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The Power of Words

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"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Now if that old schoolyard taunt is helpful to you, if it allows you to let an insult roll off your back like water off a duck, then please, please, please do not let anything that I am about to say take away the power of those words to protect you. When I was a kid, I found it very helpful to remember that expression that my teachers taught me when someone would say a mean thing or two to me.

But as I have gotten older I have found that that expression is not as helpful to me, because ultimately I find the expression rests upon something that is not true. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me", as if sticks and stones, the physical things in this world, have power, but words don't have power? I don’t think that is right. Our faith teaches us about the power of words.

To read or listen to Bingham’s entire sermon for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost just click “Read More.”

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The Generosity of God

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“Every generous act of giving…every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father or Mother of lights…” Every gift that we receive, every generous thing that we do for others, they all come from God.

Have you ever gotten’ or given’ the perfect gift? “Oh, wow! Thank you, it’s perfect! How did you know?”

Perfect for me or perfect for them, for this time, this occasion. And it’s not so much the thing we get or receive, but the attention that was paid to choosing it. The genuine care and listening, and the intimacy of the relationship that it demonstrates. A perfect gift, showing us how valued and loved we are. So it is with God. GOD IS GENEROSITY. Biblical scholar Peter Rhea Jones comments, “To be generous is consonant with the nature of God.” I am reminded of the Doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise God all creatures here below, praise God above ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

We sing out our praise, recognizing what we proclaim when we receive the gifts at the altar, “All things come of thee O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”

Every generous act of giving, every perfect gift come from God, in fact, they ARE God.

To read or listen to Ryan’s entire sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost click “Read More.”

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Spiritual Protection and Nourishment

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We live in highly anxious times. For those of us who read or watch or listen to the news, this week has been very difficult. Think about some of the anxious words we have read or heard recently. The planet is warming up, it is heating up, the ICP warns us again. Wildfires rage across the west. Oakridge prepares to evacuate; it is so close to us. Hospitals are buckling under Delta, ICUs are running out of beds. A man in Roseburg died this past week because there weren't enough beds in the ICU. Children's hospitals across the country are filling up. A devastating earthquake hit Haiti again. Afghanistan falls to the Taliban again, and refugees are desperately trying to flee the country. And all of these anxious words come after a year and a half of the pandemic which has worn us down and thinned our resilience. Resilience that might have already been frayed going into the pandemic in the first place.

To read or listen to Bingham’s entire sermon for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost click “Read More.”

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God's Loving Gaze

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Happy Saint Mary’s day! Saint Mary, the namesake of the community where we worship, serve, and grow in faith. When you think of Mary, what images come to mind? What stories, pictures, music, poems, what words to describe her? Countless pieces of art have sought to portray Mary throughout the ages. What can Mary’s own words at her cousin Elizabeth’s house reveal to us about who Mary is and how God relates, and acts in our world today?

Click “Read More” to read or listen to Ryan’s entire sermon for Mary Sunday.

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In the Name of Jesus Christ

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When we serve in the name of Jesus, we are not left alone. We are given what we need to sustain us in ministry. Like Elijah in the wilderness, who was overwhelmed enough to ask that he might die, God’s messenger said to him, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” Jesus is our nourishment, our bread for the journey. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” “Taste and see”, the psalmist writes. You will see. You will see.

Click “Read More” to read or listen to Deacon Nancy Crawford’s entire sermon for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost.

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The Perpetual Feast

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Today’s Old Testament reading comes from the book of Exodus, the story of how God provided food for the Israelites as they made their way through the desert en route from Egyptian servitude to the land God promised to their ancestors. The story is part of a cycle of stories all gathered around the common theme of God’s provision for their needs during their sojourn to their new home. And these stories provided fertile soil in which later Jewish and Christian interpretations grew and thrived. This manna was not what the people expected. But if you’ll stay with me I’ll try to show you that God gives them what they really need, and that’s more than just a full belly.

Click “Read More” to read or listen to Dr. Loren Crow’s entire sermon for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost.

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