Worship Sermons and Programs in 2012

The sermons are audio files, recorded in .mp3 format.  The programs are in Adobe .pdf format.

We encourage you to read the scriptures before you come to worship as part of your spiritual discipline and preparation for worship.

Sunday, February 26 - 1st Sunday in Lent
Blessed Connections - Water: essential to life, complicit in death. We are born of water and cannot live without it, but tsunamis and mud slides remind us water is not under our control. We should be wary – but also give thanks: today’s readings remind us that water cleanses and heals.  Through water we are rescued.
Focus Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17, Additional Scriptures: Psalm 25: 1-10, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15
Linda J. Miller, preaching  

Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. - Ash Wednesday
Touchstones of the season: Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday  
The Lent and Easter seasons include a number of special occasions, encouraging a full range of emotions and experiences from great solemnity and humility to great joy and exultation. It’s amazing journey that can seem not only exhausting but also disorienting. Some of the special occasions for worship can offer touchstones to the season or blazes on the trail that keep us on track. The special worship services will be linked to one another through a number of symbolic actions as a way to give orientation to the season as a whole. It is our hope that these services will help our faith community feel a sense of collective journeying, travelling together on a difficult but ultimately gracious path to new life.  

Sunday, February 19 - Last Sunday after the Epiphany / Transfiguration Sunday
Thin Places - This week’s scriptures reveal varied theophanies that house various images of God, and thin moments where the veil between the holy and the ordinary is thin or lifted. The challenge is to be present in those thin moments that are given to us.
Focus Scripture: Mark 9:2-9, Additional Scriptures: 2 Kings 2:1-12, Psalm 50:1-6, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching  
program-2012-02-19.pdf

Sunday, February 12 - 6th Sunday after the Epiphany
Celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Prison Congregation at Mitchellville
Scouting Ministries Sunday
Healing Presence - There are several threads running through these scriptures.  One is seeking healing and finding it in unexpected places – in a foreign kingdom, in a public place with Jesus, in the words of a psalm marking the end of mourning. A second thread is the recognition that healing is a gift  and not a reward. A third thread is the fact that God’s love does not discriminate.  A fourth thread is found in the role that passion plays in ministry.
Focus Scripture: Mark 1:40-45 , Additional Scriptures: 2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
sermon-2012-02-12.mp3 (9.6 MB, 21 min) - Rev. Lee Shott, pastor at Women at the Well UMC, preaching
program-2012-02-12.pdf
announcements-2012-02-12.pdf   

Sunday, February 5 - 5th Sunday after the Epiphany
Sacrament of Holy Communion
Sustaining Ministry - What is our role in proclaiming the gospel and in becoming healers in our time and circumstance? Sustaining balanced ministry requires respect for all for all God’s creation.
Focus Scripture: Mark 1:29-39, Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
sermon-2012-02-05.mp3 (8.19 MB, 18 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-02-05.pdf    

Sunday, January 29 - 4th Sunday after the Epiphany / 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
With Authority - Authority is a common thread in the scriptures for the week. In the gospel of Mark, “Jesus has the authority to help someone move from a state of uncleanness to a state of holiness.” (Rabbi Adam Morris) Paul describes an authority based in concern for the spiritual lives of others. What is the basis of your authority? How does that authority impact on the manner in which we live as individuals and the church? 
Focus Scripture: Mark 1:21-28, Additional Scriptures: Deuteronomy 18:15-20, Psalm 111, 1 Corinthians 8 :1-13
sermon-2012-01-29.mp3 (10.3 MB, 22 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-01-29.pdf   

Sunday, January 22 - 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany / 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Moving Forward - The nature and acknowledgment of call is an integral part of each of this week’s scripture readings. Following in the way of Jesus means leaving behind past ways of life and moving into a new future. We can respond to God’s call trusting in God’s steadfast, constant love. To what is God calling us?
Focus Scripture: Mark 1:14-20, Additional Scriptures: Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Psalm 62:5-12, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
sermon-2012-01-22.mp3 (9.5 MB, 20 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-01-22.pdf   

Sunday, January 15 - 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany / 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Called and Recalled - Each of the readings relate to call. Samuel’s call is to prophesy to Eli with a message that is hard to give and to hear. The psalmist’s call is one to know and to be known by God who creates everything. Paul’s message to the Christians in Corinth is a call to live out their freedom guided by the community. John calls followers and acknowledges the role of signs in the process. How do we relate our personal calls with calls to community?
Focus Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-20, Additional Scriptures: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51
sermon-2012-01-15.mp3 (6 MB, 13 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-01-15.pdf

Sunday, January 8 - 1st Sunday after the Epiphany / 1st Sunday in Ordinary Time
New Beginnings - On this Baptism of Christ Sunday the scriptures speak of God’s creation and ongoing care of it. God’s divine voice is praised in the psalm, speaks into all creation in Genesis, and is heard by Jesus at his baptism. How do I/you/we respond to the Divine voice calling us to new directions in our lives?
Focus Scripture: Mark 1:4-11, Additional scriptures: Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7  
sermon-2012-01-08.mp3 (8.5 MB, 19 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-01-08.pdf

Sunday, January 1 - 1st Sunday after Christmas / Observing Epiphany
Called to Gift - We recognize that God calls us to live in ways that acknowledge God’s grace. We are provided with the gifts and skills that allow us to live out our calling through God’s grace, while recognizing the universal God who loves us.
Focus Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12, Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 1-14, Ephesians 3:1-12
sermon-2012-01-01.mp3 (4.7 MB, 10 min) - Rev. Linda M. Butler, preaching
program-2012-01-01.pdf