Sermon Transcripts

February 16, 2023 ~ Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ COURAGEOUS   You’ve heard some of these remarkable stories: A mother changes the way she views the boy who shot and killed her little girl.  Parents ask for a lesser sentence for the two men who beat their son and left him for dead.  A man spends years trying to save the life of the man who shot him point blank with a shotgun.  These stories illustrate the point...

February 9, 2025 ~ Fifth Sunday after Epiphany COURAGEOUS Rev. Beckie Sweet   Someone asked me once why I “hang out” by the doors on Sunday mornings, because not all pastors do that.  I mentioned that I love experiencing the ways people greet one another upon their arrival, and I enjoy offering greetings, as well.  It is interesting to observe how we greet one another, and how, for some that is different from week to week.  We...

January 26, 2025 ~ Third Sunday after Epiphany Rev. Beckie Sweet   There’s a story about an elderly couple that was walking out of church one Sunday.  The wife said to the husband, “Did you see the strange hat Mrs. O’Hearne was wearing?”  “No, I didn’t,” replied her spouse.  “Joe Smith badly needs a haircut, doesn’t he?” commented the wife.  “Sorry, I didn’t notice,” replied the husband.  Then she said impatiently, “You know...

January 19, 2025 ~ Human Relations Day Rev. Beckie Sweet   Pastor David Clark tells the story of the most recent visit he had with his parishioner, “Old Al Lunde.”  Al was a long-time member of the congregation, who loved to talk about any subject under the sun.  There were some apples sitting on the kitchen table, and so the conversation turned to apples and apple cider.  David had heard that Al made his own cider, and so he...

January 12, 2025 ~ Baptism of Jesus Rev. Beckie Sweet   The young son of a Baptist pastor was in church one Sunday morning when he witnessed for the first time a baptism by immersion. He was greatly interested in what had happened, and so the next morning he proceeded to baptize his three cats in the bathtub. The youngest kitten bore it very well, and so did the younger cat.  But the old family tom cat rebelled.  The old feline...

January 5, 2025 ~ Epiphany Rev. Beckie Sweet   Five months ago, when I started the planning for today’s Epiphany worship service, I selected the title, “Follow that Star!” based on my memory of police dramas from my childhood.  You see, in many of those dramas, when trying to catch a suspected criminal, the police heroes would shout, “Follow that Car!”  In “The Untouchables,” Elliot Ness, played by Robert Stack, would use that...