Embracing the Struggle: Frustration - September 26th, 2021 (Sermon)

This is the final part of our four part series "Embracing the Struggle: Keeping Faith When Life Isn't Simple or Easy." In the midst of all of our lives, we must confront expectations that we have of others and the world around us. Without realising it, we walk into situations every day filled with expectations about how we should be treated or interact with each other, but it is an all too familiar feeling that these expectations are not met and then we leave frustrated, not knowing what to do or where to turn. How do we have conversations with each other about our expectations? How do we have conversations with God about our expectations? King David expresses this in the Psalms and we are given clues about how to handle these complex feelings we must all confront.

Psalm 39 For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. 1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” 2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; 3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.[b] 6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. 7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. 8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. 9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. 10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. 11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath. 12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. 13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”

Embracing the Struggle: Grief - September 19th, 2021 (Sermon)

This is part three of our four part series "Embracing the Struggle: Keeping Faith When Life Isn't Simple or Easy." We live in a world that is constantly changing. Walking through life, we want to embrace beauty, love and connection; but what do we do when we must confront loss. This last year has made us all confront loss in a profound way: loss of community, loss of familiarity, loss of comfort, etc. We are mortal and have to confront both our own mortality and the mortality of others. Bringing our grief to God can be cathartic, and his gracious love is with us even if we need to scream it at the top of our lungs with tear filled eyes. Healing will come after we allow ourselves to confront the pain, and God will be by our sides, supporting us with grace and love. Thank you for joining us.

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Embracing the Struggle: Guilt - September 12th, 2021 (Sermon)

Our lives are filled with so many things that we would love to do, but with work, and other important demands on our lives, it can be difficult to come to terms with the finitude of our time, energy and resources. When we bring these complex feelings to God, we are met with grace and an intimate friend who's love and acceptance allows us to forge new beginnings. This is part two of our four part series "Embracing the Struggle: Keeping Faith When Life Isn't Simple or Easy."

Psalm 25:9-10 "The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth."

Embracing the Struggle: Doubt - September 5th, 2021 (Sermon)

This is part one of our four part series "Embracing the Struggle: Keeping Faith When Life Isn't Simple or Easy." In this sermon, we will explore the experience of faith, how God's presence is powerful enough to withstand tough questions, and how "The Dark Night of the Soul" can help us embrace the beautiful mystery of God. Thank you for joining us!

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The Action of Love - August 29th, 2021 (Sermon)

Our lives are filled with moments that demand us to demonstrate love to one another, but in an increasingly fast-paced, disconnected world it can be difficult to know what to do. Join us as we explore what the Bible says about living in love!

"Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers[...]" James 1:22

A New Community Spirit - sermon Aug 1

You can tell when you come into a room if it's really a welcoming and inclusive place, or if there's a "spirit" in the room that is negative. Churches, like every group of people, are not immune from negativity, but there are things we, as individuals, can do to better the group, and build each other up. Based on Ephesians 4:1-3

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. - Ephesians 4:1-3

Power Made Perfect in Weakness - sermon July 4th

God says to the Apostle Paul that his power is made perfect in weakness, that the Gospel message is stronger and carries more weight when it is not attached to worldly power, but speaks on its own through us. It's not about us, it's about Jesus. By Pastor Lars Hammar.

2 I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. 3 And I know that such a person-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows-- 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4

The Right Place for Opportunities - sermon June 27

God brings healing to our lives, but often it's up to us to be in the right place for the opportunity to happen. When we put our trust in God's hands, we also need to use our own. Based on Mark 5:25-34, the story of the woman who finds healing touching Jesus' cloak. By Pastor Lars Hammar.

25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

Mark 5:25-34

New Growth from Old - sermon June 13

When it seems like everything we've had and loved - traditions, beliefs, the things of our heritage - have been burned, God takes from it a piece, like the branch of a tall cedar tree, and replants it and grows something new. Based on Ezekiel 17:22-24, this sermon explores how God can regrow a new faith and life from what remains of the old that has grown up over the ages - like an old cedar tree in the woods after a forest fire. By Pastor Lars Hammar.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

22 Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. 24 All the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken; I will accomplish it.

Alligator Juniper in the Santa Rita Mountains, south of Tucson.

The Good New Days - sermon June 6

God renews us, spiritually and personally, when we embrace the future he has for us.

A Community and A Journey - sermon May 30

What is the Christian life but a community, a relationship with our family of believers and our God, and a journey, where we go through this life together, living in the moment, and finding joy and meaning in each other's presence. Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday, May 30th, 2021 by Pastor Lars Hammar.

The Mountain will Come to You - sermon Pentecost

The Holy Spirit comes in the silence after the work to give us inspiration and see new possibilities. Sermon for Pentecost Sunday 2021 by Pastor Lars Hammar.

Acts 2:1-21

1When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
  5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
  14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
 17‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
 that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
 and your young men shall see visions,
  and your old men shall dream dreams.
 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
  in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
   and they shall prophesy.
 19And I will show portents in the heaven above
  and signs on the earth below,
   blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
 20The sun shall be turned to darkness
  and the moon to blood,
   before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”

A Holy Temple - sermon May 16

The Apostle Paul says that your body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, something valuable, and worth expecting commitment for. The final sermon in the series "Who Am I? Finding your identity in Christ.".

1 Corinthians 6:18-19

18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?

A Child of God - sermon May 9

You can ask God to make you a somebody in the eyes of the world, but the Gospel of John is telling us to embrace our identity in Christ as a child of God. Fifth in the sermon series on "Who Am I? Finding my identity in Christ"

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

I Am Loved - sermon May 2

You are loved by God in a way that you cannot earn, that casts out fear, suspicion, and mistrust. Fourth in the sermon series "Who Am I? Finding my identity in Christ" by Pastor Lars Hammar. Based on 1 John 4:18-21

1 John 4:18-19

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

Made in the Image of God - sermon April 25

You are made in the image of God, and no trait of yours can make you less. Third in the sermon series, "Who Am I? Finding my identity in Christ" by Pastor Lars Hammar

26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

A Royal Priesthood - sermon April 18

Who am I to God? What has God made me to be? Part of a community of believers with a belonging, a purpose, and a calling to convey what Jesus has done for us. In a world that often views the word "Christian" with suspicion, and sees it as regressive and repressive, it is up to us to show love, forgiveness, and acceptance of all - to show the marvelous light of Christ. Second in the sermon series "Who Am I? finding my identity in Christ" Based on 1 Peter 2:9-10. By Pastor Lars Hammar

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10

A New Creation - sermon April 11

How do we discover our true selves, the person we really are, who God has made us to be? By returning the one who created us, who knows us, and made us - Jesus. The first in a sermon series titled, "Who Am I? Finding my identity in Christ". Based on 2 Corinthians 5:16-17. By Pastor Lars Hammar.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Perfection of Beauty - Psalm 50:1-2

The Lord speaks from Zion in perfection of beauty - which is itself a beautiful way to describe the way God comes to us in experience and truth that is often "fuzzy" and "soft" and seemingly subjective, yet we know the experience when it comes to us.

Does Not Keep Silent - Devotion on Psalm 50:3-6

Despite our desire to explain away the things we experience in life, the voice of God breaks through from time to time, and we can, in those moments, hear the voice of the one who "comes and does not keep silent."