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Sermon Manuscript | Blessings and woes on the plain

Text: Luke 6:17-26

Speaker: Joel Miller

Being married to a Kansan means that about once a year our family packs up the minivan and heads west to be with our Kansas people.  Being married to a Western Kansan means that after we cross the state line in Kansas City, we’ve still got a solid four a half hours of Kansas ahead of us before we arrive.

When I tell this to people, a regular response is that Kansas is that place they have gone through to get to the mountains.  And while I can’t disagree that the Rocky Mountains are indeed glorious, I usually try to slip in a good word about the beauty of the Great Plains. 

I couldn’t help thinking about plains and mountains and the relationship between them while reading this passage from Luke. 

Mennonites and other folks point to the Sermon on the Mount as a core teaching of our faith.  And rightly so.  Matthew dedicates three consecutive chapters to this block of teaching, beginning with the beatitudes.  “Blessed are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” followed by eight other declarations of blessedness.  Matthew portrays Jesus as a new Moses, and so, like Moses on Mt Sinai, Jesus’ teaching takes place on a mountainside.    

Luke’s version of this sermon appears in chapter six and begins this way: “(Jesus) went down with them and stood on a level place.  A large crowd of his disciples was there and a number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of…

CMC Worship Service 02/06/2022.mov from Gwen Reiser on Vimeo.

The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Sermon | Here I am.  (Don’t) send me. 

Texts: Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 5:1-11

Speaker: Joel Miller

There’s something compelling about call stories.  These are the experiences that move us to go on and do things we feel we must do, in service to the world. 

I learned early on that pastors are frequently asked to tell their call story.  So when did you feel called to be a pastor?  This is perhaps because, of all people, pastors are expected to know why we’re doing what we’re doing.  Or maybe it’s because most people assume nobody would actually want to be a pastor unless they’re really called.  You know, unless God made them do it. 

My typical answer to this question starts with the time around sixth grade when I was asked to preach a sermon at our little church. Not quite knowing what I was getting myself into, I decided to tackle the entire book of Job.  I had a growing interest in the Bible and spirituality in high school and was encouraged by people I admired to consider being a pastor.  There’s a lot more to it than that, but those were the early seeds.  It’s always meant a lot to me that calling, if we’re going to stick with that term, comes from community and not just something I decided I wanted to do.  Or maybe I’m still just trying to figure out the meaning of Job.   

With Desmond Tutu’s recent death there have been a number of replays of interviews he had…

The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Sermon Notes “Called for Such a time as this…”
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Renée P Wormack-Keels
 

Good morning and I am so grateful for this opportunity to share with you.
Your Pastor is indeed “gracious” to offer a chance to speak with you.

The primary text that is found in Jeremiah – is often referred to as a “call
narrative.” The second text from Esther is also a familiar text that reports an
explanation for being “chosen” for service. Numerous call narratives throughout
the biblical story.

I am sure that you have had opportunities to study and examine both passages
for their historical and biblical context.

But for our time together, I would like to share some of my reflection on what it
means to be called into service in times like these. These are, indeed, challenging
times. There will always be challenging times.

God is always calling people of faith to specific action, to special work to bring
about the kingdom of God. It can be scary. We can feel that we are not qualified
for the task….God equips those who are called…

The Baptist preacher in me calls me to offer three points and a closing…

1. Hearing the call – I am deeply convinced that the people of God, when open
to the spirit, hear God calling us forth in all seasons of time. I am often in
awe, and at times, amazed when we are placed in a situation, or an
opportunity is provided to optimize the kingdom purposes of God. Wayside
opportunities to make the difference in another person’s life.

a. To hear the call, one of my friends reminds us that to hear, that being
“woke” or awakened being aware is an…

The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Sermon manuscript

Texts: Nehemiah 8:1-10; Luke 4:14-21

Speaker: Joel Miller

“What season are we in now?”  It was an earnest question from the administrative side of the church office, directed at me.

The intent was to discern whether we need a new icon for worship slides, a new word or phrase declaring a theme.  Something to give order to these disordered days. 

“Depends who you ask,” I reply.  “Some liturgical calendars call the whole season between Christmas and Lent Epiphany.  Others just call it Ordinary Time, same as the long stretch in the summer.”   

After further discussion during which we voiced our personal preferences whether to think of this as Epiphany or Ordinary Time, I mentioned that it kind of doesn’t matter since we’ll be going with the lectionary readings week to week without an overall theme. 

It’s one of the perks of being Mennonite.  We get to pick and choose when to emphasize the liturgical season, when to just stick with the assigned readings, and when to do our own thing entirely like a multi-week series on racism, creation care, or learning our new hymnal.

But it is the kind of question that lingers in the mind: “What season are we in now?” 

Well, it’s certainly winter.  This past week’s snowfall coincided with extra days off school between quarters for Columbus City Schools.  The first snow fort of the year was constructed in our backyard and survived the midweek warmish spell.   

The month of January always invites a season of looking back on the past year and looking ahead.  While I was with the youth up at Camp Friedenswald enjoying an even more…

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The video above includes the full service, except for the time for sharing.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained through One License with license A-727859.

Sermon | Wine and a whip 

Text: John 2:1-12: 13-22

Speaker: Joel Miller

In the second chapter of his gospel, John puts two stories back to back that seemingly don’t have much to do with each other.   

The first is when Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana.  The second is when Jesus clears, or cleanses, the temple in Jerusalem.

None of the other gospels record the water into wine story.  All three of the other gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke include the clearing of the temple.  But they each put it toward the end rather than beginning of the story, right after Jesus enters Jerusalem in his triumphal entry during the final week of his life.  In their telling, this dramatic public act of temple disruption serves to convince the powers that be that Jesus has finally gone too far and must be dealt with forcefully. 

So John includes a unique story, then puts a pivotal commonly told story at the front, rather than back end, of Jesus’ ministry.

Looking at these two stories together would make for a good elementary school compare-and-contrast assignment.  So let’s all get in touch with our fifth grade selves for a bit and give it a whirl.

One takes place in the small Galilean village of Cana.  The other is in the holy city of Jerusalem.

One is a wedding celebration.  One is an annual pilgrimage festival.

One is about the creation of something new – wine from water.  The other is about the potential destruction of a long standing institution.

In one,…