Santa Monica Nazarene Church

In this sermon we return to Mary’s song, the Magnificat. We talk about Mary (with a little help from Fargo) as the image of the church and the hinge upon with Christian witness happens.

For the rest of Ordinary Time we will consider how the gospel speaks to our many varied days. We are using a book of prayers by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie called The Lives We Actually Have as our structure and a source of inspiration. Today’s sermon is about our lovely days. We consider a series of words—wonder, space, refresh, menuha, and savor—in order to find the gospel speaking to us in days we might call lovely.

In this sermon we conclude our series on the saints by looking at the life of Saint Paul the Apostle. We consider the devotion (yes, that’s right) behind his efforts to destroy (ravage, roundup, jail, kill) the church and how Christ was able to break through and change the direction of his life. From there we consider a couple passage from his letters and with the help of something called sympathetic resonance (it’s a piano thing) what it means to abandon our lives to way of Jesus.

For the rest of Ordinary Time we will consider how the gospel speaks to our many varied days. We are using a book of prayers by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie called The Lives We Actually Have as our structure and a source of inspiration. Today’s sermon is about our overwhelming days. In this sermon consider two passage of Scripture as capturing the experience of being overwhelmed. In one sense we are like Peter, drowning in what’s beyond our control. In another sense we are like Martha, distract by everything other than what matters most.

In this sermon we continue our series on the saints by looking the witness of Maria Goretti as we consider what it means to forgive.