Sermons

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Since our Pastor is half time, he preaches two or more sermons a month. The rest of the Sunday sermons are provided by members of our own congregation. The sermons are timely, helpful, and always interesting. Plus, we send them out to those on our e-list, so everyone gets to enjoy them, whether they were able to attend or not.

Here are some links to recent sermons in PDF format. 

Sermons (examples)

NOTE: All Virtual Service bulletins show the order of service, call to worship, scripture, quotes, and imagery.
All YouTube videos show the virtual service with music included.
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October 2023
  • "​World Communion Sunday: Rice is Life!" (Oct. 1, 2023) - bulletin

September 2023
  • "​A World Without Poverty or Hunger is Possible!" (Sept. 24, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Following Our Prophetic Daughters and Sons - Teach Your Parents Well" (Sept. 17, 2023) - bulletin | sermon
  • "What We Do — A Nuisance or a Necessity?” (Sept. 10, 2023) - bulletin | sermon (excellent description of everything that FCMF does in its homeless outreach)
  • “Swearing an Oath of Allegiance to a Political State and its Military — Not!” (Sept. 3, 2023) - bulletin

August 2023
  • "Let's Talk About Dan" (Aug. 27, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Why History is Important" (Aug. 20, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Pushing the Frontier" (Aug. 13, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Mountain States Mennonite Conference (MSMC) Re-cap" (Aug. 6, 2023) - bulletin

July 2023
  • "Maybe Perseverance and Forgiveness is the Best Revenge?" (July 16, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Thou Shalt Not Kill" (July 9, 2023) - bulletin

June 2023
  • "Singing for Our Lives" (July 2, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Binding the Real Strongman: Mental Health or Guns!" (June 25, 2023) - bulletin | sermon
  • "God Has No Grandchildren: "How and Why Movements (Including Churches) Fail, Even When They Succeed" (June 18, 2023) - bulletin 
  • "The Center of Jesus’ Ministry: a Tale of Two Daughters" (June 11, 2023) - bulletin | sermon
  • "The Great Omissions" (June 4, 2023) - bulletin | sermon

May 2023
  • “The Day of Pentecost: God’s Diversifying Insurrection!”  (May 28, 2023) - bulletin | sermon
  • "The First American Mennonite Church" (May 21, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Humans are Not Meant to Live Alone" (May 14, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Buddha and Jesus: What Can They Teach Us?" (May 7, 2023) - bulletin

April 2023
  • "The Atlantic Crossing" (April 30, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Living out Easter: The Power of Forgiveness" (April 23, 2023) - bulletin
  • "The Original 13" (April 16, 2023) - bulletin
  • Easter/Resurrection Sunday - "Fully Alive in Christ!" (April 9, 2023) - bulletin  
  • Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday) - ​“Back In The Saddle Again!” (April 2, 2023) - bulletin | sermon transcript

March 2023
  • Fifth Sunday in Lent: "True Humans are Made of Flesh and Bone!”  (March 26, 2023) - bulletin | sermon transcript
  • Fourth Sunday in Lent: "Here’s Mud In Yer Eye! True Humans Live In The Light Of Christ" (March 19, 2023) - bulletin | sermon transcript
  • Third Sunday in Lent: "True Humans Are Springs of Eternal Life!” (March 12, 2023) - bulletin  
  • Second Sunday in Lent: "To Be Human is to be Reborn by the Breath of God! " (March 5, 2023) - bulletin

Feb 2023
  • First Sunday in Lent: "To Be Human is to Be (Re)Created in the Image of God!" (Feb. 26, 2023) - bulletin | sermon
  • "The Myth of Redemptive Violence" (Feb. 19, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Nurses En Route in Peru" (Feb. 12, 2023) - bulletin
  • "The Arc is Long, But it Bends!" (Feb. 5, 2023) - bulletin | YouTube video of service

January 2023
  • "Religious and Racial Intolerance" (Jan. 29, 2023 - bulletin
  • "Founding the English Colonies in America" (Jan. 22, 2023) - bulletin
  • "What Does Love Have To Do With It? (Jan. 15, 2023) - bulletin
  • "Epiphany Light And New Year Resolutions!" (Jan. 8, 2022) - bulletin | sermon

December 2022  
November 2022
October 2022
  • "William Penn, Quakers, and Religious Tolerance" (Oct. 30, 2022) - bulletin
  • "The Source of Gratitude is True Humility!” (Oct. 23, 2022) - bulletin | YouTube
  • "The Sermon on the Amount" (Oct. 16, 2022) - bulletin | sermon | YouTube
  • "For Such a Time as This" (Oct. 9, 2022) - bulletin
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September 2022
  • "A Firm Foundation and Ongoing Struggle" (Sept. 25, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Community and the Salvation of the World" (Sept. 18, 2022) - bulletin, sermon
  • "An Irritating Slave Girl!" (Sept. 11, 2022) - bulletin
  • "We all Rely on the Random Kindness of Strangers" (Sept. 3, 2022) - bulletin

August 2022
  • "The Origin of Anabaptism in Switzerland Through the Eyes of My Ancestors” (Aug. 28, 2022) - bulletin
  • "When the Spirit of the Lord Leaves the Temple” (Aug. 21, 2022) - bulletin
  • "The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland Through the Eyes of My Ancestors" (Aug. 14, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Divine Friendship: Creating Intentional Community" (Aug. 7, 2022) - bulletin

​July 2022
  • “The Power of God Cannot be Bought!” (July 24, 2022) - bulletin
    "Walking and Leaping and Praising God!" (July 17, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Sell Your Cleverness and Buy Bewilderment!" (July 10, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Declaration of Interdependence" (July 3, 2022) - bulletin, sermon
June 2022
  • "When Vengeance Rules But Faith Prevails" (June 27, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Made Alive in Christ: Death or Deconstruction?" (June 19, 2022) - bulletin
  • "The Purposes of the Holy Spirit" (June 12, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Garden of Prayer" (June 5, 2022) - bulletin, YouTube video
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​May 2022
  • "Resisting White Christian Nationalism Part 3 - "Discussion and Action" (May 29, 2022) - bulletin
  • "The Act of Forgiveness"(May 22, 2022) - bulletin
  • "Resisting White Christian Nationalism Part 2 - Lament, Break Silence, Name, Preach Jesus, And Resist​!" (May 15, 2022) - bulletin, YouTube video
  • “Strange Worship: White Christian Nationalism as Political Idolatry!” (May 8, 2022) - bulletin, sermon.
    NOTE: May 8 and May 12 sermons are     based on lectures by Drew Strait, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Christin Origins at AMBS:  30-minute lecture, 60-minute lecture
  • "Go to Jail: Thunder Justice, Releasing Captives, and Acts of Radical Familial Solidarity!” (May 1, 2022): bulletin, sermon, YouTube video

April 2022
  • “The Party that Never Ends!" (April 24, 2022): bulletin, YouTube video
  • EASTER: Living the Resurrection (April 17, 2022): bulletin, YouTube video
  • LENT 6: From Power Over to Power With (April 10, 2022): “Don't Wait Until You Die!": bulletin, sermon
  • LENT 5: From Scarcity to Abundance: "Ah, the Sweet Smell of Victory!" (April 3, 2022): bulletin
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March 2022
  • LENT 4: From Violence to Non-violence: "How Do You Stop a War?" (March 27, 2022): bulletin, YouTube video, sermon
  • LENT 3: From Earning to Receiving: "Holy S#@&!  Being God’s Pungent People” (March 20, 2022): bulletin, sermon, YouTubeVideo
  • LENT 2: From Fear to Compassion: "A Fox is in in the Henhouse" (March 13, 2022): bulletin, sermon
  • LENT 1: From Security to Generosity: "Please, Can We Have Some Sympathy for the Devil?" (March 6, 2022): bulletin, sermon, YouTube video  

February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021 Easter Sunday (4-4-21) Good Friday (42-21)
March 2021
Palm Sunday: “A Good Guy without a Gun” ​ (3-28-21) Fifth Sunday of Lent: “Does God know the Path of a Tornado?” (3-21-21) Fourth Sunday of Lent: Deep into the Woods" (3-14-21) Third Sunday of Lent: “What type of soil are you? A new perspective on the Parable of the Sower.” (3-7-21)
February 2021
Second Sunday of Lent: "Into the COVID-19 Wilderness" (2-28-21) First Sunday of Lent: "What does the Sea Have to Teach Us? (2-21-21)
October 2020
"Loss, Remembrance, and Healing"
"The Way it Is, Isn't How it Should Be" (10-25-2020)
"The Poor Can Wear Down the Powerful!" (10-18-2020) MUSIC ​
"Just Who is this Lord of the Flies?" (10-11-2020)
September 2020 
"Change Your Heart or We’re Doomed! Where’s God in All of This - Part Two" (9-20-2020)
"Where is God in All of This?"(9-13-2020)
​June 2020 (Virtual Services)
"God's Good Creation: Randomness within Order" (6-28-2020)
Are you Sitting Uncomfortably?" (6-14-2020)
"A Service of Laments" (6-7-2020) ​
May 2020 (Virtual Services)
"Crash Helmets and Comforters" (5-31-2020)
"Breath of Fresh Air" (5-24-2020)
"Beauty, Beauty in Intention, Beauty Materialized, and Beauty in the Human Being!" ​
"Do the Healthy Need a Doctor?” (5-10-2020)
"Tipping Points and Tsunamis" (5-3-2020)
March and April 2020 (Virtual Services)
​“I Curse the Very Day that I was Born! A Man Named Job and the Dilemma of Why Bad Things Happen” (4-19-2020)
EASTER: “Be Foolish, not Frightened . . . and Our Lady of Hopeless Causes!” (4-12-2020)
“Hiding in Hope, Embracing our Fears,  and Experiencing Perfect Love!” (4-5-2020)
“According to Jesus, Most of Our Fretting is for the Birds!” ​ (3-29-2020
February 2020
"Prison Bars Can’t Stop Those Who Believe in Jesus!” (2-16-2020)
"Religion that Goes Above and Beyond!" (February 9, 2020)
"Congratulations to Those Who Suffer!" (February 2, 2020)

January 2020
“George the Blue Coat and the First Anabaptist Baptism” (January 26, 2020)
​“Born a Servant and Not a King! (January 12, 2020)
"What are we Seeking?" (January 5, 2019)

2019 Sermons (examples)
December 2019
"God's Answer is Emmanuel!" (December 22, 2019)

October 2019
“Adultery, Divorce, Remarriage and Just Relationships Between Men and Women!" (October 27, 2019)​
"Don't be Childlike; Take Care of the Children!" (October 20, 2019)

September 2019
"Christ Is NOT Jesus' Last Name"(September 28, 2019)
​"Mite We Be Wrong About the Poor Widow's Gift?"(September 15, 2019)
“When Religion Becomes a Curse!” (September 8, 2019)

August 2019
"Don't Wash Your Hands, Cleanse Your Heart (August 25, 2019)
“Hope in a Time of Mass Murder?” (August 18, 2019)

June 2019
"Freedom in Christ: Christ meets us at the crossroads of our core contradictions" (June 23, 2019)

May 2019
"Being Offended by God" (May 12, 2019) - audio file (play with Windows Media Player)

April 2019
"Eyes that Cannot See, Make the Whole World Blind" (April 14, 2019)

March 2019
"Broken Pottery and Raising Figs" (March 24, 2019)
"The Darkness Can Never Stop the Light!" (March 17, 2019)

February 2019
“Tested, Tried, Tempted, and Ready for Action!” (Feb. 17, 2019)
“Rage, Madness, and Attempted Murder in Nazareth!” (Feb. 10, 2019)
“What You See, Might Be All You Get!” (Feb. 3, 2019)

January 2019
“World Fellowship Sunday: Migration and the Anabaptist- Mennonite Story” (Jan. 27, 2019)

2018 Sermons (examples)
December 2018
"Happy New Year" (December 2, 2018)

November 2018
"Finding Sabbath in the Midst of Christmas" (November 25, 2018)

September 2018
"Listen, the Outsider is NOT a Threat (Sept. 16, 2018)
"Not Again! Another Boat Trip to the Other Side" (September 9, 2018)

August 2018
"It May be Hard, but we can Make it to the Other Side" (August 26, 2018)
"Lifting Heavy Loads" (August 19, 2018)

July 2018
"Hospitality to the Stranger" (July 8, 2018)

June 2018
"Romans 13: No, no, no! Paul did NOT say that!" (June 24, 2018)
"The Day of Pentecost: Subversive Diversity!" (June 10, 2018)

May 2018
This Ain’t Science Fiction Folks – We’re All Aliens! (May 27, 2018)
Tower of Babel: God’s Diversifying Insurrection! (May 13, 2018)​

April 2018
Love that Does Not Condemn (April 29, 2018)
We're In Hot Water Folks ... and Lot's of It! (April 22, 2018)

March 2018
Excerpts from MLK Jr.'s Final Public Address: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (March 11, 2018)

February 2018
Excerpts from MLK Jr.'s Final Sermon: "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution" (Feb 26, 2018)

January 2018
Who's Your Neighbor? (1-21-2018)
Excerpts from MLK Jr.’s Sermon: “Drum Major Instinct” (1-14-2018)

2017 Sermons (examples)

December 2017
"Here Comes the Light" (12-17-2017, third Sunday in Advent)
"Finally, Some Good News!" (12-3-2017, first Sunday in Advent)

November 2017
"Gratitude and Generosity" (11-19-2018)
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October 2017
"The Importance of Eating in Church: (10-29-2017)
"Shake it Up Baby, Twist 'N Shout!" (10-22-2017)

March 2017
"Dishonest Brokers in the Business of Normal!" (3-21-2017)
I Wondered (03-19-2017)

Stay Thirsty My Friends! (03-12-2017)

February 2017
How 'Bout Them Other Commandments?"(Feb. 26, 2017)
A Little Talk on Healing (Feb. 12, 2017)

January 2017
Keep Up the Hope! (Jan. 22, 2017)
The Light has Come -- Time to kick at the darkness! (Jan. 8, 2017)

2016 Sermons (examples)

December 2016
The difference between Sheep and Goats ain't all that much sometimes (Dec. 18, 2016)
The Aroma of Christ (Dec. 

November 2016
Advent Theme: Locating Our Lives in the Abandoned Places of the Empire (11-27-2016)
Treasures in a Clay Jar (11-20-2016)

October 2016
We've been exploring new formats: dramatic readings, plays, interactive stories. That's why no sermons have been posted recently.

July 2016 through September 2016 (Steve is on Sabbatical)
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
November 2015
October
September
August 
  • We had guest speakers during August, so no sermons.

July
  • No sermons during Worship 'Round the Table series (7-12 to 8-9-2015). Informal conversations on speaker topics are discussed.

June
May
April
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
2014 Sermons (examples)

December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September
August 2014
Note: Enneagram Parts 1-3 were all informal "Worship 'Round the Table" events, so there were no sermons. However, this is the informational worksheet used: Enneagram Worksheet.
  • Enneagram Part 1: Introduction (8-3-3014)
  • Enneagram Part 2: Path to Transformation (8-10-2014)
  • Enneagram Part 3: Fostering Community (8-17-2014)

July 2014
June 2014