Pentecost: Miracle of Understanding. May 24, 2026

Hope in the Gospels. June 14, 2026

Our sermon series on hope continues as we look for hope in the gospels and find that Jesus embodied hope. Everything about him was bringing people out of despair, disorientation, into restoration. And then he sends us to continue to work.

Hope in the Prophets. June 7, 2026.

God gives us hope in times of disorientation, when everything is just falling apart. Then hope changes everything. God's primary way of giving hope is through other people. God did a lot of that through the prophets, ministering to the people of God going through a horrible exile. Pastor Mia walks us through the history of the exile and the prophets who spoke God's hope in times of despair. Those words still speak to us today, and call us to give hope to others.

Pentecost: Miracle of Understanding. May 24, 2026

Pentecost is the miracle in which the Holy Spirit arrived on earth in spectacular fashion. Our spiritual ancestors experienced noise, wind, wildfire, and languages as they began speaking in their mother tongues. Pentecost is the occasion that’s often celebrated as the birthday of the church. At the time of Pentecost, Jerusalem was full of people who believed God resided in the temple. They were there to worship God instead of trying to be in relationship with God. Unlike idols, who wanted slaves and demanded sacrifices, God asked for loyalty. But while God remained faithful to the people, they were revering idols and breaking the commandments. When the early Hebrews built the tower of Babel to get as high as God, God responded by giving them different languages. As a result, they could no longer communiicate with each other to reach that lofty and unholy goal. Hundreds of years later, Pentecost healed the brokenness of Babel. When the Holy Sprit prompted the people to speak in their mother tongues, there was understanding despite all of the different languages. With the Holy Spirit, we are compelled by the miracle of a God-given understanding that includes minds, hearts, and relationships. God wants us to share this miracle with others by seeking to be understood or seeking to understand. Our interest in understanding people who are different from us is one of the ways our Christian faith sets us apart. When we understand others and love them, God is transforming the world through us.

2nd Sunday of Easter. Resurrection stories. April 12, 2026

Cheering, clapping, and looking shocked. Mision control photos from last week’s successful completion of the Artemis II moon flyby show those joyous reactions as NASA scientists and engineers experienced the same wonderful event in different ways. That’s also how it was for the disciples after the resurrection. John’s Gospel (John 20:19‑31) describes how the disciples handled the news of Jesus rising from the dead. Each disciple responded to the same wonderful thing in a different way. There was elation and there was uncertainty. One disciple—who became known as Doubting Thomas—said he would not believe unless he could see the wounds in Jesus’s hands and side. In reality, Thomas wasn’t doubtful. He was afraid the Risen Christ was too good to be true, so he guarded his heart. Thomas couldn’t accept Jesus was alive until he had physical proof. Thomas needed to see for himself. Jesus didn’t chastise Thomas for not believing. Jesus provided the comfort Thomas needed to accept the miracle of the resurrection instead, telling him to touch the wounds from the crucifixion. With that comfort, Thomas’s shock moved to acceptance, and he became the first one to call Jesus God. We’re no different than Thomas. We can experience God and feel it’s too good to be true. Accepting the resurrection can be a struggle, and we too, need comfort from Jesus to help us believe our own eyes and our senses.

Roll Down Like Waters: EASTER! April 5, 2026

Imagine this. You’re sitting in a packed room in a house in the Mediterranean. You’re there, listening to a story from a new scroll and the reader says, “Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” The new story, from Mark’s Gospel, is about Jesus’s resurrection. Three of the women in the room with you remember the day well—they were there. Forty years have past since Salome, Mary the mother of James, and Mary Magdalene took spices to the tomb where Jesus was placed after the Crucifixion and discovered he was gone. Before this story was written in Mark’s Gospel, you heard Mary Magdalene tell it herself. After describing her initial terror, Mary would continue, “But it didn’t take long, and the fear melted away.” She would describe seeing Jesus alive again, taking to him, and touching his arm. She could’t hold in the good news any longer, so he went out and told people, “Let me tell you about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let me tell you the good news.” Imagine after hearing Mary tell this story so many times, you now see her listening as it’s being read aloud from writing. She’s beaming! Today, we know the resurrection story because Salome, Mary the mother of James, and Mary Magdalene told the disciples, and because Peter, James, and John believed them. The resurrection changed them all, and they couldn’t contain their excitement. They told and retold about the resurrection, and after a few decades they wrote it down. On this Easter, Mark’s resurrection story is read in churches throughout the world, and we all celebrate the gift of Jesus who sets us free.