Sermon 09.01.2024: Faith on Stage - An Amazing Technicolor Worship Service

God listens to our prayers. Our words? Not so much. God knows what's in our hearts, despite the words we choose. What if we, like the Holy Spirit, were to listen to what's underneath the noise? Perhaps then we could discover true common ground.

Our passage from the Letter to the Philippians contains what is called the Christ Hymn. Perhaps they used it in worship. It is very poetic language about who Jesus was. Jesus is described in this hymn as someone who 'emptied himself'.

The apostle Paul experienced hardships for his preaching. He was imprisoned, kicked out of towns, and suffered harm. He was willing to talk about his struggles, but he never stopped there. It can be easy to see our struggles as the conclusion of a story. It can be more challenging to see them as a part of a bigger story. In Paul's letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds us to look for the bigger thread that weaves our stories together, and, in the midst of his suffering, he makes the decision to rejoice.

In a city crowded with idols and an altar dedicated to an unknown god, the Apostle Paul discovered that humanity's deepest restlessness is itself a longing for the One in whom we live, move, and have our being.

When the earthquake opens every door and every chain falls loose, Paul and Silas don’t run. That inexplicable refusal — we are all here — is what converts a jailer, and what might yet convert us.

Paul’s conversion is one of the most dramatic stories in scripture. But if you had told 20 year old Paul that 2000 years later we would know him as the most prolific writer about Jesus, he would not have believed it. What a second act! Do we give people space to live their second acts?

On this Confirmation Sunday, we read about Thomas, the disciple who doubted and would not believe until he saw Jesus with his own eyes. He is usually viewed negatively, but certainity is the very opposite of faith. Without our doubts, how can we profess to have faith?

Mary went to the tomb on Easter morning while it was still dark. She encountered the living Christ not after day had dawned, not when things were looking hopeful, but while it was still dark. What might the Easter story have to say to our world today? Where is resurrection in our midst?

What we get before Palm Sunday in John’s gospel is the story of people who are ALL IN, saying enough is enough if a culture of violence wants to keep people in their graves. Enough is enough if generosity and abundance are scorned. Enough is enough if talking about new life is threatening to people in power . They lead