The Power of God’s Call
Audio version of Jill’s sermon (WMA)
3rd Sunday after Epiphany Year B In Ordinary Time
Mark 1:14-20; 1 Cor. 7:29-31
Rev Jill Komura
Prayer: Gracious God, please illuminate your Word for us today so that we hear it with our whole hearts, embrace it with our whole spirit, and live into it with our whole lives. Amen.
Not too long ago, I walked into a hospital room and introduced myself as ...
Read more...Mark 1:4-11
Genesis 1:1-5
As some of you know, this past November I attended my daughter-in-law’s baby shower in Red Hook, New York. At the shower Maryann received many lovely gifts. I did not observe her open any gifts from her mother Suzanne. The next day, Suzanne showed me a lovely baptismal gown that she had been working on for our shared grand baby. She told me that she had begun working on the gown when Maryann was a ...
Read more...Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Matthew 2: 1-12
The other night I had the opportunity to meet with the Pastor Seeking Committee. Char opened with devotions for the group by displaying this amazing and incredible little crèche scene. The characters all looked like tiny Eskimos. Their clothing had been felted. Even a teeny little husky dog and been felted. The characters that represented the wise men were bearing tiny little wrapped gifts with teeny bows. Char asked us to think about ...
Read more...Luke 1:26-38
2 Samuel 7:1-16
Thanks to Brooke for sending me the picture that you find on the front of your bulletins from the Huffington Post. (December 14, 2011) The picture is from a billboard that was erected in Auckland, New Zealand this past Tuesday by St. Matthew-in-the-City, a progressive Anglican Church well known for its provocative advertisements.
Reactions to the sign gathered by Auckland local television station 3 News included comments from locals that the sign was “really weird” and that ...
Read more...Isaiah 40:1-11
I loved living down town when I was renting a house on 18th Ave. I could walk back and for the to church. I could walk down to the Farmer’s Market. I enjoyed walks across the Capitol Campus and around the lake. Now that I’ve moved out to the ‘burbs I have to drive everywhere. When I come to work, I join the long line of state workers who are heading their ...
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First Sunday of Advent
It seems like I keep hearing the book of Revelation read lately. I heard devotions at two different meetings I attended last week on the book of Revelation and the preacher at Presbytery a week ago Thursday attempted to preach on the Book of Revelation. I say attempted to preach, because he really did try to cover the whole book. Because the docket of Presbytery had ...
Read more...Robert Schnase in his book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations tells of two members of his church: Matt and Keri. They grew up in the church and after marriage and children got heavily involved in the church again. They are both professionals with moderately high incomes. They have a familiar suburban lifestyle, paying for a home mortgage, two cars and preschool for their children. At church they participated in Bible study, helped with children’s ministries, ...
Read more...This past week I spent some time trying to remember when it was that I got interested in Mission and Service. I tried to pinpoint some event in my life that was the lightening rod that made me want to participate in mission and service, but I couldn’t think of any one event. I think it might be simple to say, “I was raised that way.”
I have fragmented memories of my childhood, standing on a pier ...
Read more...I’m sure that some of you remember the movie released in 1993 called Groundhog Day. Self-centered and sour TV meteorologist Phil Connors played by Bill Murray, news producer Rita and cameraman Larry all from fictional Pittsburgh television station WPBH-TV9 travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities with Punxsutawney Phil. Having grown tired of this assignment, ...
Read more...I want everyone to think back for a moment on the best worship service you have ever attended. What did you love about it? What touched you? Probably the best worship service I’ve been to lately was the opening worship service at the UCC Annual Conference in Seattle. The service took place in the University Presbyterian Church. We saw old friends in the narthex and shared warm greetings and excited hugs. Then as we walked into the sanctuary ...
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