John 18: 33-37

We stand at the end of the church year.  It is New Year’s Eve in New York City and the ball has gone down and we are here to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  Who is Jesus for us?  Really for us?  What is our no equivocation answer?  He is King? 

If not, why not?  I expect while the scriptures are NOT John 3: 15-17, I will get to John 3: 15-17, particularly 17.  We can live according to the cynical values of Pilate or …. the choice is ours. 

This is the Reverend Tiffany Eddy in her debut sermon at Hilltop.  Tiffany is an Elder in the Oklahoma Conference, and spent five years on active duty in the United States Navy.  She now lives in Bluffdale, Utah and is participating in Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

This was United Methodist Women Sunday.  Tiffany spoke to the subject of empowerment!  i clipped a smidgen at the end whenTiffany was concluding.  Forgive me please.  

Our District Superintendent preaching on Kick Off Sunday.  Great Sermon.  Great!  Looks at what the church really is supposed to be and then ends with an enormous question.  The silence in the podcast was the silence that morning.  

Ephesians 4: 25-5:2

We are a new creation. 

Through a clear understanding of being that new creation, are now part of the body of Christ. 

Being part of that body calls on us to grow in love, not staying static but instead growing, growing, growing. 

The key is we are a new creation, putting away what we were, and embracing what is new

Ephesians 1 -- this is Mother's Day and we look at being a parent as a church.

Christ the King Sunday.  The last Sunday in the Church Year.  

This a mix of Genesis 1 and Psalm 8.  Both the choir and the praise band focused on the themes of creation and who are we?  My idea was to focus on the idea of through remembering, we are saying we believe.  I then moved to several "Continuity of God" ideas that connected our remembrance with anticipation ... 

First Sunday back after nine weeks gone.  The sermon was from 1 Corinthians 11: 24-27 or so and focused on the "big idea" of communion itself.  Take, bless, break, give.  This is also the Sunday where Eugene Peterson (of The Message) meets Ned Flanders (of The Simpsons).  Little longer than I meant for it to be -- was shooting for more like ten to twelve minutes, but ... it takes a while to get the pace and feel back, right?  At least that is the story and I am sticking to it!  

Our Scritpure reading this morning was from John 1:1-5. Pastor Mario discussed John's integration of philosophy and theology as he described Jesus as the eternal Logos (Word). We were encouraged to consider what it might look like if we understood Jesus to be a man of extraordinary ability, who is still as relevant to us today as he was to the people he touched during his earthly ministry 2,000 years ago. Pastor Mario concluded his sermon by sharing some thougths from Dr. S.M. Lockridge's famous, "That's My King." You can find a PDF of one of the variations of his famous sermon here. There is truly no one, quite like Jesus! 

Our Scripture reading was from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. Pastor Mario connected this passage of Scripture back to our series on Luke 15. We looked at our high calling as ambassadors of Christ, and were encouraged to live and lean into the reality of new creation as we live out our ministry of reconciliation. We are comforted by this fact: While it may be hard to see others, ourselves and the world from the perspective of new creation, we can do it. Why? Paul reminds us: He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf so we can become the righteousness of God. We live in a world in need of reconciliation. How will we respond?