Dare to Dream - Joy | | Length: | 9:29 | | Reading: | Matthew 1:18-25 | | Summary: | Join Rev. Jim and his friends for the 4th and final week of Advent 2007. This week we light the candle of Joy and celebrate the Joy that comes into our lives as we make final preparations for the coming of the Christ child. Come experience the Joy of the season in this final episode of our Advent series, "Dare to Dream." (Make sure you hear the very exciting final piece of music!) | | Watch: | Watch |
Dare to Dream - Love | | Length: | 9:54 | | Reading: | Isaiah 35:1–10 | | Summary: | Join Rev. Jim and a congregation from over 150 countries as we celebrate the third week of Advent. This week we focus on the candle of LOVE. We celebrate love that Jesus brings into our world and look for ways we can share that love with others throughout God’s creation. | | Watch: | Watch |
Dare to Dream - Peace | | Length: | 9:41 | | Reading: | Isaiah 11:1-10
| | Summary: | Welcome back to our celebration of Advent 2007. Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus. Although we know Jesus came to Earth many years ago, we celebrate his coming each year. This week’s theme is Peace. In what parts of your life are you seeking peace? Peace in your home? Peace in your relationships? Peace in your church? Do you find yourself praying, “Peace in our time, God, Peace in our Time,”? Join Rev. Jim and his friends as they celebrate the coming of Jesus, the PRINCE OF PEACE into our world all over again. | | Watch: | Watch |
Dare to Dream - Hope | | Length: | 10:14 | | Reading: | Isaiah 1:2-5 | | Summary: | The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. Join Rev. Jim and his friends as they observe each of the 4 weeks of Advent with scripture readings, hymns, prayers, and the lighting of the Advent Wreath. Let this weekly series be a part of your preparation for the coming of the Son of God, the Son of David, the Son of Humankind, Jesus, into your life and your home all over again, or for the first time. | | Watch: | Watch |
When Good People Suffer | | Length: | 23:28 | | Reading: | Job 23:23-27 | | Summary: | Many people would like to believe that suffering is reserved for those who perpetrate evil. In this sermon, Reverend Jim explores several potential reasons for the suffering of good people. No matter what the origins of human suffering might be Rev Jim encourages us to suffer in ways that allow God to be glorified through us. Join Rev Jim and the congregation of MCC Boston for this inspiring message. | | Watch: | Watch |
Proud To Serve; Our Community, Our Country and Our World | | Length: | 17:47 | | Reading: | Acts 1:6-8 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim preaches his annual Pride sermon. From MCC Boston and the Boston Pride Parade, Rev. Jim shares many reasons why it is good for us to take pride in our community. He looks at ways we can deepen our service and thereby share the Gospel and the Love of God with all created beings. Join Rev. Jim for a celebration of Pride 2007. | | Watch: | Watch |
Fishin' Stories | | Length: | 18:26 | | Reading: | Mark 1:14-20 | | Summary: | Jesus calls to those who would be his disciples and says, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of humankind." What must it be like to spend one's life working on behalf of others, in Jesus name? Come join us as we consider becoming Fishers of Humankinds | | Watch: | Watch |
The Story of Easter | | Length: | 18:23 | | Reading: | Luke 24:1-12 | | Summary: | Happy Easter. Rev. Jim reviews the story of Jesus and the people of God from the time of Mary and Joseph to the present day. Hear the story of how much God loves you, how much God is willing to sacrifice to be in relationship with you and with all of God's creation. Then hear the Gospel invitation to commit your life to Jesus today. Experience the strong move of the Spirit as Rev. Jim invites you to give your heart to Jesus. | | Watch: | Watch |
Ready or Not, Here's Jesus | | Length: | 13:50 | | Reading: | Luke 19:28-40 | | Summary: | It's Palm Sunday and Jesus rides into the City of Jerusalem in all his glory. People put their cloaks on the ground for Jesus' donkey to walk on, and they shout praises to him and to God. Jesus knows full well what faces him over the next few days, and he walks (or rides) right into it with all the determination one would expect from Jesus. We're reminded of the GLBTQ activists who went before us, knowing what they faced, but preparing for the way for those of us who would come in this generation and in generations after us. It's an important point to remember, that Jesus knew exactly what was facing him. As the people shout praises, watch the reaction of the pharisees and hear Jesus say, "Even the rocks would shout out (praises)." Come join Rev. Jim as we celebrate Palm Sunday together. | | Watch: | Watch |
Time to Get Ready for Repentance | | Length: | 20:09 | | Reading: | Luke 13:1-9 | | Summary: | This marks a second week of diffuclt themes in the Gospel readings from the lectionary. Repentance means for us to confess our sins and turn away from them. That's not always an easy task. Just like our children disappoint us when they abandon the ways they should go and refuse to return, we grieve the very heart of God when we fail to repent. Come consider Repentance with us. | | Watch: | Watch |
Time to Get Ready for Suffering | | Length: | 20:57 | | Reading: | Luke 13:31-35 | | Summary: | Jesus knows what it is to suffer. In every way that we suffer, Jesus has suffered. Whether we experience the deep sorrow of the loss of a loved one, the loss of our reputation, any kind of loss, Jesus has been there and has suffered. Jesus is here to help us with our suffering. We do not have to carry our burdens alone. Come check out this powerful message on suffering. | | Watch: | Watch |
Time to Get Ready For Temptation | | Length: | 22:16 | | Reading: | Luke 4:1-13 | | Summary: | Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted. This Gospel passage records the devil tempting Jesus with food (after a 40 day fast), with the power to rule the entire world, and with jumping from the pinnacle of the temple because the angels would not allow him to be harmed. Jesus rebuked the devil each time and the devil went away, “until a more opportune time.”
During this season of Lent, we have the opportunity to look at those issues in our lives that open us up for intense temptation. We can face them with the assurance that Jesus was tempted in the same ways, and that with the promised assistance of the Holy Trinity, we can succeed in the face of any temptation. We can say, like Jesus, “get thee behind me Satan!” | | Watch: | Watch |
Transfigure You | | Length: | 16:36 | | Reading: | Luke 9:28-43 | | Summary: | This is Transfiguration Sunday. A rememberence of the time when Jesus went up the mountain with a few disciples to pray. During that time, Jesus' appearance was change, Moses and Elijah appeared around him and his clothes shown brightly. The heavens opened and God said, "This is my Son, my chosen one, listen to him." Let's think about ways our own lives can be transfigured as we spend time getting to know God better. | | Watch: | Watch |
An X-ray Picture of the Heart of God | | Length: | 24:44 | | Reading: | Psalm 1
Luke 6:17–26 | | Summary: | This sermon actually has two titles. First, “An X-ray Picture of the Heart of God” and second, “Getting to Know God.” The first title is the original one. The second is the slightly more gentile version I chose when I preached this sermon at MCC in Boston . These readings offer us a wonderful opportunity to get to know God in a deeper way. We learn that God is a healer of all sorts of ills. We learn that God is a champion of the underdog, the poor, the hungry, the weeping (mourning). Jesus says, “Your weeping will be turned into laughter!” This is a wonderful promise. Finally we learn the most important fact about God for ourselves; that God loves us exactly the way we are. Come join us for this study of the Gospel. | | Watch: | Watch |
Do You Believe? | | Length: | 17:45 | | Reading: | Isaiah 43:1–7 | | Summary: | In today’s study we consider the question, “Do you believe?” Do you believe in a God who loves you? Do you believe in a God that holds you in the palm of God’s hand? And do you believe in a God who wants the very best for you? Think about this at the end of the reading, God wants to bless you in order to bring glory to God. Will you courageously live inside God’s plan for your life? Will you allow God to bless you in a way that shows the Glory of God to the world? Will you love all the people of God the way God loves you? Do you Believe? | | Watch: | Watch |
What Time Is It? | | Length: | 15:46 | | Reading: | Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 | | Summary: | This week’s reading contains one of the well-known passages of scripture. Perhaps because of the scripture itself or maybe because of the famous folk song of 1966, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” made famous by “The Byrds.”
What time is it? What time is it in your world? What time is it in your life? What time is it in your relationship with God. Those are the three questions we thing about together in this week’s sermon. Come join us as we answer the question, “What time is it?” | | Watch: | Watch |
Is There Room in Your Heart? (Advent Series Final) | | Length: | 11:45 | | Reading: | Luke 2:1-14 | | Summary: | The time has arrived for the world to receive God’s greatest gift to us all over again. Is there room in your heart for this Jesus? A Jesus who is born to unwed parents, a Jesus who is born in a stable, a Jesus about who the heavens and angels sing, this multifaceted Jesus who defies the world’s imagination. Is there room in your heart for the true Jesus this Christmas? | | Watch: | Watch |
Is There Room in Your Heart? (Advent Series #3) | | Length: | 14:12 | | Reading: | Luke 3:7-18 | | Summary: | As we continue our series, “Is There Room in Your Heart,” this week we explore three topics. First, is there room in your heart for a Jesus who tells it like it is? Then, is there room in your heart for an unconventional Jesus? Finally, is there room in your heart for a Good News bringing Jesus? Join us as we continue our Advent preaching series | | Watch: | Watch |
Is There Room in Your Heart? (Advent Series #2) | | Length: | 15:24 | | Reading: | Luke 3:1-6 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim explores several characteristics of Jesus that most Americans assume are true although they probably are not. Are we willing to accept the real Jesus, the Jesus who is not a fair skinned American, the Jesus who probably does not look like the pictures in most of our Sunday School rooms, the Jesus who embodies omnigendered characteristics beyond those of strictly male or female. Is there room in your heart for a real Jesus? Come with us as we explore who Jesus really is. | | Watch: | Watch |
Is There Room in Your Heart? (Advent Series #1) | | Length: | 15:39 | | Reading: | Luke 21:25-36 | | Summary: | Is your heart full of old junk & hurtful memories that there is no more room for love to come in? Is your heart so full of love for worldly matters and worldly things that there is no room for God? Is there room in your heart to rid yourselves of these things and to make room for Jesus? This week we began our advent series "Is There Room In Your Heart" by first examining Luke Chapter 21:25-36. | | Watch: | Watch |
Chicken Frying in the Basement | | Length: | 18:47 | | Reading: | Mark 12:38-44 | | Summary: | Once again we see Jesus making an example of the religious leaders of the day. Jesus admires the widow woman when she gives her two copper coins, probably worth about ½ cent in today’s terms, while the religious leaders ignore and belittle her. The widow woman can stand as a representative of all those in “target groups” who long to find a church home. So many wander in exile from the church homes of their youth. One woman even remarked that she couldn’t feel at home at any of the new churches because the smell of fried chicken cooking in the basement was missing. What are we willing to do today to help others find churches they can call home? Are we willing to listen to some different music, practice some new culture, hear a different style of preaching or even to fry some chicken in the basement, in Jesus’ name? | | Watch: | Watch |
Lessons from the Vineyard #4 | | Length: | 24:31 | | Reading: | Genesis 3:1-8 | | Summary: | This is the final sermon in Rev. Jim’s series, “Lessons from the Vineyard.” No matter how beautiful the world in which we live, sometimes there’s trouble in the garden. The Good News is though, that God’s love for us never fails and that God always tempers justice with mercy. Finally, Rev. Jim reviews the important lessons contained in all four of these Lessons from the Vineyard. Don’t miss this final episode in the series. | | Watch: | Watch |
Lessons from the Vineyard #3 | | Length: | 13:52 | | Reading: | Matthew 11:28-30 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim discusses the potential therapeutic value of working in a garden. He talks about his own very difficult relationship with his paternal grandmother, and about the ways he worked out some of those issues by planting a garden. Rev. Jim also suggests that gardens are good places to leave emotional scars and other issues that have held us back for long periods of time. Come join us for this third set of Lessons from the Vineyard. | | Watch: | Watch |
Lessons from the Vineyard #2 | | Length: | 16:39 | | Reading: | John 15:9-17 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim continues this series by focusing on the love of God. The way scripture says God takes care of the vineyard represents the way God wants to take care of us. Commitment to Christ can lead to our becoming the very friends of Jesus. Imagine that, having Jesus refer to us as friend. Come along for this Lesson from the Vineyard. | | Watch: | Watch |
Lessons from the Vineyard #1 | | Length: | 15:09 | | Reading: | John 15:1-8 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim begins his series, Lessons from the Vineyard, preached from the Westbend Vineyard in Lewisville , NC . This sermon, based on John 15: 1 – 8, looks as God as the gardener of the vineyard and at Jesus as the vine. God prunes the branches on the vine so they can bear even more fruit. Jesus, as the vine, nourishes the vine so the quality of the fruit is excellent. Don’t miss this sermon as we learn how this lesson from the vineyard applies to our own lives. | | Watch: | Watch |
Jesus, Marriage, and Children | | Length: | 19:49 | | Reading: | Matthew 19:1-15 | | Summary: | Jesus addresses issues surrounding heterosexual marriage. Jesus' way is a much more kind and loving way than the way of the Old Testament. Jesus also called the little children to himself, scolding those who tried to keep them away. Who are your little children, which people do your neighbors think you're too busy or too good for. Will you bring those "children" to you the way Jesus did? | | Watch: | Watch |
Battling Demons | | Length: | 21:32 | | Reading: | Mark 1:21-28 | | Summary: | What do you think of when you hear the word, "demon?" Do you think of some scary ghost or some Halloween character that makes you jump out of your skin? I want us to think about demons, like the ones described in the Gospel. I want us to think about demons that keep us from reaching our full potential. | | Watch: | Watch |
Royal Law of God | | Length: | 25:05 | | Reading: | James 2:1-18 | | Summary: | Have you ever been at church or at some other community meeting where most everybody looked about the same. And suddenly someone walks in who's dressed to the nines. The best clothes money can buy, the finest jewelry and the perfect haircut. The next person who happens to walk in is obviously struggling through life with unkept hair, tattered clothes and years of despair written on their face. Do you treat both people the same or does your human instinct kick in and you favor the nicely dressed person? Today's lesson is from the book of James and tells us not to discriminate and show favoritism to those who may not be like us. | | Watch: | Watch |
Homecoming Stories | | Length: | 20:46 | | Reading: | Mark 6:1-13 | | Summary: | How many of you have ever been to a Homecoming? I'm not sure, but I think Homecomings may be more culturally important in the Southern United States than just about anywhere else in the world. We have homecomings for just about everything. Listen this week as I share two facts about me and homecomings. | | Watch: | Watch |
To Whom Shall we Go | | Length: | 15:23 | | Reading: | John 6:60-69 | | Summary: | Have you ever committed yourself to doing something that was really hard and unusual to you? Have you ever really stuck with something like that and made it through successfully? Do you remember what that feels like? Jesus is calling for his disciples to do some hard things in today's gospel. For some it's just too much but those who stick with it, there is a real reward. You also can do hard things in your future. Let us explore how. Video Sermon not available this week. | | Watch: | Watch |
Living Bread | | Length: | 15:48 | | Reading: | John 6:51-58 | | Summary: | Do you know anyone who speaks in puzzles? Maybe someone that you ask the simplest question and after a long period of talking, you still have no idea what the answer is? Sometimes it seems like Jesus talks in puzzles. He uses concepts we can't understand. How can we possible eat the flesh of his body? Can he really mean it? How can his flesh become the living bread? Let's think about these questions as we explore this topic together. | | Watch: | Watch |
Hunger Hurts | | Length: | 20:00 | | Reading: | John 6:24-35 | | Summary: | Have you ever experienced hunger? Not the kind of hunger you feel when you haven't eaten for a while or the kind of hunger you get when you wake up in the morning longing for a hot cooked meal. I am talking about the kind of hunger that leads you wanting and following your savior - the kind of hunger where your undeniable belief in Jesus Christ quells your thirst and satisfies your hunger now and forever. | | Watch: | Watch |
Food for the Journey | | Length: | 20:00 | | Reading: | John 6:1-21 | | Summary: | We begin a "food-based" series of readings today. Jesus performs miracles by meeting the need for food of those who followed him. Some of the followers of Jesus get so distracted by the food and the expectation thereof, they almost miss the message of Jesus. Let's look at the ways Jesus provides us with Food for the Journey. | | Watch: | Watch |
Gardening 101 | | Length: | 18:06 | | Reading: | Matthew 13:1-9 | | Summary: | How many of you are gardeners? Gardening is good relaxing therapy. You see, when someone begins to make a garden (and if they use extreme care and the right materials), the garden can bloom and grow for many many years. So what does that say about our spiritual gardens? Join Rev. Jim as he shows you some good ways that you can sow a good spiritual garden. | | Watch: | Watch |
Lessons I've Learned in 25 Years of Ordained Ministry | | Length: | 17:11 | | Reading: | Genesis 35:11-12
I Corinthians 13 | | Summary: | Rev. Jim celebrates the 25th anniversary of his ordination, by sharing 3 important lessons he's learned along the way. | | Watch: | Watch |
It's Independence Day | | Length: | 18:50 | | Reading: | Matthew 28 | | Summary: | Those of us in the United States celebrate our independence during this week in July every year. Even here, independence is limited to a relative few. True independence comes from Jesus. When the son of humankind sets us free, we are free indeed. | | Watch: | Watch |
Peace that Passes Understanding | | Length: | 17:34 | | Reading: | Mark 4:35-41 | | Summary: | Even in the midst of the greatest storms of your life, Jesus can bring peace. Rev. Jim uses the story of Jesus on the boat with his disciples in the middle of the lake, when Jesus calms a great storm as illustration of this point. | | Watch: | Watch |
God of the Unexpected | | Length: | 23:30 | | Reading: |
1 Samuel 16:1-13
| | Summary: | God often makes unexpected choices. God uses people that we do not expect God to use. This God of the unexpected can use you in amazing ways, too. | | Watch: | Watch |
Can You Hear the Wind Blow? | | Length: | 22:14 | | Reading: |
Acts 2:1-31
| | Summary: | Are you tuned in to the presence of the Spirit in your life? Can you feel it? Can you hear it? Are you willing to follow it? | | Watch: | Watch |
Minds Fully Open | | Length: | 15:15 | | Reading: |
Luke 24:44-53
| | Summary: | The full truth of the Gospel changes our lives in ways that allow us to function with open minds. Minds open to the callings of God, minds open to the Spirit, and minds open to love all of God's creation | | Watch: | Watch |
The Very Best of Love | | Length: | 13:11 | | Reading: |
John 15:9-17
| | Summary: | God's love is the very best love you can ever know. | | Watch: | Watch |
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