SERMONS

October 2025

We will take a fresh look at the Biblical roots of generosity, exploring God’s generous nature and our responsibility as stewards of God’s gifts.

Watch Past Sermons

Sermon Transcripts

Transcripts are updated as available, typically four days after the sermon is delivered. Thank you for your patience!

Past Sermon Series

October 2025

We will take a fresh look at the Biblical roots of generosity, exploring God’s generous nature and our responsibility as stewards of God’s gifts.

July 2025

Sabbath is more than just a day! Sabbath practice reorients us, putting us in right relationship with ourselves, others, and with God. God calls faithful people to sabbath rest and prayerful ceasing throughout our scriptures, and this summer we’ll spend some time reflecting on the ways we can experience and practice sabbath.

June 2025

As we journey through Eastertide, we’ll reflect on stories about Jesus’ post-resurrection experiences with the disciples. These texts invite us to see how Jesus meets us today and how God’s promises and calls on our lives changes the way we see the world and our ministries within it.

Eastertide 2025

As we journey through Eastertide, we’ll reflect on stories about Jesus’ post-resurrection experiences with the disciples. These texts invite us to see how Jesus meets us today and how God’s promises and calls on our lives changes the way we see the world and our ministries within it.

Lent 2025

In many Christian traditions, the seven last words (or sayings) of Jesus are read during worship on Good Friday. By broadening the tradition to a Lenten sermon series, we will allow more space to examine each saying and appreciate the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus’ words spoken through the pain and anguish of the crucifixion will shape our journey to the cross and our experience of the resurrection miracle. (Art is by Scott Erickson)

February 2025

Throughout February, the Narrative Lectionary will focus our study on the Gospel of Luke. In the assigned passages, Jesus heals three different people and raises a young man from the dead. Our series will invite us to grapple with the healing power of Jesus in scripture and to imagine how that healing power is still at work in our lives and the world.

Advent 2024

Holy things happen when we gather together. In Matthew 18, Jesus told his disciples “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” If we take the words of Jesus seriously then we must believe that every gathering is an opportunity to experience the presence of God. Our Advent series will help us explore how God shows up in scripture, and what stories of God’s presence teach us about the significance of the incarnation.

Fall 2024

Why do we worship as we do? If you are new to Idlewild or Presbyterianism, or if you have spent time in other worship traditions, you might have asked this question. The Presbyterian order of worship is meant to mirror the life of Christian faith, but seldom do we take time to examine the significance of the connection. Whether you are a lifelong Presbyterian or new to the tradition, Behind the Bulletin will help us connect our order of worship – Gather, Proclaim, Respond, and Send – with our daily practice of faith.

Summer 2024

During our summer sermon series, we will spend time learning (or relearning) the fundamentals of Reformed Theology. We will gain a better understanding of some familiar theological concepts like the Trinity and Sin as well as unpack some less familiar concepts like Sanctification and Justification. Through the worship, we hope to not only expand our vocabulary of faith, but to gain a better understanding of what it means to be Presbyterian.

Epiphany 2024

Over these 6 weeks, we will explore how the Kingdom of God is described in scripture and the ways the Kingdom breaks into the world today. We will wrestle with our calling to build for the Kingdom and how that calling changes our lives. The series will grow from the teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark allowing us to deepen our knowledge of the earliest gospel account as we learn about the Kingdom.

Advent 2023

We will learn from the Biblical witness how our ancestors in the faith navigated questions like ours amid the turmoil of their times, and we will wrestle with how we may faithfully claim that in Christ, a weary world rejoices.

Fall 2023

We will learn from the Biblical witness how our ancestors in the faith navigated questions like ours amid the turmoil of their times, and we will wrestle with how we may faithfully claim that in Christ, a weary world rejoices.

Summer 2023

The Psalms are a collection of songs, poems, and prayers that capture the breadth of the human experience. Through our summer sermon series, we will deepen our knowledge of scripture by exploring a different psalm each week. From praise to lament, thanksgiving to wisdom, the psalter will center our worship and help us become more familiar with the rich language and vivid imagery of the Bible.

Lent 2023

During Lent, we will prepare ourselves to live into the Paschal mystery (Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.) by exploring five parables that Jesus shared in the days leading up to his crucifixion. Jesus’ favorite teaching method will guide our learning as we prepare to proclaim the Paschal promise.

Advent 2022

This Advent worship series will focus on some of the overlooked and under-appreciated figures of the story of the Incarnation. As we wait and prepare, we’re going to focus on some of the folks who don’t get the attention that they deserve. Each of these “minor characters,” as we’re calling them, have something to teach us. Zechariah, Elizabeth, the angels, the shepherds, and the inn keeper are here to teach us about how it is that we actually prepare for the Incarnation of God.

Fall 2022

We will learn from the Biblical witness how our ancestors in the faith navigated questions like ours amid the turmoil of their times, and we will wrestle with how we may faithfully claim that in Christ, a weary world rejoices.

Fall 2022

Through our study of scripture, we will be reminded of our connection to God and one another through the Body of Christ. If you have felt some disconnection from the Divine or your friends, your church family or even yourself, we hope this series inspires reconnection.

Lent 2022

We are going to spend the Sundays of Lent moving through the stages of grief.. We’re going to learn a scriptural story that reveals a different stage of grief and then the ways in which God meets us in those places of loss. This series works to help you navigate the losses that our church has experienced, the losses we see in the world, and our individual losses. We will also work to understand the ways in which God meets us and walks this grief journey with us.