Sermons

We want to see Jesus

Sermon for March 22, 2015 (Fifth Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin: Late last week, my son noticed that as the snow melted, the remnant of the lawn beneath it looked dead. He did not believe me when I suggested that all the snow was nature’s fertilizer. He could see the wilted, yellowed grass. Really, mom, it looks dead. If the small glacier on our front yard ever melts completely, I trust that the lawn will return to something green and living. That is the pattern of creation. Some gospels are easier to work with than others. Did you notice the disconnect between the inquiry of the Greeks and Jesus’ response in today’s gospel passage? Part of me hopes that the editor left out a couple of sentences. Sir we want to see Jesus. On most Sundays, we also might be ready to say that along with the Greeks. We want help. We want to be healed. We long for the presence of God. Is Jesus at home? We need to see him. Read More  Listen to this sermon Read more • Leer más → “We want to see Jesus”
Sermons

Sermon for March 15, 2015 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)

Sermon for March 15, 2015 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
Mr. Stephen Nagy, Seminarian (4 Lent): John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in Scripture. Quoted across pop culture from the rapper Wyclef Jean to the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, from the fastfood chain In-N-Out Burger to quarterback Tim Tebow. You can probably find it up on more billboards than all the personal injury lawyers strung together. And for good reason, for it could be called the Gospel in a soundbite:
    "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Read More Read more • Leer más → “Sermon for March 15, 2015 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)”
Sermons

Then God spoke all these words…

Sermon for March 8, 2015 (Third Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
Do you ever wonder why we do what we do? On Sundays in Lent, we recite the Decalogue as part of the Penitential Rite. We often hear them as a list of obligations to fulfill or action to avoid. Like the fashion Dos and Don’ts in magazine, only more serious. In fact, the Ten Commandments are a gift from the Almighty to shape the common life of a chosen people. They are not a code of law. They are markers of a covenant relationship. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Then God spoke all these words…”
Sermons

To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.

Sermon for March 1, 2015 (Second Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
To make an end is to make a beginning. We mark the end of one musical era and the beginning of the next. We mark the end of one way of being church and the beginning of a new way. We may or we may not be ready for either. The end is where we start from. Read More Read more • Leer más → “To make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
Sermons

And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness

Sermon for February 22, 2015 (First Sunday in Lent)
Rev. Amy Welin:
The Gospel of Mark portrays Jesus as a driven man. Throughout the three years covered in the gospel’s 16 short chapters, Jesus is on the move from one place to the next, proclaiming the coming of the Reign of God with a real sense of urgency. His ministry has an immediacy that no other gospel captures. Jesus knows what God needs done, and there is no time to waste. Read More Read more • Leer más → “And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness”
Sermónes / Sermons

God invites you to a holy Lent • Dios te invita a una santa Cuaresma

Sermon for February 18, 2015 (Ash Wednesday)
Sermón del 18 de febrero 2015 (Miércoles de Ceniza)
Rev. Amy Welin:
Starting today... God invites you to a holy Lent. God invites you for the next 40 days to a season of self-examination, service, repentance, forgiveness, prayer, fasting, self-denial and the regular reading and meditating on God's Word. Desde hoy ... Dios te invita a una santa Cuaresma. Dios te invita para los próximos 40 días para una temporada de auto-examen, el servicio, el arrepentimiento, el perdón, la oración, el ayuno, la abnegación y la lectura regular y meditación de la Palabra de Dios. Read More • Lea más Read more • Leer más → “God invites you to a holy Lent • Dios te invita a una santa Cuaresma”
Sermons

Under the right conditions, snow for Valentine’s Day could be romantic

Sermon for February 15, 2015 (Last Sunday after the Epiphany)
Rev. Amy Welin:
Picture the snow quietly falling on the trees and lawn as you gaze out the window, sitting close to your beloved, enjoying a nice cup of cocoa or glass of wine. A glowing fireplace warms the room behind you. You are amazed and uplifted by the overwhelming power of love. Love is enough as it fills your heart and all is right in your world. The romance of fantasy. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Under the right conditions, snow for Valentine’s Day could be romantic”
Sermons

Jesus is on his way. Are we willing to keep moving with Jesus?

Sermon for February 8, 2015 (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany)
Rev. Amy Welin:
Jesus comes to tell us good news - the good news that we are also connected to the power of God, the good news that we shall never be alone. And, that good news is accompanied by mighty acts that free people from their burdened lives. When Jesus sneaks out to pray early in the morning, and the disciples find him, he responds with a renewed commitment to his mission of proclamation and confronting the power of evil. Lives are changed, the world is different. Can we let Jesus heal us of our fevers - as he healed Peter’s mother-in-law - so that we can hear the good news of deliverance and join him on his mission? Jesus is on his way. Are we willing to keep moving with Jesus? Read More Read more • Leer más → “Jesus is on his way. Are we willing to keep moving with Jesus?”
Sermons

God makes marvelous works to be remembered

Sermon for February 1, 2015 (Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany)
Rev. Amy Welin:
When was the last time you felt amazed? Was it a recent experience - perhaps a glimpse of the stars in the clear winter sky? Did you witness a miracle or sense the presence of God? Or is amazement a long-ago memory? Was your observation of the wondrous a good feeling or a negative one? Read More Read more • Leer más → “God makes marvelous works to be remembered”
Sermons

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer the call of our Savior Jesus Christ

Sermon for January 25, 2015 (Third Sunday after the Epiphany)
Rev. Amy Welin:
St. John’s parish needs to get in touch with your spiritual side. Embrace Sunday as a celebration by disciples of Jesus Christ. We are church and not just a gathering of friends. (It is not possible to overstate the import of this foundational theological principle of our reason to exist). Do church like you mean it: sing, pray, respond. We need to transform our worship and our music so they are active and engaged and not passive. Worship in this community must be our passion, not merely habit. The God we worship is the God to whom we pray and sing, and the God of our worship is tired, kind of dull, and easy to tune out. Participation in worship gives apostles the energy to share the good news beyond the doors of the parish. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Give us grace, O Lord, to answer the call of our Savior Jesus Christ”