Category: Sermons

“What In Us Is Dark, Illumine”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Isaiah 14: 12-15; Matthew 4: 1-4; “On Mr. Milton’s Paradise Lost,” by Andrew Marvell   What in me is dark, illumine… -John Milton, Paradise Lost  Having entered the season of Lent, it is necessary to spend at least a little [...]

“Bearing Witness: How to Speak Love in a Storm”  Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-NagerTexts: Exodus 23: 9, Mark 4: 34-41 Walking into a detention center is a surreal experience. You hand in your driver’s license, sign paperwork, lock your belongings in a locker and pass through a metal detector with your shoes [...]

“A Sublime Madness”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Isaiah 58: 1, 6-9; Jeremiah 20: 9 “A Sublime Madness”     One of the sharpest minds the United States has ever produced happened to be a minister, a theologian, and a social theorist in the denomination to which we belong – the United [...]

“The World is Lit By Lightening”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Exodus 19: 1-2, 16-19; Matthew 24: 23-27; John 1: 1-5   “Blow out your candles, Laura.Nowadays the world is lit by lightning.” -Tennessee WilliamsThe Glass Menagerie               Years ago our family spent a summer in Vermont, in a town [...]

“Where Shall Wisdom Be Found: A Story of Pilgrimage and Discovery”  Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Proverbs 2: 1-10; Matthew 2: 12     Where Shall Wisdom Be Found: A Story of Pilgrimage and Discovery             Nearly six years ago, the white suburbs had to learn how to say Black Lives Matter [...]

“Scripts for the Pageant”  Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Psalm 119: 97-105; Matthew 2: 1-12; John 1: 14             Where shall wisdom be found?  That question from the Book of Job is one that reverberates on Epiphany Sunday, during which we retell the story of the Magi in search of [...]

“How Newness Enters the World”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Ezra 9: 1-4, Nehemiah 13: 1-3, Matthew 1: 1-16              It’s always a good idea to read the fine print.  That applies to the mortgage on your house, it applies to the list of side-effects on the medication your physician has [...]

“Labor of Love”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Luke 1: 26-38; Luke 2: 1-7 A Labor of Love             It is the custom of most churches to hold off on reading Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus until Christmas Eve, or perhaps until the fourth Sunday of Advent.  This morning, [...]

“Estrangement and Grace: Lessons from the Prodigal Family”    Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager Text: Luke 15:11-32 “But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20  My whole life I’ve heard the [...]

No Condemnation, Part II: “He Descended Into Hell: On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead”    Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: The Apostle’s Creed; Isaiah 53: 3-4; I Peter 3: 18b-20             One of the things we emphasize over and over, and especially when we’re welcoming new members, [...]