Mary's "Yes"

Luke 1:26-38

Jeremy Richards

One morning a few months ago, I had just woken up. My coffee wasn’t yet made. My eyes were half-shut. I was zoning out, staring at our kitchen sink when Brie ran in and stuck a long, skinny piece of plastic in my face with a look of joy and disbelief in her eyes. The piece of plastic had dots or a screen, maybe some different colors, I can’t really remember what it looked like because I wasn’t awake yet. I didn’t know how to read it, but I knew what it was.

Some Good News and Some Bad News

Luke 2:8-20

Jeremy Richards

As Shelley mentioned last week, the lectionary texts during Advent are a little challenging, so I decided to take a break and explore our readings from our Advent Wreath this week and next week. I really love these readings because they focus on different characters in the Christmas story – everyday people who are invited into the story of God’s salvation. The readings begin by remembering those characters, and end by reminding us that those people are present in our world today. Last week we remembered the prophets from old and gave thanks for the modern day prophets. Today we remember the shepherds from old and also give thanks for those who fulfill similar working class roles today.

Calling in the Professional

Isaiah 64:1-9 | Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 | Mark 13:24-37

Jeremy Richards

There’s a rumor going around this church. And it is, like most rumors, not true. The rumor is that I kill cars. I believe the title “car-killer” has even been thrown around.

So let’s just clear the air: the Honda we just sold a few weeks ago was in fine working order when we sold it. Our Toyota pickup is in serious trouble because its clutch has gone out, but we haven’t had it for even a year and it’s 27 years old, so you can’t tell me that I single-handedly destroyed the clutch. I’m thinking the 26 years before we got it had something to do with the clutch going out. And lastly, leaving Adam’s lights on so the battery dies hardly makes me a car killer. Battery killer, okay. Car killer, no.

The Curved Out Kingdom

Luke 17:11-19

Britt Carlson

By the time we get to chapter seventeen in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has been all over Israel. He’s been teaching about the kingdom of heaven, he’s been healing the sick and he’s been subverting the social order in all sorts of ways. Now Jesus has begun to head back toward Jerusalem and is skirting the area between Samaria and Galilee when he and his disciples stumble across a group of ten lepers. They desperately want to be healed—apparently they’re calling out to whatever prophet seems to be walking by. But in this case what they get is something they’ve never encountered before. Jesus doesn’t immediately heal them but says, “Go to the temple and show yourself to the priests.” The ten head off and even before they arrive at the temple, they look down and to their shock their leprosy is gone. Immediately, one of the lepers turns around and runs back to Jesus and falls to at his feet in praise.

What We Think About God

Judges 4:1-7 | Psalm 123 | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 | Matthew 25:14-30

Jeremy Richards

Our Gospel passage today isn’t an easy one to swallow, and it isn’t found in an easy section of Scripture either. Giving it context hardly helps us temper Christ’s words from Matthew 25:14-30. This parable is found within a series of parables, all of which preach judgment with an apocalyptic bent. The parables in this section of Matthew all refer to the final judgment and make a point to differentiate between those who have lived faithfully and those who have lived unfaithfully, with harsh consequences for those who have lived unfaithfully.

The Story We Choose

Joshua 3:7-17 | Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 | 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 | Matthew 23:1-12

Jeremy Richards

A few weeks ago, I saw a bunch of little Lee Owen Stone students walking through our doors as all kinds of wild animals, super heroes, princesses, and other costumes I could only guess at. When children (and adults) dress up as different characters, they are drawn to something they know about these characters and about the world these characters live in.

Out of the Wilderness

Joshua 3:7-17 | Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 | 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 | Matthew 23:1-12

Jeremy Richards

I’ll begin by saying that I wanted to avoid preaching from Joshua because Joshua is, in my opinion, one of, if not the, most disturbing books in the Bible. Joshua tells the story of Israel’s violent, genocidal takeover of a land that belonged to other peoples. The book of Joshua gives theological approval to the killing of innocent men, women, and children. It’s a difficult book for us because we take Scripture seriously and we also take justice seriously, and Joshua is a book where those two values of ours seem, at times, to conflict with one another.

Remembering the Reformation

Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Psalm 46 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36

Jeremy Richards

I have to begin this sermon with a confession: I’m a bad Protestant. I’m a bad Protestant because I forgot, up until Monday of this week, that today is Reformation Sunday, and not only is it Reformation Sunday, it’s the 500th anniversary of the Reformation! Our resident Baptist historian, Slayden, who isn’t here right now because he’s serving as the interim pastor at FBC Gresham, would never forgive me if I didn’t talk about the Reformation today. He told me months ago that I needed to do something for this important milestone. And, like I said, I forgot until this week.

In the Breach

Exodus 32:1-14 | Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 | Philippians 4:1-9| Matthew 22:1-14

“…Moses, God’s chosen one, stood in the breach before God to keep God’s wrath from destroying them.”

Most of you have probably met my mom by now. She was here last week for the celebration of my one year anniversary here at Grant Park. You’d probably never guess that that sweet little lady used to be quite the rebel as a child. Up until junior high, she and her siblings got into quite a bit of trouble.