Rev. Zach

Isaiah 9:2-7 I’m so glad you are here! Through whatever difficulties it took to get here tonight, you made it! Through whatever trials you’ve been through this year, you’ve made it to this night. We have come together. We have made it through another year to come together and celebrate the journey of two peasants who traveled across territories and borders in order to protect the most valuable gift ever given – the child who would grow to become the one we call Jesus. This was God in God’s most vulnerable state. It seems funny to say that they protected God in God’s most vulnerable state, but in a way that is exactly what they did. It seems odd to think that we might be given that same opportunity – right here, right now – but in a way we are. That may not be what you came for – the opportunity to care for God in God’s most vulnerable state – but it is the reason you are here. The gift of Christmas – the reason for the season – is that we are confronted with the fact that God loves u

Isaiah 7:10-16     Romans 1:1-7     Matthew 1:18-25 What the world needs now is love, sweet love It's the only thing that there's just too little of What the world needs now is love, sweet love, No not just for some but for everyone. Every Sunday morning I am awakened by the incomparable Dionne Warwick singing those words. It is one of the ways that I remind myself about the tasks ahead. You might ask why I don’t have that reminder set for every day. That’s because, on most other days, I am awakened by Dave Matthews, screaming, “Pick me up, love, every day!” You might find it odd that I feel the need to be reminded so blatantly and so often that I am bolstered, carried, and even dragged out of bed by love, but it is very true. You may find it hard to believe that I have to remind myself every Sunday that the heart of what I am called to do is to answer the greatest need in the world by proclaiming that we are, in fact, loved, but it is very true. While I’d lik

Isaiah 11:1-10     Romans 15:4-13     Matthew 3:1-12 It may sound strange to hear it, but I’ve been waiting to call you all a brood of vipers all week! It’s not because you are particularly horrible. It just seems like a funny thing to say in the era of church shopping and relational ministry. It’s kind of a tough sell that John the Baptizer dishes up this week. Isn’t it? Just like a few Sundays back – when we had Christ on the cross – it seems kind of “Lenty”. It seems less “Silent Night” and more “Balm in Gilead.” Maybe that’s why – even more than calling you vipers – I’ve wanted to wish you a penitent Advent. We seem to be so caught up as a culture over saying, “Merry Christmas,” that we’ve forgotten what it means. We forget that wishing someone a Merry Christmas actually refers to the day of the “Christ Mass” and the days that follow are actually the Christmas season. We’ve allowed culture to dictate what the church once proclaimed. We’ve forgotten that there are some thi

Isaiah 2:1-5     Romans 13:11-14     Matthew 24:36-44 Hope Can’t Wait, a poem by the Rev. Sarah Are:             Someone once told me that hope was naive—      A foolish game that children play When they pray that summer won’t end,            And bedtime won’t come.                                                             Someone once told me that hope was naive as they Cradled pessimism in their lap like a sleeping cat, Stroking their ego while they stoked a fire within me.                                                             Unfortunately for them, I’m allergic to cats. And unfortunately for them, those who deny hope Will never know vulnerability; For hope requires us to believe in a better day— Even when this one is falling apart.                                                             Hope looks the 24-hour news cycle in the face,  Hope looks our broken relationships in the face, Hope looks our low self-esteem in the face, A