Sermon 09.01.2024: Faith on Stage - An Amazing Technicolor Worship Service
Rev. Victor Floyd • September 1, 2024
This was a special end-of-the-summer service with extra musical selections. There was not a traditional sermon during this service. Rather, the following are reflections which were woven throughout the service. The three scripture lessons are followed by selections from musicals that function as commentary.
Please download the Bulletin and Sermon PDFs for this special service to follow along. Enjoy!
Not long after the birth of Christ, King Herod's fragile ego led to the slaughter of innocents. Jesus and his family, however, were able to escape this massacre by seeking refuge in Egypt. When we welcome immigrants and refugees, we welcome Jesus who knew what it meant to be displaced and how it felt to have to leave h
The prophet Isaiah tells the story of people who walked in darkness. He also tells of how God shines light into the dark and shadowy places where people walk.
What is our call, as followers of the Christ child, to reflect God's light for people who are walking in darkness today?
In a dream, Joseph received a startling message from God turned his world upside down, and Joseph's faithfulness in responding to God's dream, changed the world. We rejoice for all who hear God's dreams and respond with faith instead of fear.
God chose an unwed teenage girl to bear the son of God.
It reminds us that God is willing to be vulnerable. Because Mary was vulnerable. There was a more than decent chance that this pregnancy could have resulted in Mary being stoned to death. God does not just have a preference for the poor and the weak. God became po
Repentance is part of the work of preparation – and both activities have individual and collective elements. As crowds come to John for baptism, their repentance becomes a community event. Preparing the path of God also requires communities to engage in peace, love, and justice.
“Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.” But when? There is no holy itinerary for God’s arrival — no day or hour, no platform or gate. In Matthew 24, Jesus teaches us that if we want to live good and meaningful lives, we must keep awake: stay alert, attentive, expectant. God’s ever-dawning presence is
The Bible has a tendency to compare us to sheep. In the 23rd Psalm, it is a good comparison because God is the shepherd and God's pretty good at the shepherding business, leading us to still waters. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that sometimes human shepherds let God's flock down. How can we be helpful shepherds, fil
Amos was a small-town shepherd when God called him to be a prophet for justice. This relatively unknown "nobody" spoke boldly to those in power, railing against their policies and systems that favored profit over people. Join Amos on his quest for a fair and equitable society where justice rolls down like waters...
Elijah is a very relatable prophet. He has moments of great faithfulness, and moments where his fear gets in the way and his hope dissolves into despair. How does God respond to Elijah, and to us, in those moments when we forget just how great God's faithfulness really is.
Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples to be the 'salt of the earth' and 'light of the world'. How is God calling Calvary to be light for the world?