This Sunday our own Clerk of Session and longtime COA member Lawrie Gardner preached a message on John 3:1-17. She has a gift for preaching, and our church was blessed to hear from her!
Link to readable sermon PDF
5/23/2021: YOUTH SUNDAY
This Sunday was a much-anticipated annual event at COA: Youth Sunday!
This means that the entire service was designed and/or led by our youth group members. This year, three of our seniors graduating from high school (Nathan Lime, Audrey McNeal and Hannah Urlock) presented a sermon. They chose the music, and the scriptures and they also led a very special Message for all Ages. The theme of this service is EXPECTATIONS.
The service also includes a blessing for all of the Class of 2021 with a special guest offering the prayer: former COA Interim Pastor Rev. Alison Halsey.
Make sure you watch this service and be ready to be inspired!
5/16/2021: Are we really “one in Christ”?
This Sunday, we continue on with Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia and come to a pretty famous line that says that now after Jesus, “here is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). What does such a promise even mean in our divided world today? What does it look like? Does unity demand that we all be the same? How can we as Christians model communities of diversity AND equity AND inclusion all at the same time? This issue is more timely today than ever, so please prayerfully think about it along with us at COA.
5/9/2021: What does it mean to be “Justified By Faith”?
This week’s sermon goes deeper into one of Paul’s epistles, or letters to a congregation he founded. They are still such a new project and still figuring out who they are. They are impressionable to all kinds of public opinion, not the least of which is a group among them that says they are making faith way too easy. They need to show a sign of their commitment. They need to prove they are “real Christians”. Paul has some strong and challenging words for them about this, and lays out this idea of being justified by the faith of Christ. We are going to explore more what that means. Maybe we can all stop trying so hard and white-knuckling our way to what we consider perfection, and instead try to let go and allow God’s grace to work in our lives (and in our churches).
5/2/2021: How do we Widen our Welcome?
This Sunday is Mental Health Awareness Sunday, in honor of May as Mental Health Awareness Month. The sermon today focuses on a story in the book of Acts about the early Church’s first major conflict about what people needed to do to be considered a part of the community. What are the requirements to belong? What barriers are still in place today that make people feel apart from us? How can we work together, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to break down these barriers as part of our mission.