Sermons
Surrender
By Roy Stetler
September 15, 2024
Jesus is on a journey to reveal the compassionate mercy of God for all. “Who do people say I am?” asks Jesus. Peter confesses he is the Anointed one, Messiah. He is the servant of the Lord, in the prophet Isaiah’s language. Jesus knows that Isaiah speaks of the servant of the Lord also as a suffering servant. This servant…
Trust overcomes fear
By Roy Stetler
September 8, 2024
Jesus brings hope and healing to a woman begging for her daughter’s mental and spiritual health (Mark 7). She is desperate– she will sacrifice anything to convince Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus suggests that her request for healing cannot be a priority for him. We learn that her faith is strong not because she believes he can heal, but…
What are you doing here, Elijah?
By Roy Stetler
August 11, 2024
In the middle of 1 Kings we find the ministry of the prophet Elijah. To begin, he proclaims that it will not rain until he says so. Fed by ravens, he lives in the wilderness until the creek dries up. Then according to God’s (Yahweh) command, Elijah travels outside of Israel and provides food for a widow and revives her…
Jesus, manna
By Roy Stetler
August 4, 2024
Having delivered the Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt (Exodus), God then provides them daily manna for their journey in the wilderness. Later, John the Gospel writer re-envisions manna in terms of Jesus, the bread of life. All that we need, we find in Jesus. Our deepest spiritual hunger and thirst are satisfied by the grace, wisdom, and healing mercy…
Spirit Signs
By Roy Stetler
July 28, 2024
In John 6 Jesus provides bread and fish for a large hungry crowd. Then, after some rest, he comes walking on the water to help his disciples as they row against the wind, to trust. These signs reveal God at work in Jesus for salvation, for love, for hope. The Spirit of Christ comes among us today with signs. What…
Healing Shepherd
By Roy Stetler
July 21, 2024
What does “the Lord is my Shepherd” mean to you? Imagine God shepherding every person, and beyond that, the entire universe. Jesus and his disciples seek rest in Mark 6, only to be found by crowds of people, sheep without a shepherd, seeking healing and hope. Each time the crowds find him, Jesus’ compassionate care reveals the gracious love of…
Home in God’s Presence
By Roy Stetler
July 7, 2024
When Jesus returns to his hometown, his townsfolk resist the presence of God in him. They prefer long-established assumptions and resist anything new breaking into their world. The atmosphere is so stifling that Jesus must move on. Jesus then sends his disciples to seek and find God’s presence in the work by sharing the Good News in acts and words…
Healing Awareness
By Roy Stetler
June 30, 2024
The crowd surges forward with Jesus and the synagogue leader at the front. The crowd follows to see whether a 12-year-old girl will be healed. In a distressed world, they long for good news. Will Jesus heal her? Yet the older child is not the only person in need. An older woman is threading through the crowd, reaching forward, “If…
The heart opened by suffering
By Roy Stetler
June 23, 2024
Job’s children have died in a storm, his wealth has been stolen and his servants killed, and finally his skin becomes covered with sores. He grieves and talks about his grief with his friends, but finds no satisfaction as they offer their tidy explanations. They insist that he has sinned. (How many different ways can you say the same thing?) …
Sabbath distraction
By Roy Stetler
June 2, 2024
In the second and third chapters of Mark, certain religious leaders are more concerned about institutional religion than about individuals. Jesus grieves the failing religious institutions. His teaching suggests that it will only be a matter of time before the temple is destroyed and new human structures will arise. Unlike the religious leaders and their institutions, Jesus cared about the…
Call vision
By Roy Stetler
May 26, 2024
Isaiah’s call vision (Isaiah 6) is a moment in which he is fully aware. He is aware of his own broken self and people. He is also aware of God’s compassionate response to his confession. He is forgiven by the action of a fiery angel. In that moment of clarity, God asks a question which Isaiah overhears, “Whom shall I…
Spirit unrivaled and free
By Roy Stetler
May 19, 2024
Each year the church focuses on the Holy Spirit’s role in creation (and the church). Key scriptural themes for the Spirit are wind and breath. Powerful yet intimate. Close by, ever-present, and free. When we forget the Spirit’s freedom, we set ourselves up for disappointment and frustration. Then we also find ourselves working against the God we claim to serve.…
