Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria Va

Today in our summer sermon series on Characters with Character, we encounter another strong female from the Old Testament: Abigail. Abigail is a woman described as beautiful but who uses her intelligence to navigate between two powerful and angry men—one of whom is her husband, one of whom is King in waiting—to defuse a situation which could have been the end of all of three of them. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is 1 Samuel 25:23-31.

Today’s character, Lois, is only mentioned in one verse in the Bible. In order to get a feel for the character Lois had, we have to follow the life of her grandson Timothy, whose faith he attributed to her influence. Perhaps it is the length and steadfastness of Timothy’s faith that comes directly from the length and steadfastness of the faith that “lives in” his grandmother Lois. No drama is reported. No conversion experience is evident. No tragedy or crisis giving rise to a turning to God. Just faith. Pure and simple. Living in a woman, then her daughter, then her grandson. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is 2 Timothy 1:3-7.

I start today’s sermon with stories of three women who were tremendous in their financial support of the work of the church; their model, Lydia, was also a woman. Lydia’s generosity grows out of her character, and her character develops because the because the Lord opens her heart and she listens eagerly. Lydia realizes so much of what she has is more beneficial to the growing movement of the church than to what she had thought were needs of her own. She experiences “conversion of the purse.” Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Acts 16:11-15.

The five daughters of Zelophehad –Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah – go to the leadership of the people of Israel to demand the right to inherit their late father’s property since had no sons as heirs. This text is a terrific example of a particular people – the people of God – using words to work together within the culture of their day and time to implement a change which made their society more just and complete. I scheduled this story for today because I want us – on this Fourth of July – to consider how the way we use words impacts the present and future of our nation. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Numbers 27:1-11.

In the overview of Miriam we get from the Books of Exodus and Numbers, we can see that it is her trust in God that leads Miriam to act boldly, quickly, and with great ingenuity. For these character traits, Miriam earns the title of Prophet, the third person and first woman to be so designated in scripture, a title by which she is remembered centuries later. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time as part of a summer sermon series on “Characters with Character.” The Scripture lesson is Exodus 2:5-10, 15:20-21 and Numbers 12:1-16.

Before Jesus says, “Let us go across to the other side,” he had been teaching. Immediately following this story, Jesus starts his work as a healer. There is a clear ministry shift. We, too, find ourselves amidst transition: crossing over to another side, another side of life in whatever we end up calling the season of pandemic. Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Mark 4:35-41.

“Psalm 20 is a text of blessing and encouragement; it is a text of faith and trust. It is the wisdom of knowledge, and pride in what deeply matters beneath glimmers of surface-level concerns and attractions. I knew, in reading this Psalm, that I wanted to stand before you, in this pulpit, in this place, to offer you its benediction.” Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Psalm 20.

A sermon by Larry R. Hayward the first Sunday during which the church was fully open after being highly restricted during nearly eighteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Memorial Day, we remember many things - that we are a people connected to a greater story, and that story continues to unfold. The Rev. Evangeline Taylor preaches on Trinity Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Isaiah 6:1-8.

John acknowledges the validity and power of human testimony that bears witness to Christ. But as effective as they are, John says, “the testimony of God is greater.” No human agent can give us the assurance that what we believe is right and what we are doing is right. That assurance can only come from the testimony of God. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 5:6-12.

In the passage we have read for today, three times in a sentence-and- a-half the phrase "conquers the world" appears. The promise of this phrase is that the faith we have in Jesus Christ is an essential element to bring us some form of victory in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. To say "faith conquers the world" is to promise that in the end, we exercise some form of control over the situation that is upon us, some form of choice and agency within the condition into which we have been born or transported. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Sixth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 5:1-5.

“We love – we love God, we love others, we are even able to love ourselves – because God first loved us.” An infant but a few weeks old cannot possibly have earned God’s love; but that love comes with birth: “We love, because God first loved us.” Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 4:7-21.

When I first heard this verse – “God is greater than our hearts” – I felt reassured. This verse promised me that God still existed, that God still was present in the world and to me, that God still cared for me, even when I wasn’t aware of it. Even when I couldn’t feel God in my heart, I was promised that “God is greater than our hearts.” God is with us, because God is greater than our hearts. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 3:16-24.

"Like every other Biblical author, John uses imperfect language to try and describe what a life in union with God is truly like. I have often used this imperfect language myself: to honor and lift up the light, at the expense of the dark. However, today's text provides this preacher the opportunity to try and remedy that. Let us together lean into the dark." Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Third Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 1:6—2:2.

We welcome to the pulpit the Rev. Dr. Camille Cook, Senior Pastor at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. The Scripture lesson is Joel 2:18-27.

If the Gospel of Mark is “the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Mark may be inviting each of us to “finish the story” of that Good News with our lives. But what if like the women at the tomb, our fear remains? The Longer Ending of Mark serves as an Epilogue that reminds us readers and hearers that no matter how the women felt and no matter where their fleeing took them, God’s presence and providence followed them unabated. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of the Lord. The Scripture lesson is Mark 16:1-8, 12-20.

Today I am going to focus on Palm Sunday – specifically on the crowd who greeted Jesus with cries of “Hosanna!” on Sunday but whose cries morphed into “Crucify him!” by Thursday. In a matter of four days the crowd moved from joy to anger, from welcome to outrage, from celebration to vengeance. And it moved as one mind: intense, emotional, passionate. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Palm Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Mark 11:1-11.

Now, today may not be your birthday, and it’s not Christmas, either. But for all of us, John 12:25 is our text. The question is: will we see the gift in it for us? Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The Scripture lesson is John 12:20-27.

When we are aware of pain, most of us need something more than pleasure to move us to praise. In order to worship, in order to recover joy, we have to come to terms with our pain; accept it, incorporate its presence or its memory into our lives, let it become an appropriate part of us, neither oversized nor buried and hidden. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, at the 8:30am in-person service. The Scripture lesson is Psalm 107:1-3, 17-21.

It must be noted that today marks the one-year anniversary of the last time that Westminster worshipped in a pre-Covid reality in this space. It has seemed, at least for this preacher, that this last year has been an entire year in the wilderness. This particular season has challenged us all like none other. Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Third Sunday in Lent. The Scripture lesson is John 2:13-22.