Your Faith Journey

All of us are on a journey of faith in our lives. At Faith Lutheran in Okemos, Michigan we bring people one a journey of faith each week and share that journey with the world.

Sermon - 6/29/25 06/30/2025

Sermon - 6/29/25 Third Sunday after Pentecost June 29, 2025 Faith, Okemos I Kings 19:15-16, 19-21. Psalm 16, Galatians 5:1, 13-25[26], Luke 9:52-62 The apostle Paul wrote, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 …it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me… [And these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death. So that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life…So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:3-4, 11] As I was preparing this week for a small group study of the life and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I thought a lot about his vocation as a pastor in Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s, about his participation in the escalating resistance to Hitler’s Nazi regime. Dietrich came to believe that Christ truly lived in him and that Christ Jesus living in him did battle with the forces of darkness within his own soul and within the soul of the nation he deeply loved. My brothers and sisters, I believe that Jesus living in Dietrich also lives in now each of us. Know that in our restlessness and fear in this troubling time, Jesus is doing battle in and with us against our leanings toward despair and anxiety and cynicism, against our leanings toward disgust and hatred of other sisters and brothers perhaps in all three branches of our government with whom we may have come to increasingly distrust and despise. I think of the huge budget reconciliation bill now before Congress, a bill affecting countless of the poorest, the most vulnerable among us, a bill negatively affecting our efforts to conserve and preserve the Earth. Members of Congress and we whom they represent could easily give way to what St. Paul includes in what he calls “the works of the flesh”: heightened strife, anger, quarrels, dissensions, and factions. But if it is really true that “it is no longer [we] who live, but rather Christ Jesus who lives in [us]”, then our hearts, our words, and our behaviors radically change. Then these beautiful words increasingly become who we are: people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But let us make no mistake: as long as we live in a fallen world, we remain vulnerable to speaking and acting badly, even in a congregation so full of love as this one we so cherish. In uncertain, stressful times we could can be nasty or at least indifferent to each other. We could hurt one another even if unintentionally, whether we are young or old, whether new or long-time members. That was certainly true in the little church in Galatia. Harsh, ill-considered, judgmental words and behaviors toward one another threatened to irreparably break the bonds of love and kindness that held them together, wounds that effectively muted their witness to God’s mercy and grace. The little church in Galatia and our congregation in Okemos, Michigan did have this in common: the same crucified and risen and healing Jesus Christ who lived in the Galatian congregation 2000 years later also lives in us. They were then and we are now the very presence of Christ! Individually and collectively, we are called to be the very presence of Jesus in this time and in this community whenever our love for one another and for our neighbors especially in Meridian Township is clearly expressed. But when these Galatian sisters and brothers sinned against each other, and if and when we sin against one another, this same indwelling God who spoke plainly and firmly in their hearts through this little letter to them from Paul, now speaks words of judgment plainly and firmly in our hearts. Christ Jesus dwelling in their hearts, this Jesus, through the Holy Spirit who convicted them of their sins, now truly dwelling in our hearts, will convict us of our sins against each other. But Jesus, the Son of God, gave them, and now will give us both the courage and the humility to repent, to put to death our pride and stubbornness, and to ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt. It has been and it will be a wonderful thing to be part of a congregation where members can courageously acknowledge to one another their lack of kindness or patience or gentleness or self-control. It has been and it will be a wonderful thing when we can say to one another, “Please forgive me” and to hear back, “I forgive you.” It is a wonderful thing when we regularly practice confession and forgiveness with one another! This practice may be the most primary, most powerful, deepest witness we can give to our own families, to our neighbors, to a country, to a world so divided, so full of hate. Confession and forgiveness “levels the playing field.” In it no one of us is either higher or lower than any of our siblings. Before God we are all sinners. And in Christ Jesus, we are all saints, truly cleansed and forgiven through Jesus’ death on the cross for us. Until we reach our heavenly home heaven, we will always be both sinners who need to repent and saints who have been forgiven. There is great freedom is this dual reality. We are set free from having to prove how good we are, how much better or better behaved we are than others, how surely “we are right” and “they are wrong.” At the same time, we no longer need to wallow in guilt or remorse for how awful we are, for how badly and stubbornly wrong-headedly we’ve lived. Christ in our hearts continually sets us free! Jesus through the Holy Spirit struggles in us and with us and for us to name and dethrone the false gods that deceitfully promise a better, happier, safer life if we only we isolate ourselves, cut ourselves off from people with whom we disagree or whom we regard as beneath us. I want to witness to our life in following Jesus, who is our Life, who day after day resides in our hearts, a life that keeps getting richer and richer. I want to share a little of what that was like in my own life this past week. Just days ago Janet Boyer was on my mind. I called her and rejoiced with her in her gratitude to God for still having her voice after major thyroid surgery performed dangerously close to her vocal cords. Then I think the same day, I was asked to see Jane and her daughter and some close friends. Jane, a member of Immanuel, Grand Ledge, was in hospice care, just hours away from her death. Together we prayed and hugged and commended Jane into God’s eternal embrace. Then I privileged to be with a developmentally disabled young man in jail who as I was leaving promised to pray for me as I for him. Then on Thursday evening Phylis and I were with a very crowded church in Grand Rapids, blessed by the presence of Nadia Bolz-Weber, a very down-to-earth, unpretentious ELCA pastor, who testified of the unending grace of God even in and from her mother’s womb, the grace of God through years of drug addiction, and to this day sharing the beautiful fruits of the Holy Spirit with countless people who were lost… Nadia sensing even in her darkest hours that Jesus was not far from her. She could echo the words of St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me.” With her we sang many songs that evening, songs including these two verses of Amazing Grace… I believe that experiences like those given to in these last few days…expressions of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, given and received, are meant to be experienced by all of us, all of us in whom Jesus dwells, all of us whom Jesus calls to courageously follow him for the rest of our lives. Please sing with me “Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song” [ELW 808] Amen. JDS /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/37212690

Special Music - Holy Manna 06/22/2025

Sermon - 6/22/25 06/22/2025

Sermon - 6/22/25 Year C – 2nd Sunday after Pentecost; Lectionary 12 – June 22, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 8:26-39 Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK Jr. Grace and Peace to you from our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the source of our liberation. Amen. *** This past Thursday was Juneteenth… it is the day we honor June 19, 1865, when the last remaining people who were enslaved in Texas were liberated by the US Army… three years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. A few of us came together to honor this day by reading and discussing Martin Luther King, Jr’s, Letter from Birmingham Jail, from April 16, 1963. Nearly 100 years after the liberation of those people who were enslaved… we were reminded in that letter… that people of color in this country… were still not free. They… were still bound. And 62 years after this convicting letter… 62 years after MLK wrote of his ‘hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice would soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding would be lifted from our fear-drenched communities…’ we sat with the pain of knowing that we are still not free from our sin of holding our fellow siblings captive. We… are still bound. So many people in our country are committed to their idea of what is right and acceptable, that instead of growing in their understanding of the beautiful diversity of God’s creation, they have added to the categories of people who are bound by our prejudice… People of color still face discrimination from white people… and this now overwhelmingly includes Native Americans, and our immigrant, refugee, and migrant communities. Additionally, our LGBTQIA+ neighbors face prejudice and discrimination as they have started living more openly as their beautiful, authentic selves… And yet, the Supreme Court just issued a ruling last week to uphold a state law allowing for the ban of medical care for transgender youth… disregarding the mountain of evidence that this care literally saves lives… We are bound by our sin… and we cannot free ourselves. We are bound… but we have before us, our God in the flesh… Jesus… the source of our liberation. Jesus… the one who comes to release our chains… release us from our prisons and enslavement of our own making. Jesus… comes to us… to set us free. If we are willing… if we are willing to be freed. Our gospel text tells a story of a man plagued by demons… so many demons… he is so burdened… so bound by these demons… that he identifies as his demons… When Jesus asks him his name… he replies… Legion… for we are many. This man is literally bound… bound by chains, shackles, and by distance… separated from his society… marginalized… and feared. For Jesus and his disciples, this man is the most unclean of all the unclean… he is a foreigner… a gentile… he is possessed by demons… he is naked and living among the dead… in the tombs. For Jesus and his disciples, this man is not just outside of the realm of what they found acceptable… he was in another world. And yet… Jesus shows up here… because there is no place that is beyond Jesus’ reach and authority… but it was here, among these tombs and with this poor man… it was here… that he was needed most. This man was bound… and Jesus frees him. Jesus comes to this man because this man needs Jesus… but in going to him, we see, yet again, that Jesus is always challenging the borders and boundaries around the way we think things should be. Jesus is always challenging us to widen our understanding of God’s love for all of God’s creation… and when we understand that… we loosen our own bonds and draw closer to Christ. And yet… living in such a tied up way is what we know best… After this man is freed from his demons, he immediately wants to be bound to Jesus… but Jesus is not going to trade one form of bondage for another… no. Jesus tells him… that he is free… and to go and share all that God has done for him. He is free. And his neighbors? …they are still bound by their fear… perhaps even more afraid now that this man whom they thought was bound up and controlled is now free and living among them… as if he belonged. They preferred it when this man who was different… was set apart… so they didn’t have to think about him… or care for him… The man is now free… but they are still bound to their sin… and unwilling to be freed. Thinking back to Dr. King’s letter from Birmingham Jail… King writes ‘that the greatest stumbling block is not the KKK, but the white moderate… who is more devoted to order than to justice… Who prefers a negative peace, which is the absence of tension, to a positive peace, which is the presence of justice…’ The people in the country of the Gerasenes… wanted to chain up the one who was different… they wanted a “negative peace” …they wanted him to not remind them that he existed. They wanted him to remain bound. White people, after the abolition of slavery, wanted people of color to remain oppressed… they wanted both whites and blacks to buy into the false notion of white supremacy… …and many today are still bound to this sinful endeavor. And those who are uncomfortable with the LGBTQIA+ community… really of queerness of any kind… they also want those folks to remain bound, hidden away from view. They certainly want people who are transgender, or trans-queer, to not exist, and they think they can legislate them out of existence. They want a negative peace… an absence of tension… rather than a positive peace… which requires shaking off the shackles of sin and working for justice for those we have oppressed. But Jesus… remember where Jesus went? …he didn’t go to the townspeople to try and convince them that this man was their brother, and they should care for him and provide for his needs. No. Jesus went to the man who was bound… because that’s where he was needed. And we, who seek Jesus… that’s where we need to go, too. We need to go to those who are bound… Jesus is the source of our true liberation from oppressive forces, both known and unknown. And when we seek Jesus… we will find him among those we have pushed away… we will find him among those who are bound. When we seek Jesus… we will find him when we engage in the work of breaking those bonds… the work of seeking justice for those who are oppressed. A genuine relationship with Jesus and a commitment to the way of the gospel can only compel us to engage in the pursuit of social justice. For you cannot love your neighbor… if you insist that they remain bound. If we try… and Lord help us, we try all the time… we find that we are also bound… bound by our sin… bound by our fear of the ‘other.’ We are bound… and we cannot free ourselves. But Jesus… Jesus is our liberation… and Jesus has shown us the way to freedom… We cannot become free by seeking liberation for ourselves. We can only become free by seeking liberation for our neighbor. When we engage in the work of seeking justice and life for our neighbor who is bound by oppressive forces… we, too, will become free… Seeking liberation for our neighbor… brings us face to face with Jesus… Seeking liberation for our neighbor… is loving our neighbor… just as Jesus commanded… and engaging in this work… frees us both. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/37104965

Sermon - 6/15/25 06/14/2025

Sermon - 6/15/25 Year C – Trinity Sunday – June 15, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd John 16:12-15 Athanasian Creed Grace and Peace to you from our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is God and the Holy Spirit… the Three-in-One. Amen. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday… now I have several clergy friends who prefer to gloss over this one, but given how cloudy our understanding of the Trinity is, I thought we should dig in, yes? So today… Trinity Sunday… is a different sort of festival… in that what we are celebrating is actually… our church doctrine… it is the church’s explanation of God’s nature as three-in-one… one-in-three… or rather, we should say… Today we celebrate our almost understanding of God’s nature. I say almost, because… it isn’t perfect… no description we can imagine or create will truly capture who God is… and that’s also the point. Nothing we can say about God will fully describe God’s being because God is massive and ultimately beyond our full understanding. God is mystery… and wonder… and awe… And yet… This massive and mysterious God yearns for a relationship with us… a personal relationship with humanity… God wanted that so much that God came and walked with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Our great and powerful God… in a poor and humble human body. God came and shared our joy and our pain… lived a human life with us… and submitted himself to our most incredibly violent actions… all to show us how much God was invested in this relationship. And after Jesus defeated death, and was resurrected from the tomb… he continued to share life with us before ascending to heaven, but not before drawing our attention to the Holy Spirit… Our advocate… the Holy Spirit of God… the very breath of God that fills our lungs and permeates our lives… God who surrounds us… and lives within us. God, the mighty and powerful creator… Jesus… our humble redeemer and friend… and Spirit… the one who sustains us and saturates our world… Distinct in their divinity but together as one… one God. “One God in trinity, and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being… the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.” Makes perfect sense, yes? As humans, in a relationship, we want to set parameters… we want to understand and know the other person… We like to believe that fully knowing another is actually possible. For example… my parents have been married for forty-nine years. I’d say they know each other very well… they can anticipate each other’s reactions and moods. But occasionally, they still surprise each other… And my husband and I have been married almost twenty-two years… we respond in unison so often that we suspect we might share a brain. But we are still – all of us – separate people with different perspectives on life. Think about your closest relationship… perhaps with your spouse… or a sibling or cousin… maybe a life-long best friend. You know this person through and through… you can describe and anticipate this person’s thoughts and reactions… You have laughed together… cried together… and yet, you are not them… they are not you… Even the person you know the most is distinct from you in such a way that prevents you from ever fully understanding what it is… to be them… And your person… the one you have in mind now… is human… How much more than that is our God? With God… full knowledge and understanding will always be… just beyond our reach. And that’s ok. For us to be invested in our relationships with anyone, but particularly with God, we must invest our time in them. We must share our full life with them… laugh and cry together… learn and grow together. With God… Jesus… Spirit… we dwell in our learning and growing through prayer, worship, and spending time in the Scriptures… laughing together… crying together… giving thanks for God’s enduring faithfulness. In our scriptures, we read and relive God’s interactions with our ancestors so that we can be attuned to God’s interactions with us. Because God did not stop acting after Revelation was written! We come together in worship and praise, and we wait for the Lord to come to us… to meet us in our lives… we nurture our relationship with God so that when God shows up, we recognize the one who calls us beloved. Our doctrine of the Trinity… our best attempt at describing God’s three-in-oneness… wasn’t handed to the disciples as a list of terms and conditions to accompany the Holy Spirit… This doctrine… this way of understanding… developed over a few hundred years of faithful followers of Jesus trying to make sense of what happened… trying to understand how these events fit in with the Hebrew scriptures and laws, and with the writings and teachings they’d gathered since Jesus’s death and resurrection… The Trinity is our best attempt at describing God’s divine presence in and with and through all things in all places… for all time and even outside of time. Our understanding of the Trinity came from those who dedicated their time and attention to their relationship with God… and allowed that relationship to reveal new discoveries about our Creator… Redeemer… and Sustainer. The Three-in-one… One-in-three. However, what we celebrate today is not the doctrine itself per se, but that this idea gave us a new lens through which to revisit Scripture… a new perspective to help us understand our interactions with the Divine. This new perspective helped us realize that God… Jesus… Spirit… have always been… and were always there… and will be until the end of time… eternally together, yet separate… and eternally one. And so, this doctrine is the lens through which we now hear Jesus’s parting words to his disciples… on the night in which he was betrayed. Jesus knows they cannot fully grasp the meaning of all that is about to occur… and that they won’t fully understand everything he has taught them up until that point, until after he has defeated death. He knows that they will need to remember his words to understand… but he promises them that they will have help. God’s Holy Spirit will surround them and guide them toward truth… will guide them in their continued living as disciples of Jesus. God’s Holy Spirit will permeate their lives and continue to glorify God… to make God known for them… just as the Holy Spirit continues to glorify God for us. Jesus says of the Holy Spirit that it will continue to make Jesus known to them… because it will guide them in his teaching… just as Jesus’ teaching has made God the Father known. The inspiration and guidance we receive from the Holy Spirit is not independent of God or Jesus… for the Spirit and Jesus and God are one. And yet… exactly how it is that God… Jesus… Spirit so saturates our very being remains a mystery that we know is true. We know it is true because we feel God all around us, we share stories of encountering God, and we do our best with our limited language to describe God’s awesomeness… knowing that the full scope of God is just beyond our grasp. Kallistos Ware was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and he wrote, “We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge, as the cause of our wonder.” It is our wonder that keeps us invested in this amazing relationship with our Creator… and it is our awe that reminds us who we are and whose we are… We seek the triune God who reveals themselves to us as three… and yet one… the source of our life and our salvation… A divine mystery that we can explore for our whole lives, knowing and accepting that full knowledge is not for us in this life. And that’s ok. We can celebrate our almost understanding, using the doctrine of the Trinity as our lens through which we read, and grow in awareness of God’s story… Always leaving room for wonder and awe for our Creator… Redeemer… and Sustainer… the three-in-one… and one-in-three. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/37012480

Special Music - Restless 06/08/2025

Sermon - 6-8-25 06/08/2025

Sermon - 6-8-25 Year C – Pentecost – June 8, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Acts 2:1-21 Grace and peace to you in the name of our Advocate, God’s Holy Spirit, who walks alongside us every day. Amen. *** God doesn’t create in half measures… ya know? Think about our planet… and all the intricate details included on every level of life… from whole eco-systems down to tiny microbes. Think about… us…you and me… There is no one else quite like you. You are unique and beloved… God knit you together after God’s own image, gave you life with God’s own breath… and loves you fully… God doesn’t create in half-measures… and all that God creates is precious and loved, including you… And since the beginning of humanity, God has invited us to be in relationship with God… never forcing the relationship, but giving us that choice… because we are loved. A choice to respond to the presence of God in our lives… in our world… in each other… and within our very own bodies. What began as God’s breath across the face of the waters, bringing forth life… guiding us as a pillar of smoke… a burning bush… a booming thunder… and a still, small voice… Always speaking… if we are willing to listen… always guiding… if we are willing to follow… always inviting… if we are willing to respond. Becoming human in the person of Jesus… entering our lives in the most humble way… teaching… loving… inviting… suffering… dying… forgiving and still loving… still inviting. The presence of God around us and in us, in countless ways, reminding us that God’s Holy Spirit… has been with us from the beginning, and God’s Holy Spirit will be with us to the end… Reminding us that God’s Spirit was with us, and is with us, and that even though God in Jesus must ascend to the Creator, we have another advocate… the one who has been with us all along. God’s Spirit… the pneuma in Greek… the ruach in Hebrew… God’s holy breath that fills your lungs and gives you life… is with you always. God does not create in half measures… and God does not abandon God’s creation. But as with all things that are constant in our lives… we often overlook this continual holy presence with us… take it for granted… after all… how often have you stopped to consider the air in your lungs? So, this was the scene in Jerusalem that day… Jesus had ascended, and now it was time to share the gospel story… time to witness to all that had occurred… time to light a fire under this message of good news! God’s Spirit… our constant companion… needed to get those disciples moving. What better chance than to cause a holy disruption during Shavuot… the Festival of Weeks… the Pentecost festival in Jerusalem, which happens 50 days after Passover, commemorating the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people… A time when Jewish people from all around the known world would have made a pilgrimage to the city to celebrate and honor God’s word. A mass of people… diverse and inclusive… together… for God. This is the moment… this is the time… God’s Spirit moves through… and causes a scene… Like I said… God doesn’t really act in half-measures. The Spirit of God comes upon these people as a great, roaring sound like a violent rushing wind… Filling the room and appearing among them like divided tongues, as of fire, and resting upon each of them… And giving them the ability to proclaim the Gospel in whatever language it needed to be heard… The Holy Spirit is in the house, demanding attention, engaging every one of their senses… for the Gospel must be heard. The Gospel… must be experienced. What a moment! A dramatic onslaught of action and motion… of speaking… and of hearing… confusion… and… of understanding. Hearing the proclamation of the gospel… hearing the good news of salvation… of love and forgiveness. Hearing, each in their native language… the message that Love has come and is making all things new. Death is overcome and new life is born... new breath… new growth. We are gathered by this swirling wind, but also provoked and pushed to give our witness… to tell our story… For the Gospel must be heard… and God doesn’t do with half-measures. Pentecost is only the beginning… the fire that was ignited on that day burns within you still… guiding you toward God’s love… and empowering you to share your story. God’s Holy Spirit… your constant companion… your ever-present connection to Christ within yourself and in others… is guiding you daily toward God’s love. And occasionally causing a holy disruption… either as that still, small voice that insists on being heard, or as a roaring wind… a sensory disruption that demands attention and cannot be ignored. God’s Spirit doesn’t do with half-measures. Shaking us out of our complacency… our routine… giving us the courage to speak up when our words are necessary… and the wisdom to be silent and listen, when our understanding is required. God’s Holy Spirit is igniting within us… attuning our senses toward God’s will. Whenever we feel that push… or pull… a gentle nudge or maybe a hard shove… toward loving more widely, sharing more generously… welcoming more inclusively… Whenever we feel that call inside our hearts to extend and receive grace and forgiveness more openly… and freely… That is God’s Holy Spirit igniting within you… that is a Pentecost moment. What happened to those disciples in Jerusalem on that festival day so long ago was amazing… incredible… It gave birth to the church and lit a fire under the message, spreading the Gospel to the corners of the world… For the Gospel must be heard, and God doesn’t do with half-measures. That experience taught them, and us, that God is doing a new thing… that the Good News of Jesus’s death and resurrection must be heard, and that this is a message for all people, everywhere… that there are no boundaries around God’s love. This experience connected them… connected them to the presence of God within themselves and within each other. It reminded them, and us… that what began as God’s holy breath across the face of the waters… still fills our lungs. That our Creator, in whose image we are made, filled us with holy breath… guided us through wind, fire, thunder, and silence… loved us through Jesus and inspires us still as our advocate. The experience of Pentecost is that God doesn’t act in half-measures, and that God’s message of love must be heard. And so God’s Holy Spirit… the pneuma… the ruach… is within you… sometimes whispering to you, and sometimes shouting… that you are loved… You are loved with so much abundance that you cannot help but to share that love with others in the name of the one who is, who was, and who is yet to come… Our God and Creator, our Savior, and our Advocate. You are loved with so much abundance… because God doesn’t create in half-measures. And that… is a message that must be heard. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36909000

How Firm A Foundation 06/01/2025

Sermon - 6-1-25 06/01/2025

Sermon - 6-1-25 John 17:20-26; Pride Sunday; 7 Easter; June 1, 2025 Additional texts: Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 Rich Weingartner Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I’m scared. We live in a scary time. When I went up to the UP to visit my parents and family for Easter, I brought my passport with me. No real reason, just some fear that I might be in a situation where I’ll have to try to prove that I’m a US citizen. I hear of friends traveling to foreign countries, some of them who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I fear that they won’t be able to come back into our country. I’m afraid to leave the United States for concern that I’ll be stopped at the border and end up being detained and not let back into our country. It is an unsettling time for LGBTQIA+ or Queer people these days. We hear constant attacks on people as things are said or laws are introduced or passed that try to declare our Queer siblings as “other” or to make it sound like there is something wrong with them. I also know others are scared. The queer community aren’t the only ones being attacked and put down. I know my Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community have been attacked for centuries in various ways. Our siblings of hispanic heritage are facing struggles and threats as well. Asian and Pacific Islanders as well. Immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, including the young men in our parish house. There are a lot of people who are apprehensive and concerned now - and for many this is just a continuation of decades or centuries of being treated like “others” and that they don’t really belong and aren’t valid as a human being. However, God, through Jesus and the bible, tells us a different story. A story that declares that we are all children of God and we can be proud of who God made us to be. A story of love that knows no bounds and never ends. Which brings us to our readings for today that show that God is always with us, even in times of trouble. We start with the reading from Acts where we find Paul and Silas thrown in jail. While they may have been feeling scared and worried - they didn’t show it by just sitting around and moping and blaming God for their troubles. Instead, we find them praying and singing hymns and connecting with the other prisoners. In the midst of it all, they kept faithful to God. Then the earthquake happens. Since, at the time, if a guard lost prisoners, it was custom that he would pay for the loss with his life, the guard had assumed that everyone would have fled and thus was about to kill himself. However, Paul and Silas kept faith and stayed where they were and saved the guard’s life - not only physically but also spiritually through their witness to the power of God. This serves not only as a reminder that God will never leave us, but also that we can serve as witnesses to the power and love of God just through who we are and doing what is right - doesn’t take anything special - just through our actions and love they can know God’s love. Just like yesterday and the pride festival. We may think we were just there at a booth, talking to people, and handing out items - but we were witnesses to the love of Christ through our actions of acceptance, welcome, and love, to the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. Then we move to the concluding verses of Revelation. From verse 13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13) While this passage refers to the extremes of the beginning and the end; and the first and the last - we need to remember that God isn’t just there at the extreme ends, but everywhere in between. Just like all of creation, God isn’t just at one point or another - God is everywhere in between. Not just light and dark, but in all the shades in between - not just day and night but at sunrise and sunset, the dawn and twilight. In all creatures that live in the waters, on the land, and in the sky - and all of those that live in multiple places. And thus God has created all of us - in our many different varied ways - there is no binary in creation - everything spans a wide range to create the beautiful diversity of God’s creation - something to be proud of and celebrate. God is ever present across all time, all places, and all creation - the entire Cosmos from the very beginning of creation until the very end. And not only do we have this promise of God being ever present with us always, we are invited. As it says in Revelation 22:17 - all are invited to come to the Lord and His promises. Everyone who is thirsty and wishes to take the water of life as a GIFT is invited to come. This is a great reminder that God wants us to be in God’s presence and love - we are invited to receive the gift. We do not earn it, we do not have to work for it - it is a gift, a most wondrous gift from God for all. Then we turn to today’s Gospel from John. When I was preparing and first read the Gospel for today - the very first thing I noticed was how this passage starts. It wasn’t the words that I noticed - it was that it started with a quotation mark. Now, you’ll notice that in the reading we used in our service, a helpful prompt is added at the beginning in brackets to guide the reader, but in the Bible that prompt isn’t there. Since I didn’t have that prompt and the passage starts with a quotation mark, I knew we were joining in, right in the middle of something, so I backed up to get the context. And then I also remembered this is the time of the church year I tend to get confused. Just a few weeks ago we experienced the passion story and then the joyful Easter Resurrection. In fact, we are still in the season of Easter. However, for our Gospel readings for a few weeks, we have jumped back in time to hear stories from Jesus and his disciples during Jesus’ last evening with them at the last supper. So that is where we are with today’s Gospel. Jesus is giving his farewell speech and then praying for his disciples. That is where today’s Gospel is from - part of the prayer Jesus shared with his disciples that evening. While Jesus is praying with and for his disciples, we find that the prayer isn’t just for his disciples, as this part of the prayer starts with “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word”. The “behalf of these” is referring to the disciples and “behalf of those” is referring to us, today, and past and future. All of us who believe. You and me and all of God’s beloved. Take a moment and let that sink in - Jesus around 2000 years ago was praying for you and me, everyone alive today, and in the past and in the future. I don’t know about you, but I find it pretty awesome and also comforting to know that Jesus was praying for all of us - so long ago. In times when we are often scared and facing uncertainty it certainly is a good reminder to know that Jesus and God are on our side and that we are not alone. So, yes, it is awesome that Jesus is praying for us - but what did he pray for? He prays that we all may be one. Not only that we are one together with each other, but that also we are one together with Christ. We live in a world that wants to label us and put us in many different categories to separate us. However, that is completely opposite of what God wants, which is for all of us to be one in Christ. We have been given God’s glory so that we can all be together as one. While we need to celebrate and take pride in being called together as one in Christ Jesus - we are also given some work to do in this prayer - a reason for us all being called together as one. We are called to act together so that the world, through us, might believe that Jesus was sent from God. Not only to believe that Jesus is God’s son, but that God loved the entire cosmos so much that God sent Jesus for us, so that we may experience the grace, love, and forgiveness of God - given to us as a gift. It is this unconditional grace, love, and forgiveness that we are called to share with the world - just like we did yesterday at the pride festival. So, during Pride month, and always, today’s readings remind us we are never alone - no matter what we are going through or who we are. We are not alone for two reasons. First, we, through the examples of so many stories in the Bible, are not alone because we live in community with each other. God clearly sets an example that we are meant to be in community with each other (and with the entire creation) to support and build up each other - to be one together with each other. Not to divide and label, but to support and uplift each other. Second, we are not alone because we have been promised and reminded time and time again that God is always with us. God is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. And more importantly God is also everything in between. God never ends - and is always with us - and loves all of us exactly for who we are - children of God created in God’s image. Or in the words of a hymn. Have good cheer, little flock; have good cheer, little flock, for the Father will keep you in his love forever; have good cheer, little flock! May we all learn from the example and prayer of Jesus and work to be united as one with each other and with God and Jesus Christ. Not just to be with each other but also to share God’s love with all of creation. From the waters and sky to the grass, trees, and plants, to all the animals that live in the water, on land, or in the sky. And to all of God’s beloved children - every one of the LGBTQIA+ community, all our BIPOC siblings, people with every different ability, immigrants seeking safety and shelter, those who are hungry, everyone, especially those that society often shuns, calls an “other” or “less than”, and pushes to the margins. Through our words and actions, we can help bring this unity to creation, so we all can be one in Christ. We do this through the help of God who is always coming to us, every day, not just at the end of times. As it says in Revelation 22:20-21 “‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.” and let the entire church say “AMEN!”. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36810225

Sermon - 5-25-25 05/26/2025

Sermon - 5-25-25 Year C – Fourth Sunday in Easter – May 25, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd John 14:23-29 Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen savior, Jesus Christ, who gives us his peace. Amen. *** If you haven’t already heard… we elected a new bishop this past week at our synod assembly. Bishop-elect Julie Schneider-Thomas comes from the outskirts of the Grand Rapids area, where she served two congregations that are in a formal paired relationship. In church lingo… we call that a 2-point, and she has been with them for nearly 30 years. As excited as the assembly was that the Holy Spirit was calling us into something new… there were those for whom Pr Julie’s election was a cause for grieving… a cause for troubled hearts. Among them, of course, are our outgoing bishop, Criag Satterlee, and those who serve on his staff, Pr Chrisy Bright and Pr Kjersten Sullivan… also Bp. Satterlee’s wife and daughter. The Holy Spirit is now calling all of them forward into something new, but to what… they don’t yet know. It’s understandably disorienting. And at the end of Bishop-elect Julie’s acceptance speech, she left the podium… but then came running back to say one last thing… She said she saw the wide eyes of her people… people from not only one congregation, but from two… who just realized they have lost their pastor… their leader and shepherd… of 30 years. She saw their wide, troubled eyes… and her heart just broke. I felt that ache with her. In just a few short months, I have fallen deeply in love with this congregation… and with joy in my heart, I’m excited to share my life with you for years to come… to deepen our relationship over the gift of time. And so, I can only imagine what they all must have felt in that moment… The thrill of hope for where a new leader might guide our synod… a leader they know and love… up against the terrible ache of loss, knowing that their stability… and the patterns of life in those congregations are suddenly upended. The truth is… life could change for any of us in a moment’s notice… disorienting us… and challenging what we thought we knew. Leaving our hearts… troubled, and afraid. And into this disorientation, Jesus arrives with a word of peace. Do not let your hearts be troubled, he says… and do not be afraid. He tells them that yes, he is leaving them… but he is not leaving them alone. So be at peace… Jesus is going back to the Father, but we have the Holy Spirit… our advocate… our God with us. The Holy Spirit is with us always, to guide us… and to remind us of what Jesus taught us… to pour God’s love into us so we can share that love with the world. The Holy Spirit is with us… to ease our troubled hearts… and to give us… peace. Jesus tells his disciples this before his death and resurrection… This particular passage takes place after their last supper… after Judas has betrayed Jesus and gone out into the night… and after Jesus predicts Peter’s denial of him… He’s telling them this now… so that when the moment comes, they will remember his words. He’s trying to prepare them as best he can for what is to come… Imploring them to remember… remember that when you feel troubled… when you are afraid… I am still with you. Our advocate… God’s Holy Spirit… is still with us… always with us. These words are for us, as well… remember what Jesus promised us… we will never be abandoned. *** Our election for bishop went all the way to the fifth and final ballot… the field narrowing with each round. And before each round of voting… after passing out the ballots, we prayed together as an assembly. We prayed for the Holy Spirit to be present in our choice, and we breathed in that breath of God around us… The intention of this prayer was not to call the Holy Spirit to us… we were not imploring the Holy Spirit to come and be by our side. This prayer was for us… it was for our understanding… it was so that WE would become aware of the presence of God… that was already there. This prayer… was to help us remember Jesus’ promise. This prayer was intended to help us open our hearts to God in the Spirit… our Advocate… who is with us always. …our Christ, by our side… giving us peace… not as the world gives, but as Jesus gives… the peace that comes from remembering Jesus’s promise that we would never be abandoned by God. It was only after giving thanks for the Spirit of God with us, that we cast each vote. And so, while the results mean there are changes ahead… we know that Christ is with us through them all. *** There was another story I wanted to share with you today… another example of how present the Spirit of God is with us in our troubling, disorienting moments. …those moments when we might be tempted to feel that God has abandoned us. This happened just a couple of days ago… and I want to start by saying that no one was hurt… But my friend and colleague, Pastor Kara of Trinity Lutheran in Hillsdale, lost her home, her camper, and her husband’s truck in a fire on Thursday. Like I said, everyone is ok… unharmed… physically, at least, including their dog… no one was home at the time. But their property is a total loss. And just as Rich recently experienced after the storms, they have been showered with offers to help in whatever way they might need. And to everyone, she has the same response… She is beyond thankful that no one was hurt, and they have insurance. She is shocked, for sure… no one expects this… but she is absolutely grounded by Christ’s peace and presence. So, her request to everyone who offers is that they refocus their intentions toward the youth and young adults of our synod. You see… at the assembly, after we elected the new bishop, we also had to pass the new budget. The synod council put forward a budget that cut the amounts allocated for nearly all of our ministries, including support for the synod Youth & Young Adult Table, our Campus Ministries, and Living Water Ministries. Pastor Kara had moved for an addendum to the budget to reinstate the financial support for our youth and young adult ministry programs. She argued that we cannot claim the importance of youth and young adults in our church while also cutting our support for them. After much debate, the addendum passed… which reinstated the $14,000 cut from the lines supporting youth and young adult ministries… It was… a leap of faith… Because it came without any recent historical pattern of mission support from congregations to justify that extra spending. She was pretty much on edge after pushing the synod into possible debt. Still, Pastor Kara knew the Holy Spirit was with us in that room, guiding our decisions and moving our hearts toward God’s will. She trusted that when we follow God’s call, God will provide. She could not have known, however, that in less than a week, her faith in God’s provision would be put to the test. But I hear her… I hear the ache in her voice. She pushed for the assembly to do the right thing, even before knowing how we would accomplish it. She knew that her heart was troubled, but that the Spirit of Christ was with us… So, when facing a life-altering event… the kind of event that might leave one feeling abandoned… her faith and her resolve became stronger. They are unharmed, and they will recover… and so she is redirecting all the attention back toward the movement of the Holy Spirit at the assembly. And she is at peace. We’ll be talking more about this call to support youth and young adult ministries in the months to come… but as we have these conversations, I want you to remember… Remember Jesus’ words to us… his promise… Jesus said to his disciples… as he says to us… Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Christ is with us always, through good times and challenging times… in happy times and in sorrow. The promise of Jesus is that God’s Spirit is with us always, surrounding us with peace, and equipping us for the work ahead. So we will not let our hearts be troubled… and we will not be afraid. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36712545

Special Music - Let us Talents and Tongues Employ 05/19/2025

Special Music - True Light 05/19/2025

Sermon - 5-18-25 05/18/2025

Sermon - 5-18-25 Year C – Fourth Sunday in Easter – May 18, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd John 13:31-35; Acts 11:1-18 Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen savior, Jesus Christ, who commands us to love more widely than we can imagine. Amen. *** What an incredible day of celebration! So beautiful and fun! And yet… some of us are still reeling from that storm that crossed our state on Thursday night and into Friday. There’s been damage here in our community, but also extensively across the state. Recovery and repair efforts are underway… and in Christ’s love, we hold those most affected in the embrace and prayers of our community… helping where we can through our prayers… and our actions. We do this… because it’s who we are as disciples of Jesus… we love our neighbors as Christ loves us… and sometimes that love looks like cutting up fallen trees and cleaning up broken glass. Life is better for everyone when we let our love for others guide us… And that, too, is worth celebrating. So, this is, indeed, a Celebration Sunday! And the Holy Spirit has gifted us with some beautiful scripture to accompany our celebration. We hear in our Gospel today, our Lord Jesus, commanding us to love each other as Christ loves us. If you were here on Maundy Thursday, you would have heard this text then as well. It’s very important, and so we hear it again. Jesus said to us… Love one another as I have loved you. Let your love for others be a defining characteristic of who you are… be known for it… and let your radically abundant love identify you as one of my disciples. And know that the love you have does not originate with you… it comes from Christ and flows through you… This is how we love. *** And from Acts, we have an important vision… Peter is deep in prayer while he’s waiting for lunch… he’s hungry… And he sees a large sheet being lowered in front of him, and on it, he sees all manner of animals that, as a Jewish man, he would have been prohibited from eating because it would have rendered him unclean. Along with the vision comes a voice from God telling him to kill and eat… Peter would have been horrified… maybe even repulsed… because he had been taught all his life that these animals were not for eating… they were common… profane. But the voice insisted… and said that what God has made clean, he must not call profane. God is doing a new thing here. And then, the Holy Spirit tells him to go to the home of a Roman centurion – a commander in the Roman army who was also a follower of Jesus – but… this man was a Gentile. The Jewish people kept themselves apart and would have avoided mixing with the Gentiles… And even those who followed Jesus… well, they thought they had something of a special club, exclusive to those who also follow Jewish law. …they certainly would not have accepted an invitation to a meal in the home of a Roman for many reasons, but foremost, there would have been no way to confirm that it was in accordance with their dietary rules. So… trusting in the Holy Spirit… Peter goes to Cornelius’ home, where he learns that he, too, was visited by God and told to invite Peter to come to his home… to hear what Peter could teach him. Peter begins to speak… to share the good news… and he witnesses the Holy Spirit fall upon this Gentile and his household And in that moment, Peter understood that God shows no partiality, and that the gift of this life with Christ… the saving love and grace that is Christ’s alone to give… is meant for all people. It certainly seems… that God is doing a new thing. But our passage is actually from Peter’s retelling of these incredible events… he is recounting the story for the others because they are upset with him for going. They are criticizing him for going to Cornelius’ home and eating with him… he is being called forward to explain why he would do such an unlawful thing. And we can hardly blame them… their rules and way of life, given to them by God, have governed their lives for thousands of years. They are known to others by these rules. And yet… it was clear that God is doing a new thing. God is not saying that the former rules were bad, or wrong… Only that it is time for something new… It’s time to eliminate the exclusivity of their religious club and accept people whom they would not have previously accepted. It’s time to break down the barriers and welcome all… to allow all their different cultures and backgrounds to become part of the beautiful tapestry of life that belongs to Jesus Christ… To celebrate… that there is no one beyond God’s love, and therefore no one should be excluded from our love. *** Do we think this was easy for them to do? Absolutely not!! These folks were human… and they were pretty set in their ways… and just like us today, they had prejudices and aversions… There’s a reason we are still talking about Jesus’s command to love others as Christ loves them… We still struggle… we still put up barriers around ourselves to keep out those who are different… those who will disrupt our ways. We push back against God’s call to open our hearts, our minds, and our communities to those who are different… different habits, different foods, different ages… different ways of worship… anything… Difference is disruptive, and we like things to be the same… set… calm. But God is always making things new… all around us, God is always renewing us … always calling upon us to love more… and to welcome those who are not already in the room… to not just widen our boundaries around who we love but to eliminate the boundaries altogether. …because we are called to love as Christ loves us, and we will never meet another person whom God does not love. We come together as a community of faith, because we seek to know Jesus… to follow Jesus and to conform ourselves to the ways of Jesus… And so we must love like Jesus. We must love others and welcome others in such a radical way that we become known for our love… Love in such a way that we can overcome the discomfort of difference… Love in such an open way that we leave room in our hearts to be surprised by the gift that the Holy Spirit has for us in our newfound relationships. Loving this way will change you… it will renew you… every day *** Peter did not insist that Cornelius and his household convert to Judaism before agreeing to meet with him… before agreeing to include them in the Way of Christ. No… Peter saw that God was including Cornelius and his household exactly as they were… and so very wisely, Peter observed… who am I, that I could hinder God? Who are we… that we could hinder God? When we exclude other people because they aren’t like us… we cause harm… We hurt those we have excluded… but we also harm our own hearts by rejecting the gift of relationship that is offered through Christ’s command to be loving and inclusive. And so, we love in such a way that leaves room for others to become the fullest, most beautiful version of themselves… And in so doing, we are also made new… drawn closer to the heart of Christ… closer to the love that Christ has for all the world. And we give our thanks and praise… for in our becoming new… in our blooming… our God is glorified. This is truly something we can celebrate today! *** In a short while, Abby, Isaak, Kara, and Maddie will publicly affirm their baptismal promises. They are proclaiming that they choose to continue in their journey with Christ… the journey that began with their baptism. But… then what… what does that really mean? Well, it means… that you will be known for your love… for the way you include those who are excluded… …for the way you lift others up so they can see themselves, and love themselves, as Christ sees and loves them… It means that you will let the love of Christ shine through you… that you’ll be Christ’s light in the darkness, and no darkness will overcome it. It means that by this love, you and all around you will know that you belong to Jesus, and that every day, Jesus is doing a new thing… through you. Do I think this will always be easy? Nope… it won’t… But that’s why we come back together again and again, to receive Christ’s forgiveness and grace, and be renewed by Christ’s love through all these folks around you. …We come together to remember how much we are loved… to see ourselves as God sees us, and allow God’s vision to work in us… so we, too, can become the fullest, most beautiful version of ourselves. Because the truth is… God is always doing a new thing… making all things new, including you. That’s definitely something to celebrate today! Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36617900

Special Music - All My Days 05/11/2025

Sermon - 5-11-25 05/11/2025

Sermon - 5-11-25 Year C – Fourth Sunday in Easter – May 11, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd John 10:22-30; Acts 9:36-43 Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen savior, Jesus Christ, who consistently shows us how great God’s love is for those we have pushed aside. Amen. *** Earlier this week, at our Tuesday Bible Study, we took a deeper look at this passage we heard today from Acts. It’s always fun when a story we may have overlooked surprises us with details that seem to rise to the surface… in a new way. For us, this week… it was this beautiful story about this disciple… Tabitha. She is the only woman in scripture to be specifically named a disciple, even though some translations have converted the word ‘disciple’ into ‘woman.’ She was, in fact, a named disciple of Jesus. And she cared for those who were vulnerable and marginalized… she cared for them out of her own resources… the widows and the poor. She cared for them with love and offered them dignity in a very practical way… by weaving and sewing their clothes. This is significant. In first-century Rome, a person might only have one or two pieces of clothing at a time, and those pieces likely would have been made for them. So, the making, washing, and repair of clothing – a basic human need – was a serious business in the ancient world. Through giving of her time and skill, Tabitha was able to elevate her community of widows into a community that clearly cared for and supported each other …while surrounded by a society that would sooner have them pushed aside as objects. We are familiar with the social hierarchy of first-century Rome. A widow without a son was at the very bottom… they were the most vulnerable, and it is a recurring theme in scripture and Christian history that we, who follow Christ, must care for them. I have seen many examples of ministries that go above and beyond to care for those who are incredibly vulnerable and in need… the widows of our time. I would say our Parish House is one example of a ministry that goes above and beyond to restore life and dignity to those who are so incredibly vulnerable. And yet… how often do we encounter aid and ministry that assumes the ones being served will always depend on that aid? How often do we evaluate programs… and find that they consider those they serve to be objects of charity, rather than potential agents of ministry? Why do the stories of helping widows tend to fall short of imagining ways for them to become prosperous… or even simply… ways to reduce their vulnerability? You see… I think this was what was so special about the disciple, Tabitha. She understood Jesus’ command to love and care for others, especially those who are vulnerable… She understood this to be a mission to not only provide for basic needs but also elevate them and restore their humanity and dignity. She understood the command to love those on the margins as a command to bring those who have been pushed aside… back into the center. This is what Jesus did. Again and again. Jesus healed people by restoring them to their community… and he usually did this by curing the illnesses that kept them apart. This is what Jesus did, he loved people and restored their dignity… and so this is what his disciple, Tabitha, did. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, loves us so deeply that we are more than mere objects of charity. Jesus’ love for us is so abundant that we are restored… renewed… and transformed… and commissioned to carry that love forward to others. This kind of love not only sees and cares for the vulnerable on the margins, but it pulls them back into the community and calls them beloved and valuable. *** There is a community of women living near Guatemala City. They are the widows of those men who were disappeared during the great wave of violence and terror that the Guatemalan government perpetrated against the indigenous population in the 1980s. The community is called La Esperanza, which means “hope.” The women came together to offer mutual support and care for each other and their children. They would not accept direct charity, but they did accept funds from a Presbyterian program to build one durable building in the center of their community, which houses a day care center, a preschool, a health clinic, and a weaving cooperative. They have divided the responsibilities necessary for running their community, such as caring for the children, cooking, cleaning, sewing, and weaving clothes for themselves and to sell for income. Some have trained as dental hygienists and nurse practitioners to care for the community’s health needs. These women have a dignified life… they were cast aside, but through love and care for each other, the kind of love that comes from Christ, their lives are renewed. *** I imagine that if the disciple, Tabitha, lived today… we might find her in a community like La Esperanza. …we would find her in a community centered around hope. We would find the disciple, Tabitha, where we find other disciples… in places where hope in the risen Christ is transformed into loving action for those in need. The kind of loving action that transforms a person from an object of ministry, into an agent of ministry… Transforming people who have been lifted up into those who can, in turn, lift others. This is the power of Christ’s love working through us… through Christ’s disciples. And all of this is remarkable… but we haven’t even reached the most remarkable part of the story. The disciple, Tabitha, was so important to the community of widows… and so important to the community of Jesus’ disciples… that when they sent for Peter after her death, he came immediately. And through Peter… Jesus restored Tabitha, back to life. Because she lived, the community of widows would not be left alone. This story about the disciple, Tabitha, teaches us something about the nature of Jesus… about the nature of God… That God’s love for those on the margins is so great, that God will not leave them abandoned. And yet there is more… Because Tabitha lived, the community of widows understood firsthand that with Jesus, death does not have the final say. Reality is no longer bound to life and death, but rather, by Jesus’ promise that through him, all things are made new. Those widows in Tabitha’s community were no longer beholden to society’s vision for them at the bottom of the social hierarchy… they were newly caught up in Christ’s vision for them… as valuable, worthy, and beloved. A legacy that was surely carried forward into the community at La Esperanza. Through the resurrection power and love of Christ, we, too, are always being made new… remolded and remade… reminded that we are worthy and beloved. Through Christ’s love… we are transformed. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36525065

Special Music - River in Judea 05/05/2025

Nancy by Emmanuel Sejourne 05/05/2025

Sermon - 5-4-25 05/04/2025

Sermon - 5-4-25 Year C – Third Sunday in Easter – May 4, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd John 21:1-19; Acts 9:1-20 Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen savior, Jesus Christ, who knows we are not perfect, and yet still calls us daily to follow. Amen. *** I love a good redemption story. A classic tale of an evil villain… or even… a more relatable character who has unfortunately made terrible choices… They recognize the error of their ways, and their life is transformed. My top guy is probably Ebenezer Scrooge… and yes, I’m talking about A Christmas Carol …during the Easter season… A few years ago, a movie called Spirited came out… a story with Ebenezer Scrooge working away in the afterlife to bring such a transformation to others who have gone astray. He was paying it forward, if you will Delightfully funny movie… and it raised a good question… when someone has seen the error of their ways, and changed their behavior… do they change permanently? … does that transformed life… stick around? Everything is set right… the book ends or the credits roll… but would Ebenezer still have his generous Christmas spirit when Easter came around? …what happens six months later when life throws some challenges… what happens when that moment of realization and commitment to change is a faded memory… and we fall back into old habits? These stories of redemption tend to hook our imagination… because they are so relatable… so human. All of us have made mistakes… every single one of us has done things we later wish we had done differently… …the things we could have said in a kinder way… the times we wish we had stopped to help instead of tucking our head and walking by. We need to believe that there is hope for us… if Ebenezer can turn his life around… so can we. If Jesus still calls Peter to follow him… still calls Peter into discipleship after how badly he messed up… then perhaps Jesus is still calling us. Peter followed Jesus for three years… he pledged his life to Jesus… He tried to give his life defending Jesus in the garden when he drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. And yet… only a short while later… around that charcoal fire outside the courtyard of the high priest… when it seemed they had lost… Peter denied ever having known Jesus… Three times he said… I do not know the man. And then the cock crowed… and Peter realized what just happened… and that Jesus knew he would fail him… I can only imagine how deeply that must have gutted Peter. And I bet seeing Jesus appear to them in the locked room only made it worse… it would have only highlighted Peter’s lack of faith… He was wrong… they had not lost… and so his shame at his three-fold denial… would have been bone-deep. Can anyone really blame him for going fishing? But then… just as Jesus found him three years ago… Jesus finds him again. Seated at a charcoal fire… Jesus is there, cooking them breakfast. This scene… I love it. This is the Jesus I know… not a distant, unattached God in the sky watching over us… but… my Lord and my God, meeting me in the ordinary days of my life. Jesus… meeting me in the moments when I feel like the world has turned upside down. Jesus… saying to me… come and sit… let’s share a meal. Things have gone a bit sideways for you… I know… but come… and let me remind you of my love. And how do they know that it’s Jesus? …because of the abundance! …the great haul of fish… the grace upon grace. Around that charcoal fire on the beach, Jesus offers Peter another chance… Peter, do you love me… Yes, Lord… Then feed my lambs. Peter, do you love me… Yes, Lord… Then tend my sheep. Peter, do you love me… Yes, Lord, I love you… you know everything, and you know that I love you… Then feed my sheep… and follow me. The crucified and risen Jesus Christ tells Peter… and tells us… I’ve already taken into account your shortcomings… and still, I am calling you… come, and follow me. Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly… so don’t think for a minute that Jesus can’t work with what you’ve got. Just consider what Jesus has already done… In the great reversal of death’s power, Jesus has transformed the dreadful cross and tomb into a sign of forgiveness and love… a sign of redemption… Jesus transforms Peter, a three-fold deserter… into a shepherd of Christ’s people. And shortly after, Jesus transforms Saul, a murderous persecutor… into a champion for the Way of Christ. Jesus knows our failings… and still loves us… forgives us… and calls us to follow… to put that love into action, and to feed and tend his sheep… the people of the world whom God so loves. Jesus calls us into a transformed and joyous life… life with our Lord and our God by our side And yet… even after encountering Jesus in our lives… we sometimes drift away… we might pull away from Jesus and drift back into our old ways. …or perhaps… we may even admit that we are a little afraid of what the power of a new life with the risen Christ might mean… and so we deny we ever knew him. It’s that question that the movie Spirited asked… what happens down the road… is the transformation lasting and permanent? Is Ebenezer still as generous at Easter as he was on Christmas Day? If it were only up to us and our own willpower, then I’d say no… we cannot secure our own redemption… the kind that leads to true transformation. But fortunately… our redemption is not from within us… it comes from the crucified and risen Jesus. Jesus, who knows our faults and our failings, and calls us anyway to follow him daily… Jesus calls us to receive grace upon grace…. and allow the redemptive power of a living Christ transform our lives with love… to transform us anew, each and every day. Our redemption is permanent… a once-and-done experience… we are forgiven and redeemed by the grace of the risen Jesus Christ… But our life with Jesus… our encounters with Christ… that is not one-and-done. Our experience of meeting Jesus in our ordinary… our good days and our bad… of sharing a meal… that is an ongoing experience. An ongoing relationship, rooted in love and grace… a relationship that deepens and matures over time… It’s a relationship that calls to you every single day, even after we may have drifted away… even after we have made mistakes. So come and have some breakfast with Jesus… and receive Christ’s transformational love for you… It is… the best redemption story there is. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36423205

Sermon - 4-27-25 04/29/2025

Easter Service - 4-20-25 04/29/2025

Worship Service - 4-17-25 04/18/2025

Special Music - Triumphal Entry 04/13/2025

Special Music - Abide with Me 04/13/2025

Special Music – Hosanna to the King 04/13/2025

Holden Evening Prayer service - 4-9-25 04/10/2025

Special Music - Sing Out To God 04/06/2025

Sermon - 4/6/25 04/05/2025

Sermon - 4/6/25 Sermon 4/6/2025 – Jn 12:1-8 The prophet Isaiah brings us words from our Lord God: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” This is a beautiful reminder that God will surprise us God makes a way for us God brings out an army of fighters for us God nourishes and replenishes us Whatever we face, God is there, navigating beside us The arc of the Gospels from Luke these past weeks have been building the tension toward Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion We can feel the tension within the community The Pharisees are threatening Herod’s wish to kill Jesus They’re grumbling about what Jesus is doing and who he’s hanging out with (all the wrong people) And Jesus is responding with outrageous parables about how God isn’t going to fall in line with human expectations God is extravagant in God’s love for God’s people God will protect God’s people like a fierce mother hen God will nourish the fig tree until it bears fruit God will welcome the wayward son with open arms and celebration “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” In the midst of anxiety With the threat of death Burdened with tension God is there God is about to do a new thing Can we perceive it? Can we? Because fear Anxiety Tension The energy of these emotions act like walls Huge barriers to God’s love Barriers that make God’s love, mercy, tenderness and forgiveness sit on the outside of our hearts --- One thing we know about anxiety and tension – Is that they spread They are more contagious than Norovirus or Influenza A As they travel among people and communities So today, we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel story about Jesus in a safe place, the home of his friends His chosen family – Lazarus who he raised from the dead, and Martha and Mary These people who are close to Jesus have been shown the nature of God through the person of Jesus They have been shown God’s extravagant love again and again Through parables And miracles Through Jesus raising Lazarus from death But the tension from the community is there, It’s seeped in It has spread into their home Into their hearts and minds as Mary does a new and extravagant thing We read these stories year after year We know that Judas is the “bad guy”, who will betray Jesus to the soldiers leading to his imprisonment and crucifixion But having a woman act as the “good guy” is surprising It would have been even more surprising then than it is now For Mary to demonstrate God’s abundance For Mary to break cultural expectations Challenging gender roles As she takes her hair down Uses an entire pound of perfumed oil And wipes Jesus’ feet But Mary’s role isn’t the only surprising role in this story We see the human side of Jesus, the fierce advocate, the strong defender, the wise teacher, the righteous Son of God, As he sits and acknowledges his need of tenderness His need of support His weariness from these past months As Mary cares for him Wiping the tension out of his whole body through his feet “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” We acknowledge the intimacy of this act on Maundy Thursday when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples Imagine the intimacy of Mary wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair and expensive perfume… Imagine how close she would have to sit to Jesus… Imagine her face, and her gaze upon him… Imagine the smell of the perfume, an entire pound of it, filling her nostrils and wafting up to Jesus’ face, filling his nose The lovely fragrance spreading…permeating the entire room Lingering… Imagine his gaze upon her… As Jesus sits around the dinner table, surrounded by others, and Mary touches his feet for the first time… Imagine Jesus’ surprise as she continues ministering to him until the entire jar is gone… “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Now imagine God caring for you in that extravagant and tender way Imagine God knowing all you’ve done And not done All you’ve endured And all you’re facing in life Imagine God bringing God’s self so close to you So close, just a hair’s length away Close to even the dirtiest and sorest parts of yourself Not just the parts you’d offer first But even the embarrassing and hurt parts The parts you keep tucked away and covered Imagine God coming so close to those parts And blessing them Wiping them Loving them Anointing your past, present and future With a beautiful and unexpected fragrance That takes over your whole self That fills the whole room That is obnoxious in a way that even others notice “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” / / / / We are so often like Judas Keeping track Judging Anxious As the tension of our community and world Spread and infect our spaces Our school and work Our congregation Our homes Even our thoughts and hearts Which is why this season of Lent is all about repentance Turning back toward God Taking a chance to let down the walls and barriers The hardness this world has erected within us And let God in Let God sit so close to us Let God let down God’s hair Let God use the whole jar And reach our most unpresentable parts Let God tenderly touch those parts of us Let God wipe them clean, Let God bless them, and anoint them with God’s extravagant and Holy love Amen /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/36021305

Special Music - Lonesome Valley 03/30/2025

Sermon- 3-29-25 03/30/2025

Sermon- 3-29-25 Year C – Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 30, 2025 Pastor Megan Floyd Luke 15:1-3; 11b-32 Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and from our Lord, Jesus Christ, whose abundant grace makes our repentance possible. Amen. *** This fellow welcomes sinners and tax collectors… and eats with them. I don’t know what these particular sinners did for the Pharisees to label them as such… but the tax collectors worked for the Roman government… they were agents for the Empire… For the average Jewish person, the tax collectors were the people who were actively working against your livelihood and your well-being. They were… not welcome at any decent Jewish person’s table… so the fact that this fellow, Jesus, welcomed tax collectors and ate with them is… well… it’s pretty offensive. This fellow… Jesus… he sure is a troublemaker… he is always getting the Pharisees grumbling. And so, Jesus responds to their grumbling with a parable that is even more offensive… on so many levels… It has a terrible, manipulative son who demands that his father give him his inheritance as if his father is dead to him… and then squanders all the money on prostitutes and ends up starving, surrounded by pigs… and… he is not sorry about what he did. He is not full of remorse… he does not repent, and then return to his father… What drives him to return home… is that he is hungry, and he thinks he can con his dad into feeding him again. But the hardest thing to admit is that perhaps… the greatest offense in this story… is that the father’s grace is so freely and abundantly given. Yes, it is grace… that is most offensive here. *** I confess to you… that I continually find myself identifying with the older brother. I cannot help my instinctual reaction and impulse that there must be some divine consequence for the actions of the younger son… I cannot help but overlay the sin of the younger brother with examples of offensive sin in our modern time… I see in him those who are, today, manipulative and conniving, those who seize power and use it to increase the exploitation of the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable. I see in him those who would squander the wealth and prosperity of generations for their own gain… and those who are so blinded by prejudice and a fear of the ‘other’ that they are dismantling the work toward equality and equity that others have worked and died for… and I am offended. I am offended at what Jesus’ story teaches us about God… that God’s arms are open wide and full of love and grace for all… even the unrepentant sinners. Even though I am well-versed in how much God proclaims unconditional love for all. I am still offended… this is my sin. And yet, I so deeply empathize with the hurt the older brother feels when he realizes there is a celebration happening, and he’s not part of it. I get angry… I confess this to you… I am offended by this story. Which, of course, means that I am just as much in need of forgiveness and grace as either one of these brothers… So… if you don’t mind, I’m going to preach to myself here for a few minutes because I am, clearly, captive to my sin and in need of some good news… *** During Lent, we’ve been paying close attention to God’s urgent call to return… return to the Lord, repent… change your heart… change your mind, and turn your attention back to God and God’s love for you. And what this parable today illustrates for us is that… we cannot truly repent until we have received, and accepted, God’s grace and love… The younger son… as I said earlier… what drove him back to his father was not remorse… it was hunger. Had he found a meal, he would likely not have gone back. Only when he showed up and realized that his father had never stopped searching for him… never stopped loving him… that his father’s arms were open wide and full of mercy and grace… Only then… did this young son’s heart soften… only then did the transformative power of genuine repentance go to work on him. Grace is not a reward for our repentance. Grace… makes our repentance possible. …and our repentance itself is a loving gift from God, given to help us heal… given so that we can be made whole. Our repentance, made possible through grace, transforms our inward concern for our own needs and gain… into outward love for others and their well-being. Our ability to humbly come before God and confess that we have strayed from the way Jesus called us to go… to come before God and confess our sin… is only possible… because we have first received… grace. God is not trying to manipulate us into a fake apology or a disingenuous change in behavior… the offer of grace is not coercion… God offers us this grace freely… and in so doing, God is creating the conditions for us to be made new. God will not settle for anything less than a full transformation… a full redemption… a new creation. But… for this to be so… we must hear this good news first… God loves you, God forgives you, and God’s arms are open wide, and full of mercy and grace, waiting for you to come home. And once we are home, safe in God’s embrace… only then, can we begin to heal from our sin… to be healed and made whole. Bathed in mercy and grace, washed in love, we are made new, and therefore, just as we are a new creation in Christ, we cannot help but look at our neighbors in a new way… We cannot help but see God’s love in them, see the dignity and value in all people, even those we have sinned against… in thought, word, or deed …and yes, even those who have sinned against us. We cannot love the world as God so loves the world… until we allow God’s grace to heal our hearts… and to confess that we are as much in need of that grace and healing as anyone else. We are as much in need of that grace and healing as the lost and wayward children, the con artists, the scoundrels, those who are collaborating with the Empire, and yes… even the resentful older brothers… …we ALL need God’s grace and healing… God’s unfair and offensive, extravagant and boundless grace… I need to hear this every day… God loves me… God forgives me… and God’s arms are open wide and full of grace. *** I still can’t help but empathize with that older brother and the hurt he must have felt when he realized he was not included in the celebration. He was so wound up about who is deserving of his father’s love… who is acceptable, who is worthy, who is deserving of mercy… that he refused to go into the celebration. He was so convinced of his own righteousness, and the wrongness of his brother, that he missed the party. I get it. I understand how he could feel this way… and I also understand that he is missing the point. You see, I don’t read this celebration as an allegory for eternal life with God… The celebration is a real party, and it’s happening now… it is our joyful response to our transformation – the new life and the new creation that comes from true repentance… and for the grace that makes it possible… right here and now… every day. The offensive celebration… is for the healing of a heart that has gone astray! For once, we were lost… and now we are found! The older brother has been with the father all this time… but he, too, has let his heart go astray… he has taken his position in his father’s house for granted, and has failed to return, again and again, to his father’s embrace of love and grace… he failed to allow that grace to continually renew and re-create his heart. The older brother has fallen captive to his sin, and he made it all about himself… saying to his father… but what have you done for me? But his father… who loves him… who forgives him… says to his son, my arms are open wide for you too, and full of grace, just as they have always been… come, and be made new. Come into my grace… let it go to work on your heart, and be transformed by my love… and then, my child… you, who have been made new, will have no other response but to rejoice. And so, Lord, I pray to you… guide me… guide us… every day… into your transformative embrace, and let us celebrate with you. Amen. /episode/index/show/faithlutheran/id/35920620

Worship - 3/26/25 03/27/2025

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