First Congregational Church of Milton: Recent Episodes
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A podcast of sermons from worship at the First Congregational Church of Milton, United Church of Christ
This week has revealed to us that we are in the wilderness. Fortunately, the roots of our faith are set in the wilderness. The roots of any hopeful future will be set in how we respond together to this moment.
Student Minister Emma Brewer-Wallin offers a new take on empathy as she shares about her experience of hospital chaplaincy during a summer of pandemic and reckoning with racial justice
After every great calamity. There is a moment. Maybe a mere instant. Where a thin silence surrounds us. Where we stand in a place so devoid of orientation that we may not be able to bear it. What if that is where God speaks?
And have you ever tried to describe something so astonishingly beautiful that even the most poetic language you can muster falls flat, and you are left with that slightly helpless feeling of being unable to convey to another what you yourself have encountered?
If you feel like you are in a fog, you are not alone. Hear what scripture teaches us about living faithfully amidst so much uncertainty.
How does a 2,000 year old theological debate about animal sacrifice inform our ethics during a pandemic?
The beloved words of Psalm 23 guide us to not only know the love of God in our minds and hearts, but to feel it in our bodies.
From Student Minister Emma Brewer-Wallin: "We do not yet know what new thing God is unveiling in our midst. There’s only one way for us to find out: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."
The prophet Jeremiah looked to the past to give his people hope for the future. Could we do the same?
We are used to seeing the Palm Sunday through the eyes of the crowd, but what does Christ see?
Emma Brewer-Wallin reflects on the story of Lazarus and the role of grief in transformation.
What does the uncomfortable violence in the story of Esther reveal about the place of violence in our world today?
Student Minister Emma Brewer-Wallin shares a story about why sometimes the hardest thing to do is the thing that will save us.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of God's great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
It is our job to reach into that future and bring back a word or an image that this world is not yet ready for. And stick it, right in here, right the middle of all the despair and anguish. Where it doesn’t belong. Like a flower in the desert.
Emma Brewer-Wallin reminds us why sometimes the things that seem unimportant might be the most important things of all.
It would be so tempting to think: if I cannot do anything big and earth-shattering to change the world then why bother trying anything at all? But is is worth it.
The second sermon in a series exploring lessons of faith from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
Video from the end of the sermon can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QLtX8hk2Xw
What kind of things always grab your attention? What does God want you to be paying attention to?
John reminds us that honoring God is not just about what we pray and sing, but how we care for strangers.
What does faithful hope look like in troubled times? John explores what the Book of Hebrews and the story of Abraham might teach us about what honest, faithful hope truly is.