Zions Stone UCC

Pastor Mike preaches on St. Paul's comparison of the church with a body. Just like a body has many parts, the church- as Christ's body- is also made of many parts. This should then lead to unity among the diverse members and dependence upon one another. Year C: Third Sunday after Epiphany: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 • 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a • Luke 4:14-21

Pastor Mike preaches on the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and how Jesus passing through the water of baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit, water and fire, sets the pattern for those who would follow him. Theophany Year C: Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Pastor Mike preaches on the story of the Magi journeying to see Jesus and how they as Gentile unbelievers, who did not have the law or the prophets, are able to see what Herod and the religious leaders would not, and could not, see. Epiphany, Year C: Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12

Pastor Mike preaches on the typology present in the story of Hannah and Samuel and Mary and Jesus, and the importance of a mother in shaping the faith, and sense of mission, of their children

Pastor Mike preaches on how remnants of of the spiritual remain inside, what has largely become, a secular holiday, how the blessed Virgin was a necessary participant in God's plan, and how the Magnificat upends everything.

Pastor Mike continues through the Advent season by speaking on John the Baptizer and his mission and message of preparing the way for the coming of the Lord, as well as how our hearts are prepared for the coming of Christ both in his incarnation and as the returning judge.

Pastor Mike opens the Advent season by preaching on how Advent shows us the promise of coming salvation, our receiving and lived experience of salvation in the present, and full realization of our salvation at the return of Jesus.

Pastor Mike finishes the series Pray Like Jesus just in time for Advent! He preaches on the necessity for disciplined times of prayer as well as using the Lord's Prayer as an outline for your own personal prayers.

Pastor Mike preaches on the part of the Lord's Prayer where we ask not to be led into temptation, knowing that God does not tempt us and that we can trust that he will deliver us from trouble even as we walk in the midst of it.

Rev. Dr. Bonnie Bates, the Conference Minister for the Penn Northeast Conference, joined us on Veteran's Day and preached on courage and hope as modeled by Ruth, Naomi, and the poor widow who gave all she had. The selection "What is a Vet?" is attributed to Jonathan Busch.

Pastor Mike preaches on forgiveness in the Lord's Prayer. Our debts and trespasses pile on us like weights and we need forgiveness from God for those sins as well as forgiving those who have sinned against us so that weight can be lifted.

What does Phil Collins, MTV, and the prosperity gospel have to do with asking God to give us our daily bread? And are we only asking for God to meet our physical needs or is there something deeper? Pastor Mike continues his series on the Lord's Prayer and preaches on "Give us this day our daily bread."

Pastor Mike preaches on why we pray for God's kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it done in heaven. We are asking for the kingdom to come in its fullness and learning how to align our will with the will of God.

Pastor Mike begins a new series, Pray Like Jesus, focusing on the Lord's Prayer and how it functions as our crutch, road, and lesson. He also preaches on what it means when we pray to our Father in heaven and what it means, and how, we can hallow God's name.

Pastor Mike concludes the sermon series on the Apostle's Creed by preaching on what it means to confess the resurrection and eternal life. We are to be resurrected as embodied, not disembodied, human beings animated by the life of God and how presenting the faith as dying and going to heaven doesn't reflect the fullness of what Scripture teaches.

Pastor Mike preaches on what it means when we confess our belief in the forgiveness of sins. Christ's atoning work has cleansed us from the sin we all bear because of our humanity, but we still struggle. When we sin we need to acknowledge it and confess it to God and to one another to experience forgiveness.

Continuing the series through the Apostles Creed, Pastor Mike preaches on what it means when we confess that the church is catholic and how that ties in with us being in communion with the saints.

Continuing through the sermon series on the Apostles Creed, Pastor Mike preaches on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an energy field or personless force, The Holy Spirit is God. He also preaches on how the Holy Spirit, though "invisible" is made visible.

Continuing the sermon series on the Apostle's Creed, Pastor Mike speaks on Christ being seated and how he is interceding for us and reigning over all things. Jesus is also returning to judge which comforts us in that all evil will be accounted for and gives us hope that we will see the fulfillment of our salvation.

Pastor Mike continues his series through the Apostles Creed preaching on Jesus' resurrection & ascension, and how the resurrection of Jesus is central to the Christian faith in that there is no Christianity without the resurrection. He also uses an icon of the resurrection of Jesus to show what it means when we say Christ is victorious over sin and death and how Christus Victor is the main way we understand the atonement.

Pastor Mike preaches on what it means when it says in the Apostles Creed that Jesus died, buried, and descended to the dead. He talks about the differences between Hell and Hades and how Jesus' descending to the dead is a act of victory.

Continuing through the series on the Apostles Creed, Pastor Mike preaches on Jesus' suffering, the mention of Pontius Pilate, the crucifixion, and what it accomplished. He also touches on the shame that comes with sin and how Jesus deals with that through his cross.

Pastor Mike continues his series through the Apostles Creed and preaches on Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin birth is not an isolated story in Scripture but a continuation of the miraculous birth stories in the Old Testament and Mary's assent to God's will is a model for our own obedience.

Pastor Mike continues his series through the Apostles Creed and preaches on what it means to call Jesus the only begotten Son as well as Christ and Lord.

Pastor Mike continues his Sunday sermon series on the Apostles Creed by preaching on what it means that God the Father is the Almighty Creator. We see that God's power is best seen through the cross of Jesus Christ and how creation itself is an act of love where God creates humanity to reflect his image to the broken, yet good, world.

Pastor Mike takes a break from the summer series, Credo, to preach on how God is regathering his scattered people, Jew and Gentile, to create a new people who are all one in Jesus Christ.

In part two of our sermon series on the Apostles Creed, Pastor Mike preaches on why we call God, the Father even though Scripture at times uses feminine imagery to speak of God.

Pastor Mike begins his summer sermon series, Credo. In it he begins to talk about what our faith teaches by focusing on the Apostles Creed and how confessing that creed ties us in with the church throughout time, before ending on how faith grasps on to what God has done.

Pastor Mike preaches on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and, how like St. John, our lives are lived in service to Jesus Christ.

Pastor Mike preaches on St. Paul's words on how those in Christ are new creations and how the tension in the Christian life is the battle between the old and the new.

Pastor Mike preaches on how St. Paul's perspective on how his sufferings caused him to display Christ helped him to see those sufferings as momentary in the light of eternity.

Pastor Mike preaches about how the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ has been given to us, we are clay jars, and how this -on the surface -seems counter intuitive but how God has chosen to spread the proclamation of Jesus as Lord. He also deals with St. Paul's suffering for the Corinthians and what that means for our own suffering today.

Pastor Mike preaches on Isaiah's call narrative and how his vision of God lays out our own worship as well as our vocation as Christians.

In this Pentecost sermon Pastor Mike speaks on the confusion of the languages at Babel and how upon the outpouring of the Holy Spirit humanity is reunited, in their own cultures, languages, and contexts under Jesus Christ. He also speaks on how the Spirit helps us cut through the confusing babble of life to see Jesus.

Pastor Mike speaks on how those who have the Son have life and how those who do not have the Son do not have life. He also speaks on the life of Christ as the testimony of God himself before touching on the witness of Mary and Joseph.

Pastor Mike preaches on the tension between the fear of God being the beginning of wisdom and perfect love casting out fear. He also touches on what is meant by Jesus being the atoning sacrifice for our sin.

Pastor Mike preaches on Psalm 23 and how it describes our lives in Christ.

Pastor Mike preaches on the story of the healing of the paralytic in Acts chapter 3 highlighting the apostolic preaching of Peter of Jesus as the suffering, crucified, & risen messiah and what we can learn about God's work of inner healing to those who have faith in the name of Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, Pastor Mike preaches on the gospel and our response to the proclamation of the risen Christ. We are to receive and hold fast even as we proclaim the good news of Jesus to others.

Pastor Mike contrasts the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the triumph of Titus as he entered Rome, after conquering Jerusalem 30ish years later. Titus came in lavish splendor but Jesus came in the power of humility.

Pastor Mike preaches on God's promise to make a new covenant with his people, and how in this new covenant God will forgive sins, all will know him, and we will be united with him.

Pastor Mike speaks on the story of the fiery serpents sent to bite the Israelites and the bronze serpent on the pole- which brought healing to those who looked at it- and how Jesus uses it to teach a lesson about how his death on the Cross will bring salvation to those who believe.

Drawing from 1 Corinthians, Pastor Mike speaks on the Cross as the folly and wisdom of God as well as how the Cross IS the sign the Jews demanded as well as the answer to the arguments of the Gentiles.

Pastor Mike speaks on how singing, glorying, seeking, and remembering God's gracious acts towards us helps us focus on the light of Christ, whose light will be hidden from those who reject him.

Pastor Mike preaches on Peter's confession of Christ and his subsequent rebuke by Christ after trying to keep him from the journey to the cross. Like Peter, we don't know God's plan, and even when he shares it we often misunderstand and try to make it match with our own ideas.

Pastor Mike speaks about how we like the heroes of the Old Testament, and like Jesus, meet both God and the tempter in the wilderness. Unlike the OT heroes Jesus did not fall into temptation and the lenten practices of giving, praying, and fasting help us to resist the tempter and to turn our hearts towards God.

Pastor Mike speaks about the need for penitence and humility as we endeavor to battle the source of all sin: pride. Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are all mortal, and that in light of our mortality we should seek a heart of wisdom.

Pastor Mike speaks on the story of the Transfiguration and how the revelation of the deified Christ helps refocus our worship and sharpens our sin blurred vision .

Pastor Mike continues his series by speaking on the call to mission. Drawing from St. Paul's description of his laying his apostolic rights aside for the sake of his mission of gospel proclamation we too are called to lay our rights aside as we seek to serve those in need with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Mike speaks on the second part of the call to relationship by outlining some of the issues St. Paul faced in Corinth and how we as a church community can learn to love one another and mitigate offenses through honest communication.