Podcasts by Washington Street UMC Sermon Podcast
The weekly sermons from Washington Street UMC in Alexandria, VA.
To learn more about Washington Street UMC, check out the church online at www.wsumc.com.
Further podcasts by Washington Street UMC
Podcast on the topic Christentum
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Worship: Praise from 2021-07-11T14:00:29
The change in how we do worship over the past year brings up some necessary questions. How and why do we worship? Can we really worship at home on TV? Can we worship on a big screen at church? This...
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Why America Isn’t #1 from 2021-07-04T14:00:20
Yes, it's July 4, but that doesn't keep the prophet from speaking truth. The honest truth is, America isn't #1. Even as great as we might think ourselves to be, even the prophet couldn’t stand on h...
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Humility and Peace from 2021-06-27T14:00:33
I believe we have to ask questions, not just of others, but of ourselves. To ask ourselves if the people, ideological positions, or personalities we align ourselves with reflect the love, grace, an...
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The Mind of Christ from 2021-06-13T14:00:18
If it is the sin of seeking the knowledge of God that brings death in the Garden, it will be the knowledge of God that gives life through Christ. It is this knowledge of the divine that Paul believ...
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The Image of God from 2021-06-06T14:00:07
Life in the Spirit isn't just about our corporate identity, it also defines our personal identity. Being in the Spirit means being transformed, being shown, being called, being identified, being gi...
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Life in the Spirit from 2021-05-30T14:00:15
Following the gifting of the Spirit on Pentecost, we enter into an extended season in the Church, which we call “Ordinary Time.” It is a time to reflect on the life of Christ as a model for the lif...
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Empowered by the Spirit from 2021-05-26T14:18:45
As we celebrate Pentecost, it's helpful to consider the difference between the power of God in Christ and the power of God in the Holy Spirit. Understanding how the Spirit empowers the us is essent...
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The Ascension and Human Fragility from 2021-05-16T14:00:52
The Church has this historical problem of thinking that our knowledge of Christ gives us power over the rest of humanity. But the ascension makes clear: Jesus doesn’t embed himself in us. Jesus doe...
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Signs, Wonders, and Deep Debate from 2021-05-09T14:00:58
Perhaps this biblical story of the Jerusalem Council - this argument over the basic claims of the gospel - is more relevant to our time than we might think at first. The debate over accepting the G...
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A Freeing and Invitational Gospel from 2021-05-02T14:00:51
Hear this Church, we need to stop trying to limit who can receive the Good News – who can be welcomed into the body of Christ. It is our calling to preach and teach the good news, and then to rejoi...
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A Threat to Institutional Powers from 2021-04-25T14:00:26
The power of Christ and the work of the Church is a threat to societal powers – whether political or institutional. The power of Christ is a threat to any individual who seeks wealth and power for ...
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The Good News is Life Giving from 2021-04-18T14:00:03
We – the Christian Church – have strayed so far from whom God created us to be. In the coming few weeks we’re going to consider how we might reclaim for the Church our call and our witness. Today's...
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Where Do We Go From Here? from 2021-04-05T13:15:20
Easter is worth the celebration, but do we really know why we're celebrating? Do we fully understand the invitational power of God in the resurrection? Not only do we remember the Easter story, but...
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Method of the Opposition from 2021-03-28T14:00:52
Police cars and chariots have a lot in common. Their mere presence is a statement of power. Jesus was riding in to town using a borrowed bicycle. Across town, Pilate entered the city with sirens bl...
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The Movement Gathers Momentum from 2021-03-14T14:00:12
John 3:16 is one of the most well-known, often quoted scriptures in the whole of the Christian Bible. Yet, it is often used to chastise those of no faith for lacking faith. In its context, spoken b...
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The Day of Days | Stride Toward Freedom from 2021-03-07T15:00:14
Jesus' rage in the temple isn't just a statement against the corrupt economic practices that preyed on traveling pilgrims, it's also a statement about the witness of the presence of God. Jesus defi...
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Stride Toward Freedom: The Decisive Arrest from 2021-02-28T15:00:31
Mark 8:31 includes Jesus saying that he "must undergo" great suffering, and would die at the hands of the temple leaders. Still today, it is regularly debated in the church whether or not Jesus "ha...
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Stride Toward Freedom: Have You Ever Been Tempted? from 2021-02-21T15:00:14
Our guest preacher, Bishop Sharma Lewis, is the resident bishop of the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. There is no text available for this sermon at this time.
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Emmaus Road: The Transfigured One from 2021-02-14T15:00:17
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Their presence harkened back to the final text of the Old Testament, in which Malachi invites the faithful to remember the cov...
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Emmaus Road: The Suffering Servant from 2021-02-07T15:00:38
Isaiah promises that the Messiah to come will come as a suffering servant. This would have been an unexpected and unwelcome announcement by those who desired a warrior-like king to redeem them from...
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Emmaus Road: The Unlikely King from 2021-01-31T15:00:48
Zechariah promises a humble king to come, making his entrance on the back of a the colt of a donkey. This is an unlikely king who comes to rule with the full strength of God's peace. Make no doubt,...
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Emmaus Road: The Son of God from 2021-01-24T15:00:53
Jesus uses the Hebrew Scriptures to point to himself as the Messiah. Looking at 2 Samuel 7, it seems that not only does Jesus hail from the line of David, not only is Jesus the one who is called th...
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Emmaus Road: The City of David from 2021-01-17T15:00:33
In his use of the Hebrew Scriptures to point to his role as God's Messiah, Jesus probably would have used Micah's prophecy. Micah, like the other prophets, promises one who is to come who will not ...
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Emmaus Road: The Foretelling from 2021-01-10T15:00:55
What did Christ say to the disciples while walking the Emmaus Road? I wonder if the disciples walking down the path were bemoaning Christ’s absence and failure to fulfill their hoped-for vision of ...
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The Message of Christmas from 2020-12-27T15:00:50
WSUMC and Roberts Memorial UMC join together on this Third Day of Christmas to proclaim the Hope, Joy, Peace, Love, and Light of Christ.
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Christmas Eve 2020 from 2020-12-24T15:00:38
The birth of Christ is disruptive to the devastating pain of human frailty. The gift of God in Christ flips all of the societal expectations upside down, and whether shepherds who come in lowliness...
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Borrowing Hope from 2020-12-20T15:00:10
Pastor Kathy Escobar says that when hope is running low, sometimes the best thing we can do is borrow hope from one another. In the Magnificat, Mary provides more than enough hope for us all to bor...
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Hoping for a New Year from 2020-12-13T15:00:33
The paradox of Advent is that even in the darkness, there is a light. Even in our brokenness, there is healing. Even in our weariness, there is rest. The Advent promise is that the gift of God come...
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Lost in the Wilderness from 2020-12-06T15:00:25
There's power in memory. Mark uses the power of memory in the opening of his Gospel to frame the coming of Christ through the remembrance of God's saving acts in the history of Israel. Though not a...
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A Year End Lament from 2020-11-29T15:00:49
After a year that presented a plethora of challenges, it may be our desire to skip Advent and dive straight into Christmas. But not so fast! The good news of Emmanuel, God with us, is that we don't...
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The In and the Out from 2020-11-08T15:00:39
In the parable of the bridesmaids, we always want to identify with the bridesmaids who made it in to the wedding banquet. But is that really the best option? Was that group really the best witness ...
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The Great Multitude from 2020-11-01T15:00:31
This All Saints Day, we are reminded of the work God is already doing in the world, and the end to which God is already working. As we remember the saints, we don't celebrate their selfishness, or ...
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Fix Your Focus: Walk Humbly from 2020-10-25T14:00:56
The Bible is full of examples of what it means to 'walk humbly with your God,' and they help us understand what Micah is instructing to God's faithful community. But walking humbly isn't an isolate...
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Fix Your Focus: Biblical Humility from 2020-10-18T14:00:23
Micah calls the people of Israel to humbly walk with God. But what does a humble walk look like? Why don't we start with humility ... what is humility? Not an easy question to answer, but the Bibli...
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Fix Your Focus: Love Mercy from 2020-10-11T14:00:29
Mercy is the willingness of the one who has power to withhold such power, or to shift such power, for the purpose of God’s greater justice: so that all of humanity, all of God’s created, might shar...
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Fix Your Focus: Biblical Mercy from 2020-10-04T14:00
To a nation that was broken with transgression, Micah offers three simple instructions. The second of which is to 'love mercy." As we hear the prophet speaking to us today, to a nation torn apart b...
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Fix Your Focus: Do Justice from 2020-09-27T14:00:47
Justice is the desire of God, maintained throughout the Biblical text. Both the Old and New Testament stories proclaim this as the will of God. But the text also makes clear, this is Godly work we ...
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Fix Your Focus: Biblical Justice from 2020-09-20T14:00:57
We hear the word 'justice' thrown around a lot these days. "Social justice," "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg," "justice for Breonna Taylor," and so on. Micah, among other prophets, also used the word ...
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Fix Your Focus: Instructions to a Hurting Nation from 2020-09-13T14:00:50
In this midst of a continuing pandemic, and amidst the varying hardships overwhelming our nation, you make ask of God, what do you want of us? How can we see your divine healing in this land? Micah...
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The Power of the Tongue from 2020-09-06T14:00:53
In a political season, when words tend to fly freely from our mouths, it's important to remember the text of James 3. It’s not the tongue that curses and blesses, it’s the words we convey and expre...
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Pick Up Your Cross from 2020-08-30T14:00:11
Christ says, if you want to follow me, deny yourself and take up your cross. This is not a simple invitation. It is, as Peter found, a radical deviation from the powers and desires of empires. It i...
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Life Together: Peace from 2020-08-23T14:00:03
Let us not say “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. We must commit to the unequal and preferential option for Black lives, for, God knows, our Black brothers and sisters, in their bodies and in ...
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Life Together: Encouragement from 2020-08-16T14:00:47
Encouragement, which comes in many forms, is necessary for healthy and faithful relationships. We have the ability to encourage another by offering affirmation. And yet, sometimes we should not be ...
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Life Together: Be Yourself from 2020-08-02T14:00:26
Through acknowledgment of what is, by naming sin that exists, by naming our participation and benefit from sin, freedom becomes possible. Because of God’s love in Jesus Christ, we can claim our sin...
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Life Together: Slow Down from 2020-07-26T14:00:07
Why do we value multi-tasking so much? Why is American individualism defined by busyness? Perhaps we should slow down and acknowledge God's call, not for our own exceptionalism, but for a unified g...
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Life Together: Pay Attention from 2020-07-19T14:00:11
Listening is redemptive; it has the power to change lives and communities. If we’re going to see positive change in the world – if we’re going to see positive change in our own community – we have ...
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Life Together: Gratitude from 2020-07-12T14:00:36
In recent weeks, if it wasn't already known, it has become quite clear, we are an ungrateful people. We need a reset to rethink our relationships, our expectations, and our place in the community. ...
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A Charge for the Church of South Washington from 2020-07-05T16:00:20
Our work as the Church of South Washington is to lay claim to the promise of God in Jesus Christ, that we are not fully capable of being the Body of Christ, so long as any member of our God’s creat...
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The Community Rejoices from 2020-06-28T16:00:47
Whatever your worry - whatever binds you from being everything God has created you to be - through the power of God in Jesus Christ, you are loosed. The love of God in Jesus Christ frees you from a...
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Investing in the Community from 2020-06-21T16:00:38
God has blessed this world with more than we would ever need. And yet, so many still go without. As Christ was our example, our call is not to offer temporary relief that retains one's oppression, ...
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Community Catalyst from 2020-06-14T16:00:19
As we consider what it means to be a Community Catalyst, what does that look like in the world today where the church is not the withholder of power, but still proclaims God’s power? How does the c...
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The Gifts of the Community from 2020-06-07T16:00:52
The reason the American Dream is such a farce, is that America started with a vision that not all people were created equal – regardless what the Constitution says. But as the church, as God's peop...
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Practice Neighbor Love from 2020-05-31T16:00:23
The Spirit isn’t sent to make us comfortable. The Spirit isn’t sent to pat us on the back for the work that we’ve already done. The Spirit is sent that we might break down any barrier, any power, a...
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God’s People from 2020-05-24T16:00:52
God’s desire for the world is not that a few succeed, while the many suffer. God’s desire is for us all to thrive as one body, as one people, as one creation who live and love in a peaceable union....
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The Immeasurable Greatness from 2020-05-17T16:00:30
The role of the Church is to bear witness to Jesus and His love and power, at work to save the world. The immeasurable power of Christ, filling up the church, and overflowing through the Church, to...
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Exile Redeemed from 2020-05-10T16:00:31
It may be Easter in exile, but we are not left on our own to fend for ourselves. We are empowered by the risen Christ to claim that new life, eternal love, and God’s glory are designed for all peop...
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