Sermons from December 2013

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 4 Advent – December 22, 2013 Matthew 1:18-25 We’ve come to the darkest part of the year. Yesterday was the shortest and therefore, darkest, day of the year. We have come as well to a dark time for that young man Joseph that I just read about. He does everything he needs to do in preparation for his wedding. Then what he never imagined would happen, happens. His fiancee is pregnant. He knows he is…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 3 Advent – December 15, 2013 Matthew 11:2-11 We might call it a “Dorothy” moment. We pull the curtain back to find that the person we trusted, the one we depended on, the one who raised our hopes, has let us down. We endured the dangers and journey of the “yellow brick road” because we believed someone’s advice or teaching or wisdom. But then we find out we don’t really know someone we thought we…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 2 Advent – December 8, 2013 Matthew 3:1-12 This is the second Sunday of Advent. Advent is that four-week period, or church season, in which we prepare for the coming of the Lord. We prepare not only for his coming as a baby at Christmas, but we also prepare for his coming into our lives today. In today’s gospel we hear about John the Baptist. John appears in the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, “Repent, for…

By The Rev. Sherry Deets 1 Advent – December 1, 2013 Matthew 24:36-44 And so we begin the church Season of Advent today. Advent is considered a time of waiting: expectant waiting. Waiting with anticipation for something new, something different, new life. Much like a woman waiting to give birth – think of Mary, pregnant with Jesus – a time of waiting for new life. We don’t usually have baptisms in the Season of Advent, but this Sunday the lessons…