Santa Monica Nazarene Church

11.15.2020 - The Third Slave is Jesus - Matthew 25:14-46 (Matthew 25-26)

In this sermon we focus in particular on the two parables at the end of chapter twenty-five. The question of where is God in all of this guides us. We consider how in the parable of the talents, God is to be found in the third slave who is cast out, just as Jesus is about to be, because he doesn’t play according to the rules of the world. We consider in the parable about the sheep and the goats that we are about to see Jesus as all of these things: hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, a...

11.01.2020 - Matthew 23

In this sermon Pastor Jeffrey Purganan offers a wonderful pre-election sermon about who God is and what it means to be the church today, about how to navigate our way through political division, and what it means to put our trust in God.

10.25.2020 - God Likes Questions - Matthew 22

In this sermon we consider the role that questions play in the life of faith, that questions are how we come to esteem the sacredness of life as we learn how to see God in all things and all things in God. We consider how the problem was not that the Pharisees and Sadducees questioned Jesus, but that they’re weren’t actually questioning him. They had already decided what they think, thus closing themselves off from God. Their questions are actually questions we should never stop asking as we...

10.18.2020 - Beyond the Politics of Us vs. Them - Matthew 21

In this sermon we consider the prophetic words and ministry of Jesus speaking not just to God’s people in first century but to a divided church today living in a culture of us versus them. We consider how this chapter challenged us in our settledness about who we think God is and what it means to be God’s people. “I can’t think of a better time than an election year to read this chapter in order to remind us that we are Christians, not Republicans. We are Christians, not Democrats. Our po...

10.11.2020 - Jesus and Eyes - Matthew 20

In this sermon we talk about spiritual transformation of learning how to see. We consider how the envious laborers and power-hungry disciples are focused on first-half of life questions (thank you Richard Rohr). We consider how maturing into the second half of life (which has nothing strictly to do with age) is about moving away from the mode of self-interest, individualism, consumerism, etc. and towards a real posture of love and joy in God’s creation. In the end, we see this journey of lea...

09.27.2020 - The Ethics of the Cross: Or, How to Approach Every Relationship, Ever. - Matthew 18

In this sermon see how Jesus subverts the disciple’s question about who among them is the greatest by telling them to become like children. We focus on what it means not to be a stumbling block but rather a conduit for people to come and know God. We consider how Jesus subverts the power structures of both his day and ours in that going after the one lost sheep indicates God’s preference for the marginalized and oppressed. We consider the call to exponential forgiveness, one that does not sh...

09.20.2020 -Of Cruciform Glory and a Fantastic Fish Story - Matthew 17

In this sermon we explore the theme of God’s hope and provision in the midst of life when so much around us looks like despair. We consider the exodus story as the background to the transfiguration of Jesus, as well as the following story about why the disciples could not perform a healing because of their lack of faith. We consider the connection between faith and our recognizing the glory of God in the crucified Christ. We examine closely this strange story about a money dispensing fish an...

09.13.20 - Good, but Not Safe - Matthew 16

In this sermon we focus on the way of the cross. We see this theme as central in this chapter. We consider how on this side of 2000 + years it’s easy to forget how strange it was for the Messiah to say that he will suffer and die. We explore the two responses of Peter in this moment as the ongoing responses of the church that wants a Messiah, but not always one that suffers and dies, that we are always looking for safer paths than that of following Jesus. We talk about what self-denial means...

09.06.2020 - When Jesus Missed the Point - Matthew 15

In this sermon we focused on the story of the Canaanite woman. Here we see a Jesus we are not used to, a seemingly offensive Jesus acting from his privilege against this woman from another culture. We explore the possibility that maybe in this moment Jesus is doing the redemptive work of overcoming his social situatedness for the sake the kingdom. We also explored the dynamic that this woman approached Jesus the way Israel approached Yahweh, with lament and urging for God to make good on God...

08.30.20 - Competition versus Compassion - Matthew 14

In this sermon we compared the difference between competition and compassion as two different ways of seeing the world. One is based on fear. The other is based on faith. We did this by looking at three different stories that Matthew pairs together in this chapter and considered how they each relate to one another. Competition is rooted in self-interest that normalizes the reality that there must be winners and losers in order for society to function. Compassion is rooted in self-giving that...

08.23.20 - The Kingdom of Heaven is Like. . . - Matthew 13

In this sermon we talked about the power of a story to break through in a way that basic information cannot. Parables, stories help us visualize and even change us. We tried to show the extravagant, patient, all-consuming, mysterious grace and love and justice of God in action by pairing them up with stories from today that we can all relate to.

08.16.20 - Of Sabbath and Wisdom and Joy and Justice - Matthew 12

In this sermon we talked about the connection between wisdom and Sabbath. Wisdom means to receive instruction in order to gain prudence and discretion in all things relating to righteousness, justice, and equity (Proverbs 1). Sabbath is about joy and justice. Sabbath begins with gratitude and delight in God’s goodness and moves into the question of justice for those who don’t experience it, who suffer in this world and for whom gratitude and joy are blocked by their current circumstances. We...

08.09.20 - Wisdom Calls - Matthew 10-11

In this sermon we talked about Matthew’s use of the wisdom tradition in order to say something about who Jesus is and what it means to be his people. Taking our cues from this image of being yoked to Jesus, we considered the good news that Jesus is like Lady Wisdom from the book of Proverbs calling out to us in the streets to walk in a better, more life-giving way. We talked about how wisdom means that knowing God and knowing ourselves are deeply connected. We talked about how wisdom is vind...

08.02.2020 - Who Gets to Say - Matthew 8-9

In this sermon we talked about the question of authority. We raised the question with the help of a wonderful scene from O Brother Where Art Thou, which connects nicely to the gospel reading about the problem of authority. Jesus’ authority is first shown as teacher (chapter 5-7) and now healer. We talked about how miracle stories establish this authority, and how discipleship is the proper response. Discipleship means trusting in God and serving in Christ’s likeness. We raised the question o...

07.26.2020 - The Better Way of Compassion - Matthew 7

In this sermon we find, with the help of David Foster Wallace, a common thread strung throughout Matthew 7. Beginning with Jesus’ instruction not to judge, we consider what it means not to think ourselves more superior to others, but to look inward first before we do anything in order to let compassion guide us in our relationships.

03.08.2020 - Little Did They Know - Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19-16; Matthew 26:57-68; John 11:45-53

Sermon Series: Lent Speaker: Scott Savage

03.01.2020 - Hope for Judas - Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50; 27:1-5; Luke 22:54-62

Sermon Series: Lent  Speaker: Scott Savage

02.26.2020 - Ash Wednesday - Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

Sermon Series: Lent  Speaker: Scott Savage

02.23.2020 - Ordinary Sacred - Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon Series: Epiphany - Transfiguration Sunday  Speaker: Scott Savage   

02.16.20 - Spiritual Maturity and the Politics of Jesus - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon Series: Epiphany - Speaker: Scott Savage  

02.09.2020 - Demonstrate Love - Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 2:1-16; Matthew 5:13-20

In this sermon we a take a tour though the words of Isaiah, Paul, and Jesus highlighting the idea that we are called to demonstrate the love of God through lives of compassion and justice.      

02.02.2020 - Choose the Foolish Thing - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon Series: Epiphany - Speaker: Scott Savage

01.26.20 - That Cross-Shaped Life - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

In this sermon we talk about the cruciform (cross-shaped) way of life, how the divisions in Corinth contradict the way of the cross, how being obedient to death on a cross is the most Godlike thing God can do, how “doing this in remembrance of me” is about more than eating bread crumbs and grape juice every week, how what unites us is way more than what divides us, and how the church’s witness is hindered by disunity.  

01.26.20 - That Cross-Shaped Life - 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

In this sermon we talk about the cruciform (cross-shaped) way of life, how the divisions in Corinth contradict the way of the cross, how being obedient to death on a cross is the most Godlike thing God can do, how “doing this in remembrance of me” is about more than eating bread crumbs and grape juice every week, how what unites us is way more than what divides us, and how the church’s witness is hindered by disunity.  

01.19.20 - No One Survives Alone - 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

In this sermon we talk about individualism, ubuntu, zombies, unity, and what it all has to do with us.  

1.12.2020 - See the Word - Matthew 3:13-17

In this sermon we explore the theme of Epiphany, the disclosure of something previously unknown. We look at a story by Scott Russell Sanders about trying to see a comet in the night sky, the story of creation and how the Spirit broods like a hen over creation, how everything is charged with grandeur of God (thank you Mr. Hopkins), a story by Flannery O’Connor about a racist bigot who sees the light, and what it all has to do with Jesus’ baptism.  

01.05.20 - The Grandeur of Christmas - John 1:1-18; Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-13

In this sermon we look at three Scripture readings and what they have to do with the season of Christmas. We begin with a passage from Jeremiah and how you have know hopelessness before you know hope. We look at the Christmas story in John’s gospel. Yes, it’s there. A single verse: the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Finally, we look at a passage from Ephesians and a big word about how God retells the story of a broken creation as a story of redemption. We are invited to begin to notic...

12.29.19 - We are Not Forgotten - Matthew 2:13-23

In this sermon we look at Jesus’ journey as a child from Bethlehem to Egypt and back to Nazareth. We consider what this says about God’s identity and character of being for the redemption of the poor. We connect this to a wonderful summary of the gospel in the book of Hebrews. We reflect on the failure of Herod’s rampage against toddlers. We look at the mystery of resurrection.

12.24.19 - Joseph Far From Home - Luke 2:1-20

In this sermon we look at the Christmas story, highlighting the character of Joseph in particular, and asking the question of why wasn’t he in his home town of Bethlehem in the first place?

12.22.19 - The Family, Holy - Matthew 1:18-25

In this sermon we talk about the holy family. We look at the messiness of Jesus’ family tree and how in spite of it he is beginning of the New Creation.

12.15.19 - More than the Same Old Thing - Matthew 11:2-15

In this sermon we consider what it means to be a pawn in a game we can’t win, how Jesus comes and changes the game, how the gospel invites us beyond the same old thing, and what a super bloom of flowers has to teach us about waiting and hope.

12.08.19 - Getting Lost for Advent - Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12

In this sermon we begin with the question of what constitutes a good king in the Old Testament and what makes for a bad one. We connect this to John the Baptist and what it means to go out into the wilderness. We consider how Advent is an invitation to get lost.

12.01.19 - Advent and the Work of Waiting - Matthew 24:36-44

In this sermon we talk about Advent and living in-between the first and second coming of Jesus, about perception and how Advent is a season of remembering that we aren’t where we think we are, about how God moves to bring down even our most cherished symbols, and finally about the work of waiting as beating our swords into plowshares. 

11.24.19 - The Good King Jesus - Jeremiah 23:1-6

In this sermon we talk about it means to tell time as God’s people and that how we tell time is connected to the Lordship of Christ. We talk about baptism as the pattern that shapes our days. We walk about how God’s people have always kept time in a particular way. We look at the story of the kings of Israel as a story of poor time-keeping and forgetting that God is king. We end with a question of if we were to line up our days, what story would they tell? 

11.17.19 - Opportunities for Love - Romans 12:14-21

In this sermon we wrap up our six week series on neighboring, looking specifically at what we do when we have a neighbor we can’t seem to get along with. We look at how forgiveness, reconciliation, and peacemaking are absolute when it comes to neighboring. We talk about some steps to take in assessing and responding to friction with people. We consider a powerful story from real life and what could happen if we take Jesus seriously to love our neighbor as our self. 

11.10.19 - Of Boundaries and Persons of Peace -Luke 10:5-9

In this sermon we talk about healthy boundaries in neighboring, as well as focusing on quality relationships. We begin with a theological take on boundaries, which is that they aren’t meant to keep us a part, but to help us love better (this involved a fun bit on the doctrine of the Trinity). We explore through the Cain and Abel story, as well as the Good Samaritan that whether good neighboring involves saying either yes or no, both can be in love. We then talk about focusing our time and ...

11.03.19 - Make Friends, Not Projects - Matthew 5:14-16

In this sermon we rethink evangelism and witness. We consider the priority of actions before words, how even in a secular age people are always searching for transcendence and spiritual meaning, ulterior versus ultimate motives, how neighboring is not an evangelism strategy, and how our stories are our witness.

10.27.19 - Name Calling - John 10:3

In this sermon we begin with the feeling that many of us have no idea where to begin when it comes to neighboring. We consider the two movements of neighboring (from strangers to acquaintances to relationship), how neighboring is about looking for opportunity to connect beginning the smallest ways, how we’re wired as humans for relationships, one of my favorite Anne Lamott stories (you know the one), and that calling people by name is sacred and holy thing because that’s what God does to us....

10.20.19 - Of Interruptions and Awkwardness - Luke 10:38-42

In this sermon we look at how neighboring makes us reconsider our sense of time, as well as face up to our fears.  We talk about not harvesting all of our time, how fear leads to missed opportunities, neural pathways and synapses, how many times Jesus was interrupted, and one of my favorite Kurt Vonnegut essays.

10.13.19 - Neighboring - Galatians 5:14

In this sermon we begin a new series called “Neighboring” where we talk about the Greatest Commandment, the map challenge, the basics of local community, naming the tensions and fears, the Rublev Trinity icon, neighboring as participating in the divine, and a different kind of bucket challenge.

10.06.19 - The Art of Abandoned Trash - Luke 20:9-19

In this sermon we tell the story of the Rio Olympics Bay clean up controversy and how they turned trash into art, Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem and the ensuing conflict, the Sabbath way of life as justice and compassion, a woman who gave more than should have, and why the rejected stone is vindicated.

09.29.19 - Feel the Wonder - Luke 18:15-34

In this sermon we talk about “the one thing”, why the kingdom belongs to children, how the rich young ruler lost the story, and what’s like to feel the story of God again, with help from the official rule book of Major League Baseball, Kirk Gibson’s famous home run, John Coltrane’s *A Love Supreme*, a painting about how to become an explorer, and a really famous Heschel quote.

09.22.19 - Vindicated - Luke 18:1-17

In this sermon, we talk about the story of Ricky Jackson, that one time at the 110/101 interchange, one of my favorite stories in the bible, becoming like children, a Tarkovsky film, and what it means to pray and not lose heart.    

09.15.19 - Grace for Ragamuffins - Luke 15:1-32

In this sermon we talk about grace. We begin with this moment when the scribes and the Pharisees grumble at Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners, so he tells them three parables. The irony of their grumbling is that they think they’re any different. God’s people have always relied on God’s grace because they have always grumbled, beginning with the exodus. King David (via the occasion for Psalm 51) is a model for how self-righteous is softened with prophetic truthfulness, which l...

09.08.19 - Smoothies, Clay, and Prayer Labyrinths - Luke 14:25-33

In this sermon we begin with the brutal honest of Jesus’ words to hate your family, your self, and to give up your possessions. Yikes. We go into the mind of first century Judaism to see that this doesn’t mean what it sounds like, thank God. We see that it had to do with where they found their identity as God’s people and, more importantly, how that was changing because of Jesus. We consider how we are to be like clay in God’s hands and that sometimes … often … always that means being comple...

09.01.19 - Wholehearted - Luke 14:1-14

In this sermon we focus on v11 about how those who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up. We begin by considering this verse in light of the self-care industry. We consider how many have an averse reaction to self-care because of the impossible expectations we end up making  of ourselves and how we end up more stressed out in the end. But does Jesus take it too far in the opposite direction where we don’t care about our selves at all? Wit...

08.25.19 - God Sounds Like Sabbath - Luke 13:10-17

In this sermon reflect on Jesus who on the Sabbath healed a woman who had been hunched over for eighteen years. We consider why the synagogue official had a problem with this, why he shouldn’t have had a problem with this, and what it all has to do with Sabbath, which is about way more than taking a day off to crash at the end of otherwise frenzied week, but that which touches every moment of our lives. We consider how our rituals become pointless when they are disconnected from the deeper m...

08.18.19 - Palms Down Giving - Matthew 6:2-4

08.11.19 - Story of Fear or Story of Love? - Luke 12:32-40

In this sermon, we talk about the story of fear versus the story of love. Talking our cues from Jesus, we consider what it means not to be afraid. We look at how people prep for the future out of fear, as well as how the story of fear plays out in our culture in so many ways. We consider, instead, our call to prep or to be ready for the arrival of the Son of Man. We consider the practices of hospitality, peacemaking, and generosity as what it means to be ready, versus the practices of suspic...

08.04.19 - Eat, Drink, Rejoice - Luke 12:13-34

In this sermon we consider our relationship with our stuff. We take our cues from Jesus’ story of the rich man who was never satisfied with what he had, whose wealth and security was defined by things. We consider “The Cultural Mandate” to farm and take care of the creation. With the help of Ecclesiastes, we look at what it really means to eat, drink, and rejoice and how when we are rich toward God, when our treasure is in heaven, we can overcome anxiety and worry with joy because our ultima...