Grateful Hearts

Sermon for November 26, 2023

I hope you were able to take part in a Thanksgiving feast this past Thursday. And wherever you were and whoever you were with, I hope you had the opportunity to give thanks. Maybe some of you went around the table and named what you were thankful for this year. Maybe there was a single prayer of thanksgiving. Or maybe you observed some other ritual. But I hope your thanks was expressed on our annual Day of Thanksgiving.

Last Sunday after Pentecost

November 26, 2023

CALL TO WORSHIP
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim God's unfailing love in the morning, his faithfulness in the evening.
We are amazed at all God has done for us!
We will sing for joy because he has helped us.
O Lord, what great works you do,
And how deep are your thoughts.

Don't Forget

Sermon for November 19, 2023

After the Exodus—that is, after being delivered from bondage in Egypt (probably about 3300 years ago)—Israel wandered for forty years in the wilderness. It’s not because they were lost. It was according to God’s design. God determined that the chosen people were not yet ready to enter the land that had been promised to them. This was because they kept remembering Egypt and wanting to go back to what they had there.

Thanksgiving

CALL TO WORSHIP
O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures. Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.
You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;

24th Sunday after Pentecost

November 12, 2023

CALL TO WORSHIP
Let all who seek the Lord be glad and rejoice!
Let those who love his wholeness proclaim God’s greatness!
For God is our help and our deliverer.
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.

—based on Ps. 70:4-5 and Amos 5:24

Servanthood

Sermon for November 12, 2023

Since the current flare-up in violence between Israel and Hamas, there has been an increase in both anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim violence across the world—even here in the United States. This is why we have blessed a thousand peace cranes each for both a temple and a mosque—to show that we pray not only for a peaceful resolution of the current conflict, but to show our opposition to scapegoating in our own nation.