Sermon Transcripts

March 5, 2025 ~ Ash Wednesday Drink from the Fountain of Grace Rev. Beckie Sweet   Today is Ash Wednesday ~ the Holy Day that always sneaks up on me, no matter how disciplined I am about planning ahead for the season of Lent.  Yes, this is the first day of Lent, the season of repentance and preparation for the grand celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But this time of preparation is so much more than packing a...

March 2, 2025 ~ 8th Sunday after Epiphany ~ COURAGEOUS Rev. Beckie Sweet   Have you ever been first at anything?  Sure, I remember being first at a couple of things: first to be picked for a team in the neighborhood football game (as I mentioned last week).  Perhaps you were first choice for the lead role in your high school play or musical.  Were you the first member of your family to earn a graduate degree?  Or maybe you were...

February 23, 2025 ~ Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ COURAGEOUS   Do you remember how neighborhood kids used to pick teams for a game?  Typically, the organizing ultra-athletes would quickly ascend to the rank of captain.  Then, the captains would alternate picking members of their respective team.  In my elementary age neighborhood in Clarks Summit, PA, we didn’t usually have enough kids to fill out two teams for...

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...