Posts by pwsadmin
What We Hope For
What We Hope For by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat on February 23, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on Luke 7: 1-10 In January, last month, I was able to attend my annual gathering of United Church of Christ pastors at St. Pete Beach, Florida. As I say every year, this is an annual…
Read MoreStretch Out Your Hand
Stretch Out Your Hand by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat on February 16, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on Luke 6: 6-11 I’m not sure what is about to happen here, so I want to lead with my vulnerability and tell you that I’m not sure what I’m sharing with you this morning. I’m…
Read MoreDeep Water
Deep Water by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat on February 9, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on Luke 5: 1-11 So, do you believe me when I tell you that you’ve got a phone inside of you, ringing, every day? An old-fashioned phone with a handle. And every day we receive a call. We…
Read MoreGetting Stoned with Jesus by Rev. Adam Long on February 2, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on Luke 4: 21-30
Can you imagine how difficult it would be to stone someone? I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this, but there are logistics involved. How many stones do we need, what’s the size of the stones? It’s like one of those problems you have on a standardized test. If you have 40 people and…
Read MoreBody and Soul
Body and Soul by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat – January 26, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27-31 The experts and the biblical historians tell us that the city of Corinth at the time that Paul wrote his letter to the church in Corinth, that Corinth was, quote, “a…
Read MoreFudgsicles Beyond Measure
Fudgsicles Beyond Measure by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat – January 19, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio based on John 2: 1-11 The changing of water into wine. It only appears in the Gospel of John, that’s it. It was so important to John that he put it in the second chapter. It was really…
Read MoreStarting with Jesus
Starting with Jesus by Rev. Adam Long – January 12, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, based on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 I was recently speaking with my dad about cars. This is a topic he likes, and he was asking about a particular model, he was talking about the engine, and he said, “How much horsepower…
Read MoreThe Fullness of His Grace
The Fullness of His Grace by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat – January 5, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, based on John 1: 1-18 Unlike our words of meditation this morning, these words that Ian just read for us are part of our lectionary readings this morning, which means we share the reading and hearing…
Read MoreGrowing in Wisdom
Growing in Wisdom by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat – December 29, 2024, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, based on Luke 2: 41-52 This is one of our lectionary readings today that we share with Christian communities all over the world. There are a lot of congregations this morning taking a look at this passage. We…
Read MoreLight a Candle
Light a Candle by Rev. Dr. Jay Marshall Groat – December 24, 2024, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, based on Matthew 1:18-25 A last-minute, late-breaking development – I want to read a passage of scripture to you that’s not listed in our bulletin. It’s one that’s familiar to many of you. It is the first 14…
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