Category: Kingdom

October 11, 2015, The Rev. Doyt L. Conn, Jr.

You see, church is meant to be a stepstool that we get on to look over the walls of our influence into the greater expanse of the Kingdom of God. And when we are up on that stepstool, we set our money on the wall. And then we put our hands on that wall, we fill our lungs with the air that God gave us to breathe, and we shout, “THANK YOU.” Then we scatter that money off the wall to the other side. For Jesus money was not about influence or impact. It was just another way for us to be in relationship with God. And within the church, it became an easy way for us to express our gratitude. And this kind of gratitude has a name in the church: it is tithing.

September 27, 2015, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching

The entire story of Esther–it’s a weird one!

September 20, 2015, The Rev. Doyt L. Conn, Jr.

Self-preservation is no longer bound by the edge of death. It’s reformulated into an eternal pattern of service to others, through Jesus, for God. And this can happen in so many ways, in as many ways as there are configurations of relationship. If someone is next to you or even near to you, you can serve them. No occupation is exempt from being an “occupation of service.”

January 11, 2014, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching

This is the feast of Epiphany. It is our Eponymous feast, or namesake feast, that we celebrate every year. But this year’s feast has increased significance as it marks the end of our 100 year building campaign. In truth Epiphany is a bit older than 100 years. She was founded in 1907. The Chapel was built in 1911. A timeline will be set at the back of the church after the service and I encourage you to take a look at it, and write on it. We have been handed a gem, a gift and tonight is the perfect night to celebrate what we have and what we are passing on.

September 9, 2013, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching

The word in Greek here is miseo, which means: “to love less.” Why it is translated as “hate” I have no idea. The statement can be better understood to read, “you can’t be my disciple if you don’t love your parents and children and spouse and sibling and even yourself less than you love God.”

April 28, 2013, Charissa Bradstreet preaching

We often hear at Epiphany that, “In the kingdom of heaven, relationship is primary; all else is secondary.” Relationship is primary. It’s an extraordinary statement, placing relationship above right thinking and right acting. It seems to suggest in fact that when we make relationship primary, that is how we know we are thinking and acting in a way that is congruent with the heart of God and the kingdom of heaven.