Sermons by Rory Naeve (Page 3)
Senior Pastor
Things Fall Apart
John 11 is one of my favorite passages. This sermon zooms in on Mary and Martha’s grief. Martha especially speaks a perfectly pointed barb at Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha is speaking the problem of evil in the most personal terms. Where is God in the midst of our pain? If bad things happen, then God either doesn’t care, can’t do…
Streams of Living Water
Sermon from March 26, 2017. The Gospel text is John 4:5-30, 39-42 which is read after the “sermon” today. The style is different than usual, but different causes us to pause sometimes. After the reading of John 4, the congregation was invited to the altar table to get a cup of water, mimicking the journey of the Samaritans coming down to the well to partake of…
Fortunate Son
Sermon from John 3:1-17. The title comes from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. It’s about how they aren’t men of means; they didn’t come from families of wealth or power. It’s appropriate for the day. Nicodemus has trouble thinking through what Jesus is teaching. For centuries, the idea of God’s favor and grace was about being descendants of Abraham, therefore heirs…
You (Don’t) Got This
Of all things, Jesus seeks out this temptation! He moves into the desert expressly for temptation and trial. Satan’s temptations are cruelly consistent with Jesus’ goals and desires, and yet he resists. Meanwhile, Adam and Eve cannot keep from eating one piece of fruit on the buffet table. This sermon is about giving up our desire for power over ourselves. Will power, but…
What Do You See?
There is so much going on in this passage that it’s easy for us to get lost in it all. It’s Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, but perhaps it’s not some story of a miraculous vision about Jesus. Maybe it’s more, and perhaps it is core to who we are.
You Do You
While their functions are different, the point of the salt and light comparisons are the same. Those who follow Jesus are meant to live out loud. If salt doesn’t give off a taste, it’s useless. If you’re going to hide a light under a basket, you’re going to snuff out the light, burn down the house, or at least hit your shin on the coffee table. In both examples, the…
Inside Out
The temptation in Matthew’s Gospel is to assume that our behaviors are what’s really important, sort of a works mentality. But Jesus challenges that notion and deepens the call upon his disciples by insisting that it’s not just actions, or physical reality that matters. Eventually, what’s going on in our minds and our hearts will find its way out. Anger and lust are…
