ELCG Podcast: Recent Episodes
Geneva Lutheran
Prayers, messages, and stories of faith from the English-Speaking Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva, located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Sermon_26: 02Aug26 'You, give them something to eat', by Rev. Dr. Ireneusz Lukas by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 26Jul26 'The abundance of God's way', by Rev Dr. Dirk Lange by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 19Jul26 'Let them grow together', by Rev. Dr. Elaine Neuenfeldt by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 28Jun26 'More than a cup of cold water', by Rev. Dr. Sivin Kit by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 21Jun26( Fête Musique), 'Space between the notes' by Pastor Rev. Dr. Christian Feber. by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 14Jun26 'Remember where home is', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 07Jun26 'In need of a physician', by Pastor Rev. Andy Wills by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 31May226 'Magnificent humanity', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 10May26 'Through the lens of love and justice', by Rev. Dr. Nyanbura Njoroge by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: _EASTER DAY 'The Easter interruption', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 04Apr26 'The angel on the stone', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 02Apr26 'Made complete in love', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 22Mar26 'Grief and resurrection', by Pastor Rev Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 15Mar26 'A gracious disruption', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 01Mar26, 'From the surface to the depths' by Pastor Rev.. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 15Feb26 'Brightness in the cloud', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon26: 04Jan26 'Presence for each other', by Rev. Terry MacArthur by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 30Nov25 'Let us walk in the light of the Lord', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: Fri14Nov25 (Funeral Satoru Kishii) 'Manifold', by Pastor Rev. Andy Wilis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25:_02Nov25_ReformationSunday_AlexandreWinter,DoretteKall,KathrinHildenbrand by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 19Oct25 'Simply Christian life', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 12Oct2025 'Freedom', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis - presented by Rev. Terry MacArthur by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 17Aug25 'Faith and the big picture', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 10Aug25 'Faith from both sides now', by Rev. Sarah Stephens by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 03Aug25 'From fear to freedom', by Rev. Dr. Elaine Neuenfeldt by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 27Jul2025 'Arguing with God', by Rev. Dr. Wesley Ariarajah by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 20Jul25 'The dance of discipleship', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 06Jul25 'The grace of not having it all', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 29Jun25 'Against triumphalism', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: (English part) 22Jun25 'Heaven here and now', by Pfr. Dr. Chrstian Ferber by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 15Jun2025 'Relationships at the center, by Pastor Rev. Andy Wllis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 8Jun25 'The ministry of imagination', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 27Apr25 'Put your finger here', by Rev: Dr. Elaine Neuenfeldt by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 19Apr25 'For the kingdom the power, and the glory are yours', by Pastor Rev. Andy Wilis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 06Apr25 'Forgive us our trespasses', by Pastor Rev. Andy Wilis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 16Mar25 'Hallowed be your name', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon25: 09Mar2025 'A place in God's family', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Christmas pageant written and directed by Ben Le Geyt, clearly better watched as video on https://genevalutheran.church/christmas-pageant-2024/
Sermon24: 24Nov24 'Enriched by generosity', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 03Nov24, 'Counted among the Saints' by Rev. Dr. Ireneusz Lukas by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 27Oct24, 'Joining Jesus on the road' by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
“Until All Are Fed”«Que Tous Soient Nourris»A Service of Prayer and Action Against Hunger Un Culte de Prière et d’Action Contre la FaimFriday 11 October 2024, 11h00
Sermon24: 20Oct24, 'A gracious invitation' by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Choir of the congregation, Tenor solo: Tom Davis, Guitar: Greg Wierzynski, Percussion: Sylvain Fournier, Piano: Terry MacArthur, Direction: Katharina Mainberger-Dellweg
Choir of the congregation, Tenor solo: Tom Davis, Guitar: Greg Wierzynski, Percussion: Sylvain Fournier, Piano: Terry MacArthur, Direction: Katharina Mainberger-Dellweg
Choir of the congregation, Tenor solo: Tom Davis, Guitar: Greg Wierzynski, Percussion: Sylvain Fournier, Piano: Terry MacArthur, Direction: Katharina Mainberger-Dellweg
Sermon24: 08Sep24 'Finding the trail again', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 18Aug24 'A community of service', by Rev. Dr. Friedrich Lohmann by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 11Aug24 'Nourished by God to be the bread of the world', by Rev. Sarah Stephens by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 4Aug24 'Nourishment for the journey', by Rev. Rebecca Daniel by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 28Jul24 'Aligning our wills to God's', by Rev. Rebecca Daniel by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 07Jul24 'Grace: too precious to get lost', by Rev. Dr. Martin Junge by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 23Jun24 FetesMusique 'Music & Peace', by Pastor Rev. Dr. Katrin Hildenbrand by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 16Jun24 'Equal partners', by Rev. Prof. Dr. Arnfridur Gudmundsdottir by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: Pentecost 19May24 'This amazing day', by astor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 12May24 Ascension 'Here to be found', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 28Apr24 'Keeping up with the Spirit', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 21Apr24 'Disruptive memories', by Rev. Dr. Nyambura Njoroge by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 30Mar24 Vigil 'My God and your God', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 28Mar24 Maundy 'Sit down at love's feast', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 17Mar24 'A blessing on the way', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 10Mar24 'Singing in the shadow', by Pastor Rev, Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 03Mar24 'An inviation to wonder', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 1Advent3Dec23 'Let your face shine', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 14Jan24 'Seeing beyond the surface', by Rev. Dr. Sivin Kit by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 07Jan24 'An invitation to wonder', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: ChristmasDAY23 'Embracing our shared humanity', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: ChristmasEve23 'How will we respond?', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon24: 4thAdvent23 (24Dec) 'Here am I', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Reflection by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis, 2nd Sunday of Advent 2023.Joint worship on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 10Dec2023, Temple de la Madeleine Geneva.
Sermon: 26Nov23 'It all comes down to this', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 22Oct23 'The things that are God's', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 08Oct23 'Running toward the goal', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 17Aug23 'The web of forgiveness', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 13Aug23 'Willigness to go where Jesus is', by Pastor Rev. Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 06Aug23 'Nourished in a life of compassion, justice and peace', by Rev. Sarah Cooper Searight.
Sermon: 30Jul23 'Have you understood all this', by Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman. by Geneva Lutheran
Sermon: 23Jul23 'God’s unconditional promise’, by Rev. Dr. Dirk Lange by Geneva Lutheran
Jesus didn’t ask in a gentle, encouraging sort of way. He said clearly “this is not going to make your life easier.” So why did they stay?
Joining in God’s work of liberation and healing is our business, because Jesus says it is.
What does it look like to follow Jesus? According to our reading today, it certainly has something to do with allowing our plans to be interrupted.
That’s where the idea of the Trinity touches down in our lives: it’s about a God who is not distant and abstract, but utterly committed to being with us.
The Spirit shows up uniquely in each person, Paul says, and each person’s gift is equally important. When we see one another that way, it leads to a totally different sort of community.
If God raised Jesus from the dead—really and truly, at a moment in time—then God is absolutely committed to this world, and to us, and to those all around us.
Jesus’s words of acceptance and grace draw a new and wider circle, a new and wider fold, where there’s room for all.
Jesus is our ruler, the highest authority in our lives, and we can call out to him with the crowds today: “Hosanna! Save us!”
What does it mean to take the practice of the sabbath, intended for the wellbeing and flourishing of all, and incorporate it into life today? In our own way, we’re asking those same sorts of questions.
We are free to imagine a better world, a world of generosity and compassion and neighborliness. Keeping sabbath—taking regular time to bask in the goodness and givenness of life—reminds us of that fact.
A sermon given on Transfiguration Sunday, 19 February 2023, by Rev. Dr. Wesley Ariarajah.
Paul meant for the church to be a community where, around the cross, we might actually discover the grace in our differences.
Through the lens of the cross, God has shown us what really matters: laying down our weapons, including those left out, setting a bigger table, standing together in love.
It’s like those disciples back on the shore, leaving their nets. This wasn’t their idea; this wasn’t their club to form however they wanted to; this wasn’t just another reflection of the culture around them. No—this was Jesus’s idea.
Yes, you are holy, Paul says; but you’re also not done yet. You’re not all you’re ever going to be. You’re called to be saints.
A sermon on Matthew 3:13-17, preached on 8 January, commemorating the baptism of Christ.
Hang around Jesus for a while, and sooner or later, you’re bound to find yourself faced with a messiah who isn’t exactly who you thought he was.
Isaiah’s vision of a new world of peace begins with something you could actually miss if you weren’t looking for it. It all starts with a stump and a tiny blade of green.
Spears to pruning hooks. Conflict to peacefulness. Violence to brotherhood. It’s not realistic. It’s better than that—it’s a promise from God.
We are part of a community that stretches far and wide, where we are constantly challenged to look beyond ourselves to the needs of others, to be shaped and formed in the upside-down ways of Jesus.
Sort of by definition, a parable shouldn’t leave us alone. If we’ve got it all figured out, or if it seems to do nothing but bless the place where we stand right now, then we probably need to dig a little deeper.
Liminal times come for all of us. Jacob is at one of them in his own life, and it is precisely then that a mysterious figure emerges from the shadows.
Waiting to be grateful until you’re perfectly happy is like waiting to take vitamins until you’re perfectly healthy; it gets the equation backwards. Giving thanks to God is both something we are meant to do and also something that makes life immeasurably better.
We may not see the gap much of the time, but make no mistake—it’s there, and Jesus means for us to be concerned about it.
Maybe the biggest change, the one that makes all the difference, is recognizing that we have already been found.
Jesus envisions a different sort of gathering, beyond preoccupations with status and reciprocity, where there’s a place for everyone at the table.
Jesus didn’t come to bless all the petty and sinful ways we humans divide ourselves up; he came to light a fire of change for a better way. And the reality is, a message of such profound transformation can’t help but be divisive at times.
Are we helping to create a world of self-centeredness and division, or one where we are neighbors to one another, where we treat others with the mercy God has shown to us?
Peter recognized something astounding, mysterious, and holy; he wanted to mark that experience, and maybe in that way, he was profoundly right. Maybe lingering a while with Jesus on this particular mountaintop is actually just what we need.
God’s great promise of a world made whole can seem awfully distant at times, far from obvious or logical--which is one more reason faith is meant to be undertaken together.
Jesus reminds us that it’s not all up to us. As his followers, we will always live by grace—by God’s merciful care and provision.
The women at the tomb were faced with that question that would become ours as well, two thousand years later: what do we do with this word that Jesus has risen? Do we dare to believe that everything has changed, even though it might sound crazy, even though it might sound foolish?
This image of Jesus—riding toward the seat of power with absolutely no show of power himself—is a strange one. It's also a perpetual challenge for Christians.
Mary understands that God’s love for us is like that perfume: lavish, fragrant, extravagant, more than enough.
Grace says: Because you are my children, I love you, pure and simple. Full stop. It’s so simple, so strange, and it’s finally our home.
There's a profoundly hopeful message in Jesus's parable: life is unpredictable, and there’s no telling when anyone’s time will come, but you have today. You have today to live, so live for what’s truly important.
'Listen,' we can say to the voices trying to knock us off the path of love: 'I’ve got work to do, and I must be on my way.'
We’re invited to make ourselves at home in God’s love, to make that our dwelling place, our refuge. When we do, no evil can take us away.
Not all followers of Jesus are confronted with earthshaking, pyrotechnic visions. But we are all faced with glimpses of a different world, one that’s full of grace and truth and possibility.
Embedded in Jesus’s words “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” is a breathtaking reality—the reality that we are part of God’s family.
It’s never too late to sink your roots into some better soil. If you’ve been putting your trust where it doesn’t belong, then there’s no time like the present to trust in the grace and love of God instead.
Simon had Jesus standing there in the boat with him, telling him to let down the nets for another catch; we have the community, reminding us of what matters, asking us to keep showing up, calling us to offer our gifts.
A sermon on Luke 4:21-30 and 1 Corinthians 13, preached by Rev. Kristín Tómasdóttir on 30 January.
A sermon by Rev. Dr. Wesley Ariarajah on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, preached on 23 January.
That’s finally what the gifts of the Spirit are for, Paul says. They’re not for keeping to yourself, and they’re not for boasting, and they’re certainly not for creating hierarchies and divisions. They’re for offering to others; they’re for building up the community.
Jesus doesn’t just say it: he allows himself to be immersed in the peoples’ hopes and struggles.
A sermon on Colossians 3:12-17, preached by Rev. Dr. Elaine Neuenfeldt on the First Sunday of Christmas, 26 December 2021.
Singing and Christmas go together well—there’s no doubt about that. But “sing a new song”? This tends to be a time when we return to old favorites.
A pandemic can do lots of things: it can cancel flights and disrupt gatherings and dampen spirits and leave us bereft and grieving in many ways. But here’s what a pandemic cannot do: it cannot drown out the song of the angels.
It’s a new world Mary sees, and here’s how it’s coming about: not with swords, but with women embracing in a no-name town, with hearts made joyful, with a song sung in faith.
A sermon by Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer about turtles and prophets for the third week of Advent. What is distinctive about a prophet is not just what they say, but what they see.
It's no accident that John the Baptist is preaching and baptizing out in the desert, because in the Bible, the road to new life always passes through the wilderness.
We’re meant to be people who hope—not just in the times when hope comes easily, but also in times when it’s difficult, in times when fearful and foreboding signs are all around.
That’s where our hope begins: not with our circumstances or our achievements or our merits, but with the God of today, yesterday, and tomorrow, the One who comes to us.
"No," we’re meant to say, when fear and hopelessness seem final and everlasting. "God has promised how the story ends, and this is not it. It doesn’t end with one great mess; it ends with life."
Maybe that’s how God’s commanding, God’s calling, works much of the time. Without a booming voice from the heavens—just a need in front of us, just the voice of another person. A sermon on 1 Kings 17:8-16.
In this whole complex tradition, with all its stories and practices and ideas, what is most important for you? What is at the center? A sermon for confirmation Sunday, with contributions from the confirmands.
Jesus offers a declaration of freedom, an invitation into a way of life that is so much better, so much richer, so much more promising than climbing that tired old ladder.
A sermon on Mark 10:17-31 by Rev. Kristín Tómasdóttir, on the challenge of faith in midlife.
It’s important to hear Jesus’s words on divorce in the context in which they were spoken: he’s dismissing a debate that objectified women and minimized their suffering.
Wholly apart from the concrete results that come from prayer—whether we get exactly what we ask for or not—it does accomplish something deeply significant: prayer draws a community together.
James offers us an opportunity to think about what our use of language has to do with our faith: what we claim to believe ought to make a difference in the way that we speak.
When James says you can’t be friends both with the world and with God, he means you can’t share two worldviews at once. You can’t go around holding on both to God’s values and to the world’s—you’ve got to make a choice.
For James, the integrity of our faith is at stake here. We cannot say we believe in Jesus and then proceed in drawing distinctions as the world does.
Christians can be anxious to speak, to share the wisdom we’ve found in our faith. And that’s good; but James reminds us that listening comes first.
The Gospel of John puts the incarnation, and the inherent physicality of Christianity, in front of us in the starkest possible terms. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing right now.
In this exceptional time when we’re not celebrating communion much, we’re invited to pay attention to the many ways God feeds us, to the moments of grace all around.
Sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Patricia Cuyatti on the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, 1 August 2021.
Sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Nyambura Njoroge on the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, 25 July 2021.
Sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Dirk Lange on the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, 18 July 2021.
There are storms along the way as we grow into the people Jesus calls us to be. The good news is that he's with us in the boat.
It’s not anxious work, but it matters that the sower does it; it matters that she scatters the seeds, because she’s part of the ecosystem bringing about new life and growth.
Jesus stands with the crowds--with the sinners and the sick and the hurting and the left behind. And in the end, the story asks us the same question: where will we stand? Where will you stand?
This is what life in God feels like: opening your eyes and seeing you’re not alone but are in fact surrounded by a loving family.
Don’t spend your time looking up there for Jesus, imagining he’s off somewhere else, the angel says to the stunned disciples and to us. The ascension means that he is, in fact, present and active in you, and in the people around you.
We’re learning a new way to live, because that’s what Jesus showed us--because that’s what friendship looks like.
Even in the difficult time ahead, Jesus says to his friends, you are branches on the vine. You are connected to me and to one another; my life is flowing to you; you are never alone.
The shepherd leads the sheep throughout this psalm, not only beside the still waters at the beginning, but also into that darkest valley. Sometimes it’s exactly where the paths of righteousness run.
This is how we keep living out our resurrection faith and how we keep encountering Jesus: in real, flesh and blood relationships, in the embrace of real, wounded human bodies. The un-ghostly Jesus of Luke’s story reminds us of that fact.
A sermon by Rev. Sarah Stephens on John 20:19-31, preached on the Second Sunday of Easter.
That’s what Jesus’s incognito appearances in the gospels mean to do: set us on our toes, wake up our senses, set our eyes and ears on the alert, because Jesus is risen. He’s here—he could be anywhere.
Raising expectations high and then deliberately thwarting them is a pretty dangerous thing to do. If you turn the tables on people like that—as Jesus did—you’re not leaving them with many options. A sermon on Mark 11:1-11.
"We want to see Jesus," we say with the pilgrims, and Jesus doesn’t respond, “Well of course, bring them in!” because it’s just not that simple for you and me. But notice that he doesn’t say, “No way” to our request, either.
“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus says. What does he mean there? Why must this happen? A sermon on Mark 8:31-38.
The real work of this season—leaving behind old worries and fears, trusting in the love of God, taking steps toward living with greater justice and mercy, taking hold of something better—isn’t meant to be undertaken alone. A sermon on Mark 1:9-15.
Those are two words we need right now—both to allow us to speak the truth of this difficult time and to acknowledge that there is more to the story as well, even if we can’t always see it.
A sermon on Mark 9:2-9, the story of the transfiguration, by Rev. Dr. Elaine Neuenfeldt.
Jesus meant to leave communities of healing behind him—in Capernaum and in every place he visited—communities that would carry on his work.
Several members of the congregation speaking our common prayer in their own languages, paired with the choir singing "Abana ladhi fi ssama," a musical setting of the Lord's Prayer from Palestine.
There are any number of things that can possess us, and Jesus comes in opposition to them all, in opposition to anything less than life lived in gracious openness to God and service to our neighbors.
"The time is fulfilled," Jesus said. It’s another way of saying: this is the moment. This is the moment to take a stand. This is the moment choose something better than the death-dealing ways you see around you.
When the word we need to hear threatens the comfortable story we are accustomed to, do we close our ears and turn the other way? Or do we listen?
A sermon on the occasion of Terry MacArthur's retirement as minister of music for the English-Speaking Congregation.
A sermon by Rev. Dr. Sivin Kit on Luke 2:22-40, preached on the First Sunday of Christmas.
If we have seen this light—and the gospel assures us that we have—then we have a role to play, pointing to that light for others, no matter how dark the winter may be.
In the Christmas story—and in the God to whom it points us—all of our stories find their center and their place. The baby in the manger holds them all together.
While life may give us a few opportunities for assenting to God in momentous ways, it is in fact mostly made up of much smaller and far more ordinary occasions for saying yes—for responding to what writer Roger Owens calls “the divine summons of this moment.”
Sure, to be an oak is to be rooted and stable and steadfast. And maybe it is also to be deeply connected to others—to be bound in webs of mutuality, sharing, and concern.
Yes, the angel says, much is fleeting and uncertain. But here’s what’s not: God’s promise, God’s faithfulness, God’s word of grace to us.
"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!" Isn’t asking for that a bit unrealistic, a bit bold? Maybe—but maybe it’s still just what we need.
We do, it turns out, have something to work on while we wait, in this time like in any other. The problem is, we might wish for a different set of instructions – one that asks a bit less from us.
Listen up, church, Jesus says. You have one whopper of a precious gift in your collective hands. What are you going to do with it?
We all know we’re supposed to practice gratitude; what we can easily forget is just how good it is for us.
Remember that we are not left alone or without direction. Jesus’s words—those strange and gracious blessings—keep pointing the way to life, and Jesus promises to walk with us as we stumble along.
This was never just Moses’s story. It was always the story of freedom, far bigger than any one person, and when Moses’s chapter was finished, there were other chapters to be written.
it is often easier to spot God’s presence in our lives looking backward, tending to those places where an encounter, a phone call, a landscape, a book was in fact a vehicle for grace, a gift we profoundly needed
We want answers, and when they don’t come on our timeline, we can get restless. We can grow weary of waiting, and we can find ourselves trading the living God for something more manageable.
Freedom is the thread running through all the commandments—even, and maybe especially, when it comes to the one about rest.
Yes, Moses is telling the Israelites to stand firm and not run away. But he’s also calling them to much more than that.
That’s what good and meaningful rituals do: help a community to remember, in the fullest sense of that word.
Moses’s story gives us another angle for looking at the question of home, of identity, of where we belong. Moses, the perpetual stranger, finally finds his home in the calling of God, and in the profound relationship it opens up for him.
It’s five women's simple acts of brave humanity that open up a way out of slavery and death. And it’s acts like that that can still open up new ways forward today.
Yes, Paul says, you really are free. And God’s grace has a hold on you now, and it won’t let you go until its work is done.
Sermon, 5 July: "Understanding what it means to be human," by Rev. Dr. Simone Sinn by Geneva Lutheran
Present yourself to God this way: with trust that grace is real, that you’ve been joined to Christ, that in his death and resurrection, the power of sin has been broken.
A church shaped by this Spirit—a Spirit that comes not speaking one language, but every language on earth—cannot tolerate the privileging of any group over another.
Jesus came alongside humanity to make God known. And he promises that another will come alongside his disciples to continue that work: to make God known to them, to remind them of what they’ve been taught, to show them that they are never alone but are in fact woven into God’s own life.
The words of Psalm 23 are beautiful and strong. But they’re not really meant to be talked about so much as held onto and embraced.
On these new roads that may be uncertain or frightening or painful or disorienting or just plain exhausting, Jesus falls into step beside us, matches his pace to ours, and journeys where we’re going, even if we don’t know the destination.
Isaiah's invitation to abundant life (Isaiah 55:1-11), read by Miriam and Ralston Deffenbaugh, followed by "The First Song of Isaiah"
The exodus (Exodus 14 and 15), read by the Wierzynski/Wierzynska family, followed by "Mary Don't You Weep"
The great flood (Genesis 7, 8, and 9), read by Ana Villanueva, followed by "The Old Ark's A-moverin'"
Zephaniah's song of joy (Zephaniah 3:14-20), read by Nia-Christine Mbuli and Gaël Achab
The resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10), read by Julia Seibel and Elaine Neuenfeldt
The story of creation (Genesis 1:1--2:4a), read by the Kit Family, followed by "Morning Has Broken"
Sermon, 9 April (Maundy Thursday): "Keep your eyes on Jesus" - Andy Willis by Geneva Lutheran