Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

This Sunday we remembered Martin Luther King, Jr. and also focused on the temptations of Jesus as recounted in Luke (and Matthew and to a lesser degree in Mark).

Temptations offer a test. There's a chance to pass it and a chance to fail it. With Lent soon approaching next month, Susan suggested it's a great opportunity to address one of the temptations you face in this tumultuous time. She provided a number of ideas to get us thinking about how we could address some of the temptations we might be facing due to the national turmoil.

What life-giving practice would you do well to embrace? Or what destructive habit would you benefit from turning away from?

Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17

Phil Jackson was our guest speaker this Sunday, retelling the story of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. Would you have gone out to hear John in the wilderness? Many people went out to hear this guy preach and teach. Jesus was among those who went to where John was preaching. It takes a little convincing for John to agree to baptize him.

In that process, Jesus comes out of the wilderness, saying yes to God's work and John's ministry. After his baptism by John, the Father says "Yes," to Jesus, and anoints him and blesses him for his public ministry.

By joining us in community with himself through baptism and the gift of the Spirit, Jesus incorporates us into his servanthood, which is the establishment of justice and righteousness.

Matthew 2:1-12

On this Epiphany Sunday Susan began with a portrayal of the wise men's perspective crafted by Frederick Buechner. Why did the magi follow the star to where Jesus was? "To be wise is to be eternally curious."

Is to live without Christ the real death, and to die with him the only life? Jesus invites us to pick up our cross; not an appealing image... When we take up the cross we empty our hands and bid goodbye to our old lives, both good and bad.

Paul is an example of giving up his old life with much esteem, to follow Christ. When we die unto Christ, we surrender our identities. Pay attention to the names you call yourself and see what they say about your identity. What is there that you need to surrender to fully embrace your new identity?

John 1: 1-18

Susan Scott reminded us of a powerful image from this week's scripture in John where Jesus became flesh and "tabernacled with us." Jumping back in time to Exodus, God instructs the chosen people in great detail on how to build a portable tabernacle, a sanctuary, for God to dwell in, but only a very select few people could enter. Later the tabernacle is built in stone in Jerusalem with the holy of holies that contains the Ark of the Covenant and God's presence, but is destroyed by the Babylonians and then rebuilt when the Israelites return from captivity. During Jesus' time Herod massively expanded the temple, but the building had no Ark, no cloud of glory, no miracles, and no prophesies like the first one - a silence of 4 centuries. The high priesthood was corrupt and under the influence of the Roman occupiers. Into this darkness, John tells us that the long awaited return of God's glory to the temple has been fulfilled by Jesus, to an extant even greater than that of the first temple. But God is doing something new, amazing, and unexpected this time. Instead of being reserved for an elite few, God's glory now walks without elaborate trappings among all the people, prophesying and doing great miracles. As the short, dim days of winter continue, take some time to reflect on the bright glory of Jesus in our lives - God tabernacling with us, not apart from us.

Isaiah 55:1-13

Buy it quick before it runs out! One day sale only! Maybe I should get two just in case. We are trained from an early age by society and by advertising to fear that if we don't purchase something, it will not be available to us in the future or at that price, and we will suffer somehow for not owning it. People are good at manufacturing the fear of scarcity despite the fact that we are surrounded by an abundance of stuff and things. Jordan Morehouse, reflecting on the scripture from Isaiah, contends that in the face of abundance we are so conditioned to scarcity that we don't know how to trust that there is enough. Our fear of scarcity drives us to work longer hours or side hustle for more money, and reduces our capacity to build community with family, friends, and other believers. This in turn reduces our available social safety net, which leads to more fear, which leads to more work, in an ever-tightening spiral. The powers of the world use the threat of less to justify war and cruelty, and the whole system would collapse if everyone views what they have as abundance. Tyrants fear abundance, but God delights in it. God brings manna, loaves and fishes, and salvation through Christ all without cost. To combat this sinister mindset of scarcity that constantly robs our lives of joy and community, our church bodies must lean in to a culture of radical, reflexive generosity, giving more than we expect to ever receive, without strings attached. These small kindnesses will quietly build, multiply, and produce unimaginable abundance as God's love has already shown us through Christ's example

John 11:14-27 Ezekiel 37:1-14

Susan Scott's sermon starts us with Israel's period of exile in Babylon, where Jerusalem has fallen, the temple is destroyed, and the people feel like God has abandoned them without hope. Ezekiel reminds the Israelites that God has not forgotten them. God keenly knows their suffering and Showed Ezekiel a vision of hope in the valley of dry bones that could be made to dance. God is greater than death and Israel will live again, even though that will still take decades. Eventually God's people return, rebuild, and there is a revival of the people. We see the same theme 600 years later in the John scripture with Jesus's resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus waits until after Lazarus dies to come back a perform a miracle. Jesus, like God to Ezekiel, speaks words of hope and faith to those mourning Lazarus and regretting Jesus's delayed response. We too, much wait patiently with faith and hope that God will make good on their promises even when our circumstances appear bleak. Remember that God is greater than death, greater than our problems, and when God is at work there is always hope.

Daniel 3:1, 8-30

Due to some technical issues, the beginning of Susan's sermon was cut off.

On this first Sunday of Advent 2025, we were introduced to the theme for Advent: "Be Amazed!" This week's focus was on the three youths, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the image of King Nebuchadnezzar. As a result, they are thrown into the fiery furnace. Yet God protects them.

(Image of the fiery furnace by artist Konstantinos Adrianoupolitis, in the public domain.)

2 Timothy 1:3-7, Philippians 1:3-4,7

Ann Robertson brought the message this Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. She reminded us of the importance of being grateful for the people in our lives who have made a difference and reflected on the ways that gratitude benefits us. Ann also provided some solutions to address times when we might not be so grateful, three of which were portrayed humorously by Hans.

As Paul told the church in Philippi, "I thank God every time I think of you."