Latest Sermons

Jeremiah ends with the fall of Jerusalem, destruction of the city, the palace of the king, the Temple of the Lord, and the execution and exile of all the people. God’s judgement on Judah for immorality, injustice, and idolatry that Jeremiah had prophesied for decades is finally realized. This judgment on God’s people is a […]

This sermon explores the final siege of Jerusalem through the contrasting responses of the vacillating King Zedekiah, the suffering prophet Jeremiah, and the courageous servant Ebed-Melech. It challenges us to move beyond a superficial faith and cultivate a deep, rooted obedience to God that stands firm in the face of suffering and cultural opposition.

This message was recorded from a home livestream due to a snow/ice storm that cancelled in-person services. The readings are from Psalm 139:1-18 in the Book of Common Prayer (2019), Jeremiah 18:1-12 and Romans 9:14-24 (ESV). God’s pronouncement through Jeremiah is through the enacted imagery of the potter forming and re-forming the clay. He says […]

Pastor Johnny Kurcina explores Jeremiah’s daring confrontation at the temple gates, where he warned that outward religious rituals are meaningless without a genuine heart-level relationship with God. God wants us to love Him with our whole hearts, without idols distracting us from what is important. He also wants us to love our neighbor and have […]

We all look for safety in strength, from little kids building forts to hide behind to adults building their life on something. But when the God of the universe came to his people to fulfill his promise of salvation, restoration, and peace, he did not come as a warrior king but as a baby born […]

All humans have a desire for home, a longing to be in the place and with the people that feels like “home,” especially for the holidays. But this innate desire is part of a longing for a home we are truly made for. In Isaiah 35, God promises Israel to bring them back home to […]

Although believers come from different cultures, backgrounds, and consciences, they are called to live in unity by treating disputable matters with grace and love.  Paul places responsibility on the “strong” to lay down their freedoms for the sake of the “weak”, modeling the self-giving sacrifice of Christ.  The ultimate goal is a generous family of […]

As we begin in Esther, we read about the introduction of Esther, or Hadassah, to the court of the King of Persia. Johnny talks about the importance of good stories, life in the king’s court, and how God often works in simple and unremarkable ways through simple and unremarkable people.

In Nehemiah 9, we see the people of Israel go through a confession of their sin after the Feast of Booths, as well as a prayer from Ezra, going through the Old Testament, showing God’s blessings followed by Israel’s unfaithfulness. Johnny talks about the importance of trusting God in times of wealth and of poverty.

Nehemiah is faced with a conflict within the community. The poor, facing burdensome taxes and a famine, have had to take out loans but their creditors, their fellow Jews, are exploiting them with exorbitant terms. Many have lost their lands, vineyards, homes, their very source of income and identity, and some have had to sell […]

In Ezra 7 and 8, the priest and scribe, Ezra, arrives on the scene for the first time in the book. Ezra is authorized by the Persian king, Artaxerxes, to lead a 2nd wave of exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem to see to the restoration of faithfulness to the Law of God. How did […]

This week, we read about the first steps the returning exiles take towards rebuilding the temple. Johnny recognizes the work it takes to rebuild this temple, and the laments of the oldest exiles as they compare the new foundations to Solomon’s temple.