Sermons

Alleluia! Christ is risen, indeed! Wow—it felt good to proclaim that word again with so many of you thispast Easter Sunday! And as good as that feels, we also know that as people who proclaim and embody that“Jesus is Alive,” we still have much work to do as disciples of Jesus to accompany those living in a “Good Friday” world.

This Sunday, we are blessed to have our Conference minister, the Rev. Dr. Diane Weible, preaching for us. She writes,

“A Life of Discipleship does not mean all the pain and problems of life will go away. It means, instead, thatwe do not have to face those scars alone.  And it means that we can go forward to spread the love thatJesus has shown to us to others because we not only have the peace of Christ to go with us but because we are being sent by the One who showed us that new life is possible—that all things are possible.”

Join us for what will be an encouraging Eastertide message!

Rev. Dr. Diane Weible preaching
Music by John Kendall Bailey and Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols

Every year on Easter Sunday, we hear the story told. This year, we hear the story told from the Gospel of Mark.

The women woke early in the morning, went to the tomb where Jesus had been laid, and brought with them spices to anoint his body. Very soon after arriving at the tomb, the women realize that something is not quite right. The body of Jesus is missing, and an angel appears to them. Quickly, the women leave the tomb in terror and amazement, and we are told that they say nothing to anyone.

It’s not the ending that we want to hear. It’s not the ending we are looking for. It’s an unfinished story.

Aside from beginnings, endings to stories are often the most crucial part. The ending we get this Easter Sunday is not what we expect, it is unfinished. But maybe it’s the ending that we need right now.

One thing we know about Mark is that there are no easy answers, no clear solutions. Maybe that’s the point. Perhaps the ending we get this Easter Sunday, incomplete and unsatisfying as it may be, is an invitation—an invitation for us to complete the story.

Friends, even though our Lenten journey may be over, and we have arrived at Easter, the story and the work are not complete. God is not finished with us. God still has work for us to do—work of justice and peace; mercy and hope; and yes, resurrection and a new creation. We hope you will join us in completing the story and doing the work.

Rev. Eric Sherlock preaching from Mark 16:1–8
Music by John Kendall Bailey and Gabrielle Goozée-Nichols