rest rather than action. But sabbath and justice go hand in hand. Just as we are called to rest, we are also called to provide rest for others, including rest from crushing debt. How can we loose the bonds of injustice through the lens of sabbath? Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am as we pursue together the full meaning of sabbath.

Keeping the Sabbath is a command, but it isn't meant to be punitive. Let's bring some joy back to our practice of Sabbath.

Observing Sabbath makes the theological claim that we are not defined by the work we do, which is often how we define ourselves. As Rev. Kara Root writes: “The other commandments take the people out of slavery; the Sabbath command takes the slavery out of the people.” Let’s observe our time. Do we spend it? Or does it spend us?

Call of a Man Born Blind: The particularity of our call is often how God is revealed more clearly to others.

Once in Midian, Moses tried to lead a life under God's radar. God found him anyway and gave Moses a history-changing assignment: FREE THE PEOPLE! END SLAVERY!

Have you heard and discerned your call? If not, why? If so, how? Together, let's explore God's call to each of us to heal and repair this broken world!

Our calling is for the benefit of the wider world, not just for ourselves. Join us for a sermon series this summer exploring the call stories of different people in scripture, and as we explore our own calls. God is calling you. Yes, you.

We are called to particular service, for particular people, in particular times. Join us for a sermon series this summer exploring the call stories of different people in scripture, and as we explore our own calls. God is calling you. Yes, you.

It is always God who does the calling, but sometimes we need other people to hear God’s voice. Join us for a sermon series this summer exploring the call stories of different people in scripture, and as we explore our own calls. God is calling you. Yes, you.

On this LGBTQ+ Pride Sunday, Rev. Victor invites you to tune in to everyone's favorite Old Testament game show: CLEAN OR UNCLEAN! Afterwards, we will march down Market Street with the United in Spirit interfaith contingent. All are welcome. Always.

Summer Sermon Series: Short & Sweet - There's a lot of familial language in Paul's letter to Philemon. If we want to call each other siblings in Christ, are we willing to treat everyone we meet like we are all God's children, and a part of our family? By claiming membership in God’s family, we aren’t just interested in our own, personal lives and salvation. We become invested in the lives of each other and in the lives of people we may not even know.

Summer Sermon Series: Short & Sweet - If "whoever who does good is from God," with whom might we partner with to create justice and peace in the world? Who are our co-workers? Let us build coalitions and partnerships to build a world where God's love is known and justice prevails!