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For recorded sermons since Easter 2007 and earlier sermon texts, visit our Sermon Archive.
Day of Pentecost—June 5, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Bree Lloyd
Lessons: Acts 2:1–21 | Psalm 104:24–34, 35b | Romans 8:14–17 | John 14:8–27
Summary: Last week, after the Synod Assembly, hiking in Sequoia National Park, I felt gratitude, awe, and healing. Nature is one way we can heal the trauma around us. Our first lesson from Acts reminds us that we have not been left alone. The Holy Spirit comes as a helper in our lives, Our Gospel tells us that the Holy Spirit is with us as a companion bringing God’s peace. The Holy Spirit is often represented in natural terms bringing us peace.
Ascension Sunday—May 29, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Acts 1:1–11 | Psalm 93 | Ephesians 1:15–23 | Luke 24:44–53
Summary: It can be very hard when good friends go away, but that stands in contrast to the scenes in today’s lessons when Jesus leaves the disciples and ascends into heaven. Jesus tells them that, although he is ascending, they will be clothed in the Holy Spirit and sent out to share the gospel. This is the same command Jesus gives us. In these days of mass shootings, we wonder what good news we have to share. Disciples have gone out over the centuries and have often failed spectacularly, and God has remained with them. Jesus ascended but at the same time did not leave us. Without God’s presence, we will not change and children will continue to die. The Holy Spirit prods and energizes us to work for a world of love and hope, to dry the tears of those mourn, and to proclaim the Good News.
Sixth Sunday of Easter—May 22, 2022
Preacher: Bishop Andy Taylor
Lessons: Acts 16:9–15 | Psalm 67 | Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5 | John 14:23–29
Summary: God knows that we go through hardships, so God acted by becoming one of us to show us that God is by our side, and God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. Living in God’s presence, we don’t need to worry about ourselves and can reach out to our neighbors.
Fifth Sunday of Easter—May 15, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Acts 11:1–18 | Psalm 148 | Revelation 21:1–6 | John 13:31–35
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands the disciples to love one another. We have trouble figuring out just what it means to love one another, and we tend to see love as a tool we take out from time to time but forget about most of the time. In our lesson from Acts, Peter begins with the attitude that God has a list of things we must do, but he finds out that God’s law of love is more complex. Love is not just a list; it clings to us and washes over us in baptism. We have been made for love, we will fail miserably at it, yet it remains with us as a gift from God. The more we give it away, the more we are part of God’s work in this world.
Fourth Sunday of Easter—May 8, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Acts 9:36–43 | Psalm 23 | Revelation 7:9–17 | John 10:22–30
Summary: In our first lesson, we hear the story of Dorcas, a woman famed for her good works in the church community. At her funeral, I image the people saying Psalm 23, as so often happened when I was a pastor in the Midwest. In the Gospel, the people ask if Jesus is the real Messiah, and he replies that he is the Good Shepherd, his sheep hears his voice, and no one will snatch them away. It can be hard for us to hear Jesus’ voice in our world of social media, advertising, dreams for success, or the need to make the next rent payment. When we learn to listen to each other and the voice of Jesus and do not let them be crowded out by the noise of the world, no one can snatch us from God’s green pastures.
We expect this sermon to be available soon.
Third Sunday of Easter—May 1, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Bree Lloyd
Lessons: Acts 9:1–20 | Psalm 30 | Revelation 5:11–14 | John 21:1–19
Summary: Over the weekend, my spouse fell, and I was recovering from my vaccination, so we started talking (as one does) about salvation. What are we saved from, and why do we call Jesus our savior? We too often look at these ideas as abstract or spiritual, but they’re really very earthly: making us whole, healthy, and reconciled to each other. To be saved, we need to come to terms with the real causes of our brokenness and estrangement. In our Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” These questions were necessary for Peter to come to terms with denying Jesus three times. The bodies we inhabit feel our fear and trauma from war, racism, misogyny, etc. We must engage in the real, earthly work so that we can allow God to draw us together and make us whole.
We expect this sermon to be available soon.
Second Sunday of Easter/Earth Day Sunday—April 24, 2022
Preacher: Pastor Bree Lloyd
Lessons: Luke 12:48
Summary: In this “Sermon for the Child in All of Us,” Pastor Bree read two children’s books, Thank You, Earth and Moana the Honu Gets Help from Her Friends. The message of the first is that we give thanks for all that the earth gives us in its diversity and abundance. The second tell us that in response to our gratitude, we all work together, using our own talents and resources, to seve one another and the living world around us.
Easter Sunday—April 17, 2020
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Acts 10:34–43 | Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24 | 1 Corinthians 15:19–26 | Luke 24:1–12
Summary: We know the Easter story, but in Luke it’s a little different. The women come early in the morning to the tomb and find Jesus risen. They tell the disciples, but they don’t believe them. The resurrection calls us to set aside what we think is true and accept the truth. Jesus calls us to confront our prejudices and become more complete, but we are tempted to remain steadfast in what we have believed. But Christ rises from the dead and shows us that we can bring hope, joy, and love to a waiting world. Together with the women, we see that the tomb is empty. Let us set out on the path to change the world.