Sermons

[Edited] 8th Sunday after Pentecost – July 26, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/July%…Pastor Joshua SullivanAssistant Minister: Sarah MoyerLector: Sandy MooreCantor: Rhonda Geyer[The portion of the service with Eucharist have been removed. We have decided as a congreation that Holy Communion is for live stream gatherings only.]

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Monday, July 27, 2020

Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Scary words from Matthew today: “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Our country, our culture, feels like a furnace of fire right now. Each and everyone with much weeping and gnashing of teeth is trying to find some kind of moral high ground from whichever side they are on.

On a very personal level I, myself, tend to side with those who are oppressed. Shaped by my faith, my loyalties skew towards those who cry out, like our ancestors the Israelites did in slavery in Egypt, like our savior did abandoned on the cross. But I’m not naive. I know enough to know my views are my own, and that many people disagree with me with deep values and loyalties of their own.

Continue reading “Train Us, Jesus, to Unlearn—Jul. 26, 2020”

Wednesday Evening Prayer Service – July 8, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/Wed%20Streaming%207-8-2020.pdfPreaching: Pastor Joshua Sullivan

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Jeremiah 13:1-11;
John 13:1-17

This was a casual reflection given without notes, see the video above.

Reverend Joshua N. Sullivan – All That Are Weary

Fireside Chat – conversation with Chief Kenny and Lt. Gargen

Posted by Bethlehem Baptist Church on Sunday, July 5, 2020

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

It is an absolute honor to be gathered together with you this morning, to be in the Spirit of God together. So, when Pastor Quann and I Pastor Philip Krey from St. Andrew’s were talking, and Pastor Quann invited me to preach here today, I asked, “Is there any special Scripture I should preach on?” And he smiled and said, “Whatever you like, just come and bring the Word.”

Continue reading “All That Are Weary—Jul. 5, 2020”

[Edited] Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – June 28, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/June282020.pdfPresiding: Pastor KreyPreaching: Pastor Sullivan Assistant Minister: Deb Beck Lector: Lynne Wescott[The portion of the service with Eucharist have been removed. We have decided as a congreation that Holy Communion is for live stream gatherings only.]

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Monday, June 29, 2020

Jeremiah 28:5-9
Romans 6:12-23

Good morning! I feel like it’s been a long time since Pastor Krey and I have been in the same room on a Sunday! So, today is one of those Sundays where I am going to focus not on the Gospel (Pastor Krey did a good job with the children’s sermon). Instead, I would like to focus our attention on the lessons from Jeremiah and Romans.

During this episode in Jeremiah from chapter 28, the king had a huge problem. A bigger, stronger nation named Babylon was coming to take over. And the word that the prophet Jeremiah heard from God was that the kingdom of Judah was in big trouble.

Jeremiah put a wooden yoke around his neck, and waltzed into the palace of king Zedekiah, and said, “See this yoke, it’s God’s sign that it’s all over. All your prophets are liars and imposters. Unless we submit to the coming Babylonians we will lose everything.” This is exactly the opposite of what the king wanted to hear, of course. So another prophet, named Hananiah, a pet prophet of the king, grabs Jeremiah’s yoke off his shoulders and breaks it, and says, “Ah ha! Just like that, we are going to win against our enemies.”

And then Jeremiah says something very sad and profound which we heard in chapter 28.

Continue reading “We’re in Trouble—Jun. 28, 2020”

Second Half of June 17, 2020 – Wednesday Evening Prayer

Sometimes technical difficulties happen! Please check out this cleaner version of the 2nd half of the service.

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Proverbs 4:10-27
Psalm 105:1-11,37-45
Luke 6:12-19  

This was a casual reflection given without notes, see the video above.

The Emanuel 9, killed by Dylann Roof on June 17, 2015:
CLEMENTA PINCKNEY
MYRA THOMPSON
SHARONDA COLEMAN-SINGLETON
DEPAYNE MIDDLETON-DOCTOR
DANIEL SIMMONS
CYNTHIA HURD
ETHEL LANCE
SUSIE JACKSON
TYWANZA SANDER

Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 14, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/June142020-1.pdfMusic Sunday Presiding – Pastor Philip KreyPreaching – Pastor Joshua Sullivan Assistant Minister – Deb Beck Lector – Karen HearnQuartet – Beautiful Savior, performed by Kristen Strouse, Amy Belloff, Timothy Belloff and Mike Seagreaves

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Sunday, June 14, 2020

Psalm 100
Matthew 9:35-10:23

So, here we are on music Sunday! And I know… there is not one of us who does not love some form of African American music. We are all proud of our nation’s heritage of Gospel, Folk, Blues, Country, Rock n’ Roll and Jazz—R&B, Hip Hop, Dance, Pop, Showtunes and more! You must know, all the roots of all these genres are firmly planted in the songs of lament and hope, joy and perseverance of the Black people of our nation’s history and present.

When we as white folks share these songs, and when we listen closely to the meaning of all these kinds of music, we do very important work. These songs, and especially our hymn of the day chosen today by Brian, these songs are Black songs. Beautiful Black songs about Black stories for Black people, and that’s a wonderful thing.

Continue reading “Sent to Listen and Sing—Music Sunday, Jun 14, 2020”

Wednesday Evening Prayer Service – June 3, 2020

Link to Bulletin: Presiding: Pastor Joshua Sullivan

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Numbers 11:24-30
John 7:37-39

This was a casual reflection given without notes, see the video above.

Sunday Worship [Edited] – Pentecost – May 31, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/May312020.pdfPresiding: Pastor Philip Krey Preaching: Pastor Joshua Sullivan Assistant Minister: Rhonda GeyerLector: Everett WickHymn of the Day: Kristen Strouse, Rhonda Geyer, Joshua Sullivan, Cayle Hamman

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Sunday, May 31, 2020

Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23

Getting ready to talk with you all today, about Pentecost, about the festival when we remember the Holy Spirit coming to the earliest church, I was talking with my wife Maddy about the color red. It’s the color that represents the fire of the Holy Spirit we heard about in the lesson from Acts. I asked her what she thought about the color red, what it represents to her. And as she scrolled through social media full of pictures of protest and grief, she said anger.

She said anger and she’s right, red does mean anger in our culture. And one way or another, this week we have all been seeing red. Our nation is seething with anger. Raw from anxiety in this pandemic, anger begets more anger.

Continue reading “Seeing Red, but Feeling the Spirit—Pentecost, May 31, 2020”

Wednesday Evening Prayer Service – May 20, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/Wed%20Streaming%205-20-2020.pdfPresiding: Pastor Joshua Sullivan

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Deuteronomy 31:1-13
John 16:16-24

This was a casual reflection given without notes, see the video above.

Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 17, 2020

Link to Bulletin: https://www.standrewsperkasie.org/May172020-3.pdfPresiding – Pastor KreyPreaching – Pastor SullivanAssistant Minister – Rhonda GeyerLector – Karen HearnHymn of Day – Chief of Sinners (performed by Sarah Moyer, Amy Belloff and Tim Belloff)

Posted by St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Perkasie, PA on Sunday, May 17, 2020

Acts 17:22-31
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

We’ve done something this morning as a community, that we haven’t done in a while! Not since Holy Thursday, actually, on April 5th. We have confessed our sin. Now, normally, the Sundays after Easter are a very happy and joyful time. We celebrate Christ’s victory over death, and the completion of God’s plan to restore us to our true identity as God’s children. So, lately, in celebration,  we have been thanking God for our baptism, the sign of this true identity, as Pastor Krey and myself have been splashing around in the baptismal font.

But, this morning we confessed instead—something equally as beautiful as baptism, I think.

Continue reading “Confessing Our Sin in the Spirit—Easter 6, May 17, 2020”