Sermon Transcripts

December 8, 2024 ~ Second Sunday of Advent Worship Series: “Come Home for Christmas” Rev. Beckie Sweet   Every time I hear this Scripture text from Luke’s third chapter, I am transported to one of the many productions of Godspell which I have enjoyed.  With credit to Stephen Schwartz, my favorite part is when a soloist begins:  “Pre-pare ye the way of the Lord.  Pre-pare ye the way of the Lord.”  And as this is...

December 1, 2024 ~ First Sunday of Advent “Come Home for Christmas” Rev. Beckie Sweet   Happy New Year! That’s right.  Today marks the beginning of the new church year.  For liturgy geeks, this is Year C in the Revised Common Lectionary cycle, which means we will be hearing a lot from Luke’s gospel over the next few months. But the gospel passage assigned for the first Sunday in Advent, this first Sunday of the new...

November 24, 2024 ~ Thanksgiving Sunday Stewardship Worship Series: Releasing God’s Blessings Rev. Beckie Sweet   Laura Numeroff is a prolific author of children’s literature.  In one series, in which she partners with illustrator Felicia Bond, Numeroff playfully explores the unintended consequences of giving.  Her titles, with which you may be familiar, include, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “If You Give a Pig a...

November 17, 2024 ~ 26th Sunday after Pentecost Stewardship Series: Releasing God’s Blessings Rev. Beckie Sweet   Several years ago, around Thanksgiving, radio commentator, Paul Harvey, shared a story about a woman and her frozen Thanksgiving turkey.  Now, quite a few years ago, the Butterball Turkey Company set up a telephone hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys.  But one woman called to...

November 10, 2024 ~ 25th Sunday after Pentecost Stewardship Series ~ Releasing God’s Blessings Rev. Beckie Sweet   We lived in Binghamton when I was in Junior High School, where my dad served as senior pastor at the Boulevard UMC on the corner of Grand Blvd. and Floral Ave, near the Johnson City border.  That’s where I had my first experience of participating in a youth group.  The young couple who led the group tried very...

November 3, 2024 ~ All Saints Sunday Rev. Beckie Sweet   Back in 1982, Alice Walker wrote a marvelous novel, The Color Purple.  Maybe you remember it.  It was greeted with critical acclaim, won a Pulitzer, and was eventually made into a movie.  What interests me today is that soon after writing The Color Purple, Alice Walker began to dream about her ancestors.  Some of these dream-visits were from people she had known before they...