Sermons (Page 24)

October 25, 2015 “I’ve Got Your Number”

For Halloween, Pastor Tracy looks at “the second spookiest passage in the Bible,” about the number of the beast, in Revelation.  She explains that it was written when things looked hopeless for the early Christians, and they saw only two choices, both bad.  She finds parallel situations in our own lives, and shows that the real challenge…

October 4, 2016 “Unveiling Corinthians”

Pastor Tracy takes on a very troubling passage of scripture, one that has been used down through the centuries to rationalize treating  women as subservient to the will of men:  1 Corinthians 11:1-15,  However, she argues that, once we understand the historical context, we see that Paul was urging tactics that would help hide the radical nature of…

August 16, 2015 “A Lot to Reconsider”

The passages in Genesis describing  Lot, his daughters, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are among the most troubling in the Bible. They seem to condone attitudes about sex and the treatment of women that we find abhorrent. Pastor Tracy draws on the original Hebrew to arrive at a very different interpretation.

August 9, 2015 “The Courage to Try”

Starting from the Parable of the Sower, Pastor Tracy explores the weaknesses a simplistic faith built on a single dimension  (e.g. that religion is all about sin and salvation or that all answers can be found in a literal interpretation of the Bible.) She contrasts that with a mature faith rooted in multiple elements of belief and practice.…

August 2, 2015 “The Lord’s Prayer”

Did you know that there are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible, one for the poor and one for the rich?  And, did you know that neither says “Forgive us our trespasses”?  Pastor tracy explores these and other curiosities about the prayer we all think we know, and challenges us to take…

July 12, 2015 “Brave”

Tad Hopp graduated in June of this year from San Francisco Theological Seminary and is spending the summer as the administrator of our successful “Summer Camp” edition of the Homework Club.  In this, his first sermon since graduating, he takes a look at how people find the courage to stand up for controversial or unpopular…

July 5, 2015 “Hope in Dark Times”

Pastor Tracy looks at the story of the death of John the Baptist and finds a parallel with the recent violence against black churches in the south:  In both cases, the established power structure lashed out against a prophetic voice speaking truth. And, in both cases it was a sign that the powerful felt their grip on power…