Waters Ave Sermoncast

In this sermon, Chris explores passages from Exodus and Jeremiah that deal with the idea of God's wrath. We find some interesting points about how to think about these texts in general and how they can apply to our modern situation. Tying them in to some words of Jesus from the gospel of Luke, we find a call to leave behind our current path towards destruction and embrace the work of building the common good.  Preached 9/15/2019

In this sermon, Keith walks us through the question, "What is the meaning of life?" Beginning with Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and moving to Jesus' discussion in John 10, he makes the point that meaning is our to create. We are meaning creators, because we are divine. 

In this sermon, Jon Dengler from The Well takes us through a theological reflection of work. We discover from the early stories of Genesis that we are who we are meant to be when engaged in meaningful work, and we hear a call to renew and restore our relationship to the idea of work.    Preached 6/30/19

In this sermon, Chris begins a series exploring Galatians chapter 5 where Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. We look at what these terms mean and what they don't mean as we begin to find ways in which this passage can speak to us today. Preached 6/16/19

In this sermon, Chris explores the story of the Ascension of Christ and explores why it was so important to the early Christians as well as what it might mean for us today. We hear within Ascension a call for allegiance to something greater than any nation or leader and a reshaping of how we view ourselves within this world.    Preached 6/2/19

In this final week of Easter we did something special and had three mini-sermons. Rachel, Keith, and Chris all share from a lectionary reading of their choosing from this day and put their own spin on it as they encourage us to live within an Easter reality. 

In this fifth sermon of Easter, Chris explores three texts: each containing a call to something new. We hear a call for a new world in Revelation, built by the new commandment to love one another in John, extended to new kinds of people in Acts.  Preached May 19, 2019

In our fourth week of Easter, Chris examines John 10 and Psalm 23 to unpack the idea of our vocation of care for those around us. We let these texts inform us as to what true care looks like.  Preached May 5, 2019

In this third sermon of Easter, Chris explores the text from John where Jesus instructs Peter to feed the sheep. We find that care for the vulnerable is equivalent with love for Jesus, and we walk into the call of being good shepherds together.  Preached 5/5/2019

In this second sermon of Easter, Chris looks at the story of the disciples hiding in the upper room - the story commonly known as Doubting Thomas. We explore the idea that the risen Christ is found within a community that has faith in each other. We find that there is a kind of healthy naivety that lives in intentional defiance of cynicism and despair.     Preached April 28, 2019

In this sermon, Chris explores some of the easter accounts from the gospels in an attempt to let them spark our imaginations. Without looking at them from an apologetic nor purely mystical standpoint, we try to let these Easter texts guide us where their authors intended - into hope.  Preached April 21, 2019

In this sermon, Chris looks at the events of Palm Sunday and explores the kind of king and kingdom that Jesus represents and presents a call to continually live within that kingdom.    Preached April 14, 2019 

In this sermon, Chris looks at the words of Isaiah chapter 43, in which we hear the call to "not remember the days of old." In exploring this passage, we hear again the reminder that clinging to an idealized past will only bring destruction. But looking with faith to an open future shows a commitment to love and hope.  Preached April 7, 2019

In this fourth Lenten sermon, Chris examines the parable typically called the "Prodigal Son." Seen as a response to those who challenged Jesus for his association with "sinners", we find that this story calls us into a counter-cultural reception of all that does not take their sin into account. This text, combined with Paul's call to view no one from a "human point of view" calls us to repent of the fear that comes from opening our arms to those who are outside our communities.  Preached March 31, 2019

In this third Lenten sermon, Chris explores in more depth the destructive nature of sin. From Luke 15 we find a striking scenario. Jesus presents God as the spirit of grace that seeks the well-being of all. The principle of sin threatens to not only destroy us, but destroy the entire human race. We see that if we do not turn to Life, we will be consumed by Death.  Preached March 24, 2019

In this second lenten sermon, Chris explores the statement of Jesus that it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem. We discover that the principle of sin not only causes exclusion at the individual level, but also at the societal and systemic level. We find that as sin scales up, it becomes even more destructive and violent. In this sermon we are confronted and challenged by the question "Who must we keep silent for our communities to remain as they are?"  Preached March 17, 2019

In this first sermon in the season of Lent, Chris looks at the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. We see in his temptations a framework for ours: the voices in our lives call for us to rely on our identities and pasts rather than looking with faith to an open future.  Preached March 10, 2019

In this sermon, Chris explores the story of Cain and Abel to discover that the principle of exclusion, or sin, arises when we seek to protect the identities we've formed for ourselves based on the stories of ourselves we've been given and continue to tell.  Preached on March 3, 2019

In this second part of our transformation series, Chris takes a look at the idea of sin. With the many abuses and excesses of Christianity, the word sin often gets misunderstood or misused. It's easy to just avoid the idea altogether. In this sermon, we see that it can be helpful word, and we begin to define it by looking at the idea of the principle of exclusion that arises as we form our identities.  Preached February 24, 2019

In this sermon of our pre-Lenten series, Chris looks at the idea of transformation and points out that the need for transformation is universal, that transformation is possible, and that personal transformation is each individual's responsibility. Preached February 17, 2019