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We Live If You Stand Firm
As we read Paul’s letters, we become aware that he knew – from personal experience – that not all human relationships can be mended, not all conflicts resolved, not all divisions healed, even those relationships that begin in a common faith. His words to the Thessalonians are written with this awareness of the human propensity for division, but also with a hope and a pathway toward something better. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the first Sunday of Advent from 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13.
Grace and Peace
Paul began his letters to the early churches by saying, "grace and peace." The apocalyptic writer John used the same words to introduce his vision of a new heaven and a new earth. "Grace and peace" make for great beginnings and for great endings, too. Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches from Revelation 1:4-8.
Watching
Is it part of the irony of God that something so historically and religiously significant as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would come from a small desert region of the world and from a people whose origins barely registered in the annals of historians of their day? How little we know. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on Mark 13:32-37.
The Folly of the Cross
On this 100th anniversary of the armistice, the question I would like to address today – more as a minister than a citizen – is this: Is there a theological reason to remember every year, those who have put their lives on the line? Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on this Remembrance Sunday from 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. This sermon was preached at the 8:30 a.m. service.
Why Tithe?
I conclude the series today by seeking to answer perhaps the most ambitious question of all – “Why Tithe?” I ask this of you because I believe that our faith is neither as rich nor complete until we are committed to returning to God a significant portion of the material goods which so mark and bless our lives. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches from Genesis 14:17-20.
Why Give?
Why give to the church – not only our time, but a considered, thoughtful percentage of our income as well? Why give our money – as well as our time – to the church? Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches from Matthew 6:19-21.
Why Join?
We believe in some sense our faith can exist apart from the community created in its name, the church. While I do not want to deny that we can come to and even grow in faith apart from a congregational setting, I still want to offer three interrelated and ascending answers to the question: “Why join a church?” So here goes. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.
Many Possessions
If you came to Westminster needing to hear how easy it is to be a follower of Jesus, then this passage in Mark is a reminder that following Jesus is, and always will be, a difficult decision. Or that following Jesus is surrendering to a life of difficult decisions every day. Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches today from Mark 10:17-31.
Why Westminster?
On this World Communion Sunday in which we break bread and share wine with churches of different denominations across the world, what is it that Westminster particularly embodies that leads us to be a genuine part of the of the answer to the question “Why Church?” Why Church? Fall Sermon Series The series will lead up to our stewardship campaign, in which we each decide how much of our financial resources we will pledge to the work of Westminster in 2019, but it will not be limited to that focus. In some ways, the series will ask basic questions about why we are here, why we are involved in a church at all, and what role our involvement plays in our lives. In a time in which American religious life is changing, and in a church in which many of us may only be here for three or four years before being transferred to the next city, we all benefit from paying attention to fundamental questions this series will address.
Leafblowing in the Wind
"Whoever is not against us is for us," says Jesus. Who is for? Who is against? Who is right, who is wrong? Who and what are true, and who and what are false? It's just too bad that Scripture has no resonance with current events. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Mark 9:33-41.
Why Church? [PDF only]
*PLEASE NOTE* There is no audio recording of this sermon due to a technical error. Why Church? Fall Sermon Series The series will lead up to our stewardship campaign, in which we each decide how much of our financial resources we will pledge to the work of Westminster in 2019, but it will not be limited to that focus. In some ways, the series will ask basic questions about why we are here, why we are involved in a church at all, and what role our involvement plays in our lives. In a time in which American religious life is changing, and in a church in which many of us may only be here for three or four years before being transferred to the next city, we all benefit from paying attention to fundamental questions this series will address.
Wisdom
"I know that there have been times in my preaching where I have read to you writings that are too dense, too complex, too long for most listeners of any age to follow. I plan to commit this sin again today, and challenge you, once again, to listen well." Larry Hayward preaches on Proverbs 1:20-33.
Speaking Up
Today’s sermon is about maternal, parental, even grand-parental love. It is a sermon about how such love can be ever so close to God’s love. It is a sermon about how the love we have for children is akin to the love we receive from God. As the body of Christ in the world, it is important for the church to embody and foster such love. Larry Hayward preaches on Mark 7:24-30.
Simplicity
In the passage we read today, the Gospel writer Mark expresses a critique of Jewish ritual. Jesus, however, appears less concerned about the specific practices Mark is critiquing than with the intention and motivation that lie behind both the ritual and its critique—a focus more on the heart than the practice the heart produces. Larry Hayward preaches on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.
House Hunters
Israel has been waiting for a fixed locale to faithfully worship, to experience the God of Abraham, Isaac, and and Jacob. Now Solomon is in the Temple, dedicating the space after what has to be one of the longest house hunting expeditions in Israel history. Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on 1 Kings 8 (selected verses).
Wise Mind
In the story of Solomon, we see both divine revelation and humble human response. It is complicated Biblical legacies like Solomon's that are a staple of understanding the story of us: us the fallen, and us the faithful. Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14.
Waiting on Tables and the Power of Grace
In Stephen, we see the dignity of all kinds of work. We are reminded, too, of the ways we often impose limits that God, in God's dynamic power, seeks to break down. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches today on Acts 6:8-15.
Ordinary People: The Mother of Rufus
In this final sermon in this summer series on ordinary but obscure characters in the Bible, we turn to the most obscure character of all: “the mother of Rufus.” When we do detective work around the family of Rufus and his mother, we begin to encounter a tragic division that appears to have arisen within the family. Larry Hayward preaches on Romans 16:13 and Mark 15:21-24. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: AKA Justus
There is so little in the text itself about "Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus" that we are left to carefully reading the text for clues about him and then using our imagination and common sense to move him from being a stick figure to at least an etching in whom we might see some of our own characteristics and experiences under God. Larry Hayward preaches on Acts 1:12-17, 20-26. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: Joseph of Arimathea
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? In Luke, we are given the portrait of a man whose history we might otherwise have forgotten, that we might not have celebrated. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Luke 23:50-56. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: The Centurion at the Cross
We cannot explain the crucifixion to our fullest satisfaction. We can only cross ourselves, bow our heads in silence before it. We can only trust that through the death it brought to the Christ who faced it heroically, God has in fact been “absorbing” into his very heart and mind and soul, all the suffering and sin we know. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: Huldah
In Huldah, the person who is the focus of today’s sermon, we see a different kind of love: love for the pages of a book and the words written on those pages which she attests are God’s Word and which eventually become a part of the Bible we read. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: Orpah
Orpah appears only in the Book of Ruth, and while she is named (not always a guarantee for women in scripture), she appears in only the first chapter and doesn’t have a speaking role. She then disappears from the narrative and from historical memory, until the family of an infant girl born into poverty in Kosciusko, Mississippi, in 1954 chose her name for a child who would grow up to become one of the most admired and recognized women in America. arry Hayward preaches from Ruth 1:1-18. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Ordinary People: Paltiel
"Paltiel is probably the most obscure of the eight Biblical characters on whom I am preaching this summer. As I have circulated the titles in this series among staff and members, no one has come up to me and said: 'I’m so glad you are preaching on Paltiel.'" Larry Hayward preaches from 2 Samuel 3:12-16. Summer Sermon Series: Ordinary People. It is in the loves and hates, the hopes and fears, the strides and stumbles of ordinary people that God is both known and active in the world and which is narrated in Scripture. This summer’s series will highlight four men and four women from the Bible and hold them before our eyes that we may observe what they experienced, what moved them, and how God may have been present to them.
Veja Du and the Evil of Two Lessers
In his parables, Jesus takes ordinary things--like lost coins, dinner parties, and misbehaving children--and he uses them in stories to help his listeners perceive their familiar reality in a whole new way. Parables were Christ's way of helping people meet God, and t see their life with God "again, for the first time." Patrick Hunnicutt preaches from Mark 4:26-34.
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