Sermons
Preaching from Madison & Verona
Creation
June 10, 2020 • Pastor Sheryl Erickson
Where are you from? That’s often a question during first-time introductions. Where are you from? Where we are from describes not only our starting point in life but it helps to explain a bit about who we are and maybe even why we are the way we are. Our reading from Genesis is our origin story as people of faith. The creation story is the story of where we all really come from. This passage from Genesis gives us some splendid reasons to realize our origins are remarkable.
Home
October 6, 2019 • Pastor Joe Brosious
Chapter 29 from Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:11-14) is focused on that longing for a home. It’s a letter from 587 BCE written by the prophet to the Israelites who have been taken captive and exiled to the Babylonian Empire after the fall of Jerusalem. They’ve been gone so long they’ve forgotten how to even dream of their home.
Seeking God's Will in Prayer
October 13, 2019 • Pastor Chris Enstad
In Jeremiah 29 we hear of God’s expectation that his people be found at prayer. “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.” These words from Jeremiah to the exiles are a reminder to them and to us that God has promised to listen to our prayers to him. This is a powerful and humbling reminder that the God who created us seeks to be in a relationship with us. Our personal contact with God affects the course and nature of our relationship with Him. Have you ever found relationships with little to no communication to be satisfying to you? The same goes for your relationship with God.
Love Unconditionally
July 21, 2019 • Pastor Joe Broscious
So the Brosious family has been out and about this summer a little, which usually means loading up the minivan – the family truckster – and heading out on the open road. Some of you love that sort of thing, and others I know would probably rather get a root canal. But entering my seventh year in Wisconsin, I can honestly say I have developed a love/hate relationship with summer. I LOVE the summertime and being outdoors in the sunshine. But I absolutely hate & detest to the very core of my inner soul, road construction! When I first arrived in Madison, I remember someone telling me the state tree was a traffic cone. And I didn’t quite get it at the time, but now in my seventh summer, now I get it.
God Cares for Us
June 23, 2019 • Pastor Dara Schuller-Hanson
My friend’s mom is a labor and delivery nurse with 40 years of experience. She has seen a lot and when my friend and I were pregnant at the same time, she had much wisdom to share, which helped answer the many questions of new moms. One of the things she has noticed over the years is that when a mother comes in anxious, unsure if she can do it, worried and stressed out especially about labor and delivering their baby — the nurses relieve so much worry by sharing a simple statement: “We’ll take good care of you.” In her nursing experience over the years, she has shared this simple statement with countless women. And for each new mom it is this exact thing that they need to hear: that they aren’t alone, they aren’t forgotten, that in the middle of this big, life-changing thing that is about to happen, there will be people who will help care for them. And knowing that they will be taken care of causes a physical change within each woman — she can relax and focus on what she needs to do knowing she isn’t alone.
Biblical Love
May 26, 2019 • Pastor Joe Broscious
Words like PEACE are important in an age when Language has been weaponized. When we have allowed ourselves to be categorized according to the world’s terms, Not God’s terms… We fight TO be categorized in certain ways… actually… DON’T WE??? We fight to show others what and who we are aligned with. Especially in the age of social media When it’s so easy to share our opinions with the world. WORDS are important
"Whoever Listens to You, Listens to Me"
Pastor Sheryl Erickson
In our Gospel, Jesus sent 70 ambassadors ahead of him, in pairs, to every town and place where he himself intended to go. Among the many instructions Jesus told them, “Whoever listens you, listens to me.” July moves us into the height of travel season. As we drive or fly to other states or even other countries, I wonder, what others see in us when they meet us as Americans, or even as Wisconsinites? We are representatives to those we meet on our journey. What are their first impressions of us? Or us, of them?
A Faithful "I don't know"
December 30, 2018 • Pastor Dara Schuller-Hanson
Sometimes we think that God is far off, away from us doing more important things with more important people. But this story reminds us that Jesus was right there in the middle of ordinary life- living with his family, doing the things you do when we are part of a family, experiencing the things that make us grow. That is where God was. That is where God wanted to be. That is where God still is.
The Spirit Calls and Equips
June 9, 2019 • Pastor Chris Enstad
Sunday was the day of Pentecost. The Christian church recognizes this day, 50 days after Easter, as the “birthday” of the church. Acts 2 begins with the story of the mighty, rushing wind that created unity among those gathered together even in the midst of a diversity of languages and voices. I wonder if that should not be the picture of the Christian church we hold up today? Is there a way for us, as Christians, to remain unified in our diversity? Indeed, is there a way to remain united despite our diversity?