January 3, 2021 Sermon

On Brave and Startling Truths: Home by Another Way  Sermon: On Brave and Startling Truths: Home by Another Way  January 3rd, 2021  Matthew 2:1-12  “They left for their own country by another road.” Matthew 2:12 *   *   *   *   * The pandemic has brought out my inner...

December 20, 2020 Sermon

When I Waked, I Cried To Dream Again  Steve Jungkeit  The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme  Texts: Psalm 126; Joel 2: 28; Matthew 1: 18-25  December 20, 2020  One of the curious features of the Christmas narratives in the Bible is how often important...

December 13, 2020 Sermon

For Unto You   Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Luke 2: 1-20 December 13, 2020   Last week found us in a prison cell with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, where, in 1943, he wrote about the quiet Christmas he was preparing to celebrate that year. ...

December 6, 2020 Sermon

17 December 1943 Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Philippians 2: 1-11 December 6, 2020             “No doubt it will be a very quiet Christmas everywhere, and the children will remember it for a long time to come.”[1]  So said Dietrich...

November 29, 2020 Sermon

Advent Meditation: Learning the New Song Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Luke 1:5, 8-25a, 78-79 November 29, 2020 “The Commonplace is shot through now with new glory…despite all the crassness, life is saved by the singing...

November 22, 2020 Sermon

Silken Threads of Thanks  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Luke 17: 11-19; Psalm 100 November 22, 2020 O Sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in…you hang by a slender thread… -Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry...

November 15, 2020 Sermon

What are You Looking For?  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Matthew 4: 18-22; John 1: 35-38 November 15, 2020              Some individuals and families have acquired pandemic dogs.  We’ve emphatically resisted.  Not because the kids...

November 8, 2020 Sermon

A Sprig of Hope  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Genesis 7-8, Selected Verses; John 14: 1-2 November 8, 2020  The waiting is the hardest partEvery day you see one more cardYou take it on faith, you take it to the heartThe waiting is...

November 1, 2020 Sermon

The Gospel of Kinship: All Things are Inventions of Holiness  Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Isaiah 33:2; Mark 3:31-35; John 15:12 November 1, 2020  “All things are inventions of holiness — some more rascally than...

October 25, 2020 Sermon

Everlasting Arms  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Exodus 14 (selected verses); Deuteronomy 33: 27a; I Thessalonians 5: 12-22 October 25, 2020              Some years ago, I had the experience of trying to finish a long trail hike...

October 18, 2020 Sermon

Deceptive Divines: Learning To See through the Mud  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Mark 8: 22-26; I Corinthians 13: 9-12 October 18, 2020               There’s a curious scene that unfolds at the end of a novel called The Gospel...

October 11, 2020 Sermon

Living in the Spread: The Violence of Language and the Word Become Flesh Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Genesis 11: 1-9; John 1: 1-5, 14; Revelation 13: 5-8, 10b October 11, 2020 “Speech has power and few people realize that words do...

October 4, 2020 Sermon

How Firm a Foundation #2: The Art of the Blessing Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Isaiah 30: 21; Matthew 5:1-12 October 4, 2020             This day already feels quite full and it’s only just after 11:00! Maybe you can...

September 27, 2020 Sermon

A Firm Foundation for a World on the Brink  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Psalm 139: 1-10; 23-24; Luke 19: 10 September 27, 2020 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.-Luke 19: 10              Large colonial era...

September 20, 2020 Sermon

Rebuilding the Terraces  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Deuteronomy 31: 7-8; 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20 September 20, 2020 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be...