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  • I Love to Tell the Story
    2026/10/05

    Each year, Jews gathers to retell the story of the Passover and Exodus where God set Israel free. It's not just a retelling though. It is an invitation for hearers to be in the story as if God set them free too. Christians also have a story that invites us in as Jesus sets us free. The sermon is based on parts of Exodus 12, 13, and 15.

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    26 分
  • Between a Rock and a Hard Place
    2026/10/12

    As we turn to Exodus 14 and the story of the Israelites at the Red Sea, we hear how Israel is confronted with two impossible challenges - the sea and the empire. Death looks certain. And in the midst of that, God shows up and flips the script defeating the evil of empire and the evil of chaos. The sermon is based on Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29.

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    26 分
  • Two Words that Toppled a King
    2026/10/26

    We usually call the story of David and Bathsheba an affair or about adultery. The Bible tells a darker story. A king on his palace roof looks down, takes a woman who cannot say no, and has her loyal husband killed to cover it up. In this Reformation Sunday sermon on 2 Samuel 11–12 and Psalm 51, Pastor Matthew Best looks at what power does to people, how abuse gets protected by those around it, and how the church has sometimes been part of that pattern. He also looks at how God hears the voices the powerful try to silence, and how Jesus came down from the roof to make us fully human again.

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    27 分
  • About 2000 Years Ago
    2026/10/19

    What happens when our words say one thing and our actions say another? In Joshua 24, the people of Israel loudly promise to serve the Lord while their idols are still in their pockets. We all know that gap, in politics, in the church, and at home. Let's wrestle honestly with that gap and with the violence in the book of Joshua that so often gets skipped over, from the conquest of Canaan to today’s Christian nationalism. Let's tell the story and deal with it, while also telling the story of how God shows up and acts.

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    31 分
  • Where is God?
    2026/09/28

    Exodus 39 tells us a small piece of Joseph's story. He's unjustly incriminated and suffers as a result. But it's deeper than that. He's trafficked. What does this story have to say to us in 2026 and where is God in the midst of such horrible things? The sermon is based on Genesis 39:1-23.

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    31 分
  • God Remembers and Acts
    2026/09/14

    The Narrative Lectionary starts a new cycle. And it gives us the story of the flood. It's a difficult story but also rich with imagery and meaning and promise. In this story is horror and hope. And it addresses questions that have been with us for a long, long time - how did we get to this point? Is God distant or close? What's the deal with humanity? What's the good news in the midst of so much horrible things going on? The sermon is based on Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; and 9:8-17.

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    30 分
  • The Last Commandment May Be the Most Difficult
    2026/09/08

    We are at the end of our series on the Ten Commandments. The commandment may be the most difficult for us. It's about wanting what doesn't belong to us. The core of this is a message that tries to tell us that we aren't enough. Yet God reminds us that we are. The sermon is based on Exodus 20:17.

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    24 分
  • The Second Set of Commandments - You and Your Neighbor
    2026/08/31

    In this third week on the series of the Ten Commandments, we turn our attention to how we are to live in relationship with our neighbor. The second set of the Commandments also dive deeper by addressing the injustice of enslavement in order to establish a better way to be community. The sermon is based on Exodus 20:12-16.

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    23 分