Santa Monica Nazarene Church

In this sermon we return to Paul's beautiful words from Ephesians about how all things are summed up in Christ, or recapitulated as we say. There's bits about home, new, driving, hiking, baseball, camping, and a junkyard I would visit as a kid. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon return to the story of Jesus' birth. We talk about what it means to break the script, rethinking where exactly Jesus was born (hint: not in an inn but a home), and what that might teach us about welcoming, hospitality, connection, and joy, all of which break the script of our increasingly isolated and fragmented world. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our Advent series around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We talk about the relationship between joy and being amazed and what it means to pay attention, about the crowds in this story as they get caught up in the events of John's birth, how they teach us to be amazed, how it's possible not to enjoy a sunset, how our phones are changing the way we watch television, why nature is so important to joy, and Mary Poppins. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we begin the Advent season around the question of how can a weary world rejoice? We look at a poem by Rev. Sarah speed about embracing grief and weariness as a part of what it means to arrive at joy. We look at the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the weariness they experienced that made them ready to receive God's joyful news that they will have their first child. We talk about how only those who have embraced their weariness can fully embrace the joy of God's arrival in Jesus. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our series on forgiveness. We look back at a story about how forgiveness was added to the creed, about how the dividing wall of hostility has ended because of Jesus, at a parable Jesus told about an unforgiving servant, the movie Gran Torino, and what it means to let the cycles of violence end in us. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we begin a new series on forgiveness. We talk about how forgiveness isn't about passively accepting whatever comes your way, but a practice enabling us to refuse submitting to injustices but without resorting to violence. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.

In this sermon we continue our series allowing some of the voices from the Philokalia to help us hear the gospel. Today we look at some verses from the book of Romans alongside some words from Peter of Damascus. The sermon is on patience and hope, but we talk a lot about how music can teach us these things. A song by Olivier Messiaen serves as a refrain throughout the sermon such that we not only think about patience but are forced to experience a time of waiting through listening. A long quote by Jeremy Begbie is very helpful. Simone Weil helps us tie it to prayer. A summary really does not do this one justice. It was fun to prepare and give. May we encounter the crucified Christ raised from the dead in these words.