Prince Of Peace

(Natalia Terfa) How lovely to have Valentine’s Day line up with Transfiguration. What do we hear on both of these days, but reminders of love and belovedness, and how we share love with others.  Scripture: Mark 9:2-9 Song: Burn Within Sight by Dylan Sitts Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) People tend to think about faith as a private matter. What might this time of pandemic teach us about living out our faith, including worship, away from the place we call church? Scripture: Mark 1:29-39 Song: Hurts by Snake City & Ooyy Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) Never thought I’d relate so much to the questions posed by “unclean spirits” in this Gospel story but here we are. What have you to do with us? How often have I asked this very question of God in the last year? How often have you? And more importantly, how does Jesus respond? Scripture: Mark 1: 21-28 Song: Amanecer by El Neón Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) Why do people still decide to follow Jesus after all these generations? Why was Jesus so committed to calling people into community? Where are we going next? Scripture: Jonah 3:1-5,10, Mark 1:14-20 Song: Infinite Possibilities by Jon Björk Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Paul Slack) As we lean into a year with further determination to combat racism in all its forms after the death of Mr. George Floyd, we reflect on the teachings of the late Martin Luther King Junior. What kind of worship does God want from you? What kind of service? Do we owe the sovereign of the universe? Scripture: Micah 6:6,8 Song: Too Tired by Smartface Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) When good ol' Martin Luther was putting together his book of teaching for parents, he made sure to have a section on baptism. Why? Because this sacrament is too important to misunderstand. Today is the baptism of our Lord Sunday, a day where we remember the skies being split open and God calling Jesus beloved. It is also a day for remembering our own baptisms, which we will do together during a time where we need to hear those words spoken over us more than ever.  Scripture: Mark 1:9-11 Song: Reversed Beginning by Luwaks Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) Why is it that the most famous spirit that visited Ebenezer Scrooge seems to be the ghost of Christmas past? That’s the one most people think of first. Well, like Scrooge, we may feel like our past haunts our future more than a little bit. As we leave 2020 behind on this first Sunday of the new year, Ephesians has something to say about our past and even more about our future. Song: Genesis by Ooyy Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa & Chad Brekke) Some of the most beloved Christmas songs are about how people yearn to be home for Christmas but illness or war or weather, make being home for Christmas impossible. This year, a pandemic will keep us all away from celebrating our Lord’s birth together in the church, which is another layer of meaning our "Home For Christmas" theme will explore. This is not the Christmas we may have hoped for, but it is the Christmas we will have and I know God’s blessings will rise to meet us where we are, at home. Song: Silent Night by Julyan Brynn Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) One of the things we hear so often in the church is that we should keep watch for God. To see how God shows up in the world and around us. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel this past year, Jesus has been calling for us to be aware of who we leave out and ignore.  Today, on the final Sunday of the church calendar, the reign of Christ Sunday, we get one more reminder from Jesus about all the ways we miss him when we look in all the wrong places. Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-46 Song: Parallax by Luwaks Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website  

(Chad Brekke) Trust can often be a matter of life and death. Do you trust your doctor? Do you trust the babysitter? Trust in our political leaders is at an all-time low. The trust you have in the promises of God affects the way you live out your faith. Trust is a big issue. Maybe a good place to start is to realize how much trust God has in you. Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30 Song: Dive Into You by Loving Caliber Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) Jesus tells another parable this morning about what the Kingdom of God is like, and it involves a lot of unknowns. Boy doesn’t that feel familiar right now? There are a lot of things we just don’t know. AND YET, there are some things we CAN know, and the prophet Amos offers some very clear instruction on what God wants us to know, even in the midst of all the unknowns. Scripture: Amos 5:18-24; Matthew 25:1-13 Song: Candle Light by dreem Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) Some scripture passages are so achingly beautiful, poetic and profound that it is probably better to simply stand back and behold them in the assembly than to try to explain or reduce them to some moral code or set of action items. Today we will make room to experience the awe and wonder of two breathtakingly powerful visions of God’s promised future, a future unfolding even now. Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17,  Matthew 5:1-12 Song: Something More Than Friends by Ooyy Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

On this Reformation Sunday, we have a Gospel about freedom in front of us. But just like Jesus’ audience, it’s easy to forget how we got here. Scripture: Matthew 22:34-46, John 8:31-36 Song: Pinata by El Neón Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) When natural enemies decide to join forces against you, it may be time to panic. When those enemies hold serious power and influence among much of society, it may be time to run. By the end of this incredible encounter with Jesus, someone is running alright. The truth will set you free, Jesus said. Turns out, the truth may also send you running, in the other direction. Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22 Song: Why Do I Fall Back to You by Basixx Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

 (Natalia Terfa) When we receive an invitation, we often have some initial responses: we might check our calendars, we might ask about dress code, and we might even hold our response until we know who else is going. So what do we do when the invitation is from Jesus? As you might guess, he has a parable for that. Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14 Song: Ikigai by Twelwe Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke & Natalia Terfa) As we do from time to time, we put the usual preaching schedule on hold while we explore public theology together. We will again field questions from the congregation around the theme of things that cause us to doubt or to question. Scripture: Philippians 3: 4-14 Song: The King Has Fallen by Rippled Stone Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) Jesus’ authority is (again) questioned by the powers that be, and his response offers more questions than answers, as per usual. We have these same questions today, don’t we? Who is in charge? Who gets to decide things? By whose authority do we do anything? Let’s dig into these questions together. Scripture: Matthew 21:23-32 Song: Cornelia (Luwaks Remix) Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Chad Brekke) Let’s be honest, sometimes the bible bugs us. Why should a lifetime criminal have a place in heaven right next to the lifetime, active church member, just because of some jailhouse conversion? Today we contend with the annoying reality that God occasionally does things without our permission. Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16 Song: Strending Kids by Ooyy Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Natalia Terfa) Those of you who have seen Hamilton will note the reference to It’s Quiet Uptown in my sermon title, which to me, has been a sobfest-inducing moment of grace played out on screen that I just can’t erase from my head. Jesus today talks about how much we ought to forgive the people around us. He uses a parable to illustrate our forgiveness hypocrisy, and it similarly is an image that has stuck with me, and I hope you as well. Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35 Song: It's Quiet Uptown (Golden Karaoke) Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website

(Rob Bell) Jesus says, where two or three are gathered, I am there. Labor Day weekend is usually a time to take a breath leading up to the new school year and busy Fall schedules. COVID attempts to steal our breath away. God breathes life into us and sustains with (Ruach/pneuma) Rob Bell's Website Support our podcast here Watch the Livestream Follow us on Instagram Visit our Website