Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria VA
570 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsSermons and educational audio from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, VA.
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Characters with Character: Uriah the Hittite
August 01, 2021 15:01 - 27 minutes - 9.26 MB"Today’s character in our summer sermon series is Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s husband, David’s military officer. Though we might forget about Uriah – or never have noticed him – the Biblical narrator does not forget Uriah. So what about Uriah’s character?" Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is 2 Samuel 11:6-17.
Characters with Character: Abigail
July 25, 2021 14:02 - 26 minutes - 9.06 MBToday in our summer sermon series on Characters with Character, we encounter another strong female from the Old Testament: Abigail. Abigail is a woman described as beautiful but who uses her intelligence to navigate between two powerful and angry men—one of whom is her husband, one of whom is King in waiting—to defuse a situation which could have been the end of all of three of them. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is 1 Samuel...
Characters with Character: Lois
July 18, 2021 15:30 - 21 minutes - 7.91 MBToday’s character, Lois, is only mentioned in one verse in the Bible. In order to get a feel for the character Lois had, we have to follow the life of her grandson Timothy, whose faith he attributed to her influence. Perhaps it is the length and steadfastness of Timothy’s faith that comes directly from the length and steadfastness of the faith that “lives in” his grandmother Lois. No drama is reported. No conversion experience is evident. No tragedy or crisis giving rise to a turning to God. ...
Characters with Character: Lydia
July 11, 2021 14:13 - 23 minutes - 8.26 MBI start today’s sermon with stories of three women who were tremendous in their financial support of the work of the church; their model, Lydia, was also a woman. Lydia’s generosity grows out of her character, and her character develops because the because the Lord opens her heart and she listens eagerly. Lydia realizes so much of what she has is more beneficial to the growing movement of the church than to what she had thought were needs of her own. She experiences “conversion of the purse....
Characters with Character: Daughters of Zelophehad
July 04, 2021 13:36 - 24 minutes - 8.48 MBThe five daughters of Zelophehad –Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah – go to the leadership of the people of Israel to demand the right to inherit their late father’s property since had no sons as heirs. This text is a terrific example of a particular people – the people of God – using words to work together within the culture of their day and time to implement a change which made their society more just and complete. I scheduled this story for today because I want us – on this Fourth o...
Characters with Character: Miriam
June 27, 2021 14:22 - 24 minutes - 8.54 MBIn the overview of Miriam we get from the Books of Exodus and Numbers, we can see that it is her trust in God that leads Miriam to act boldly, quickly, and with great ingenuity. For these character traits, Miriam earns the title of Prophet, the third person and first woman to be so designated in scripture, a title by which she is remembered centuries later. Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time as part of a summer sermon series on “Characters with Chara...
Going Across to the Other Side
June 20, 2021 17:36 - 23 minutes - 8.29 MBBefore Jesus says, “Let us go across to the other side,” he had been teaching. Immediately following this story, Jesus starts his work as a healer. There is a clear ministry shift. We, too, find ourselves amidst transition: crossing over to another side, another side of life in whatever we end up calling the season of pandemic. Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Mark 4:35-41.
Help from the Sanctuary
June 13, 2021 15:20 - 24 minutes - 5.78 MB“Psalm 20 is a text of blessing and encouragement; it is a text of faith and trust. It is the wisdom of knowledge, and pride in what deeply matters beneath glimmers of surface-level concerns and attractions. I knew, in reading this Psalm, that I wanted to stand before you, in this pulpit, in this place, to offer you its benediction.” Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Psalm 20.
The Beginning of the Beginning
June 07, 2021 02:06 - 22 minutes - 5.19 MBA sermon by Larry R. Hayward the first Sunday during which the church was fully open after being highly restricted during nearly fifteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life with Honor
May 30, 2021 17:12 - 29 minutes - 6.76 MBOn Memorial Day, we remember many things - that we are a people connected to a greater story, and that story continues to unfold. The Rev. Evangeline Taylor preaches on Trinity Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Isaiah 6:1-8.
The Testimony of God Is Greater
May 16, 2021 18:39 - 20 minutes - 4.82 MBJohn acknowledges the validity and power of human testimony that bears witness to Christ. But as effective as they are, John says, “the testimony of God is greater.” No human agent can give us the assurance that what we believe is right and what we are doing is right. That assurance can only come from the testimony of God. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 5:6-12.
Faith Conquers the World
May 09, 2021 18:35 - 21 minutes - 4.99 MBIn the passage we have read for today, three times in a sentence-and- a-half the phrase "conquers the world" appears. The promise of this phrase is that the faith we have in Jesus Christ is an essential element to bring us some form of victory in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. To say "faith conquers the world" is to promise that in the end, we exercise some form of control over the situation that is upon us, some form of choice and agency within the condition into which we have...
We Love Because God First Loved Us
May 02, 2021 14:10 - 29 minutes - 6.81 MB“We love – we love God, we love others, we are even able to love ourselves – because God first loved us.” An infant but a few weeks old cannot possibly have earned God’s love; but that love comes with birth: “We love, because God first loved us.” Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 4:7-21.
God Is Greater Than Our Hearts
April 25, 2021 18:32 - 20 minutes - 4.69 MBWhen I first heard this verse – “God is greater than our hearts” – I felt reassured. This verse promised me that God still existed, that God still was present in the world and to me, that God still cared for me, even when I wasn’t aware of it. Even when I couldn’t feel God in my heart, I was promised that “God is greater than our hearts.” God is with us, because God is greater than our hearts. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 3:16-24.
An Ode to the Darkness
April 18, 2021 15:26 - 22 minutes - 5.13 MB"Like every other Biblical author, John uses imperfect language to try and describe what a life in union with God is truly like. I have often used this imperfect language myself: to honor and lift up the light, at the expense of the dark. However, today's text provides this preacher the opportunity to try and remedy that. Let us together lean into the dark." Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Third Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 John 1:6—2:2.
After Covid
April 11, 2021 19:14 - 18 minutes - 4.34 MBWe welcome to the pulpit the Rev. Dr. Camille Cook, Senior Pastor at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. The Scripture lesson is Joel 2:18-27.
An Easter Prayer
April 04, 2021 14:32 - 24 minutes - 6.69 MBIf the Gospel of Mark is “the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Mark may be inviting each of us to “finish the story” of that Good News with our lives. But what if like the women at the tomb, our fear remains? The Longer Ending of Mark serves as an Epilogue that reminds us readers and hearers that no matter how the women felt and no matter where their fleeing took them, God’s presence and providence followed them unabated. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Easter Sunday, the Resurre...
The Paradox of Palm Sunday
March 28, 2021 18:00 - 25 minutes - 6.01 MBToday I am going to focus on Palm Sunday – specifically on the crowd who greeted Jesus with cries of “Hosanna!” on Sunday but whose cries morphed into “Crucify him!” by Thursday. In a matter of four days the crowd moved from joy to anger, from welcome to outrage, from celebration to vengeance. And it moved as one mind: intense, emotional, passionate. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Palm Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Mark 11:1-11.
OPA!
March 21, 2021 19:37 - 29 minutes - 6.83 MBNow, today may not be your birthday, and it’s not Christmas, either. But for all of us, John 12:25 is our text. The question is: will we see the gift in it for us? Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The Scripture lesson is John 12:20-27.
Wisdom from "Equus"
March 14, 2021 19:08 - 18 minutes - 4.43 MBWhen we are aware of pain, most of us need something more than pleasure to move us to praise. In order to worship, in order to recover joy, we have to come to terms with our pain; accept it, incorporate its presence or its memory into our lives, let it become an appropriate part of us, neither oversized nor buried and hidden. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, at the 8:30am in-person service. The Scripture lesson is Psalm 107:1-3, 17-21.
After Times
March 07, 2021 19:21 - 26 minutes - 6.12 MBIt must be noted that today marks the one-year anniversary of the last time that Westminster worshipped in a pre-Covid reality in this space. It has seemed, at least for this preacher, that this last year has been an entire year in the wilderness. This particular season has challenged us all like none other. Rev. Dr. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Third Sunday in Lent. The Scripture lesson is John 2:13-22.
The Simple Concept of Taking Up the Cross
February 28, 2021 20:29 - 24 minutes - 5.59 MBSometimes we get to choose the crosses we bear. At other times, our crosses choose us. But either way, we’d best bend down, take our cross up into our arms, place it over our shoulders, and begin our walk with it, because in God’s infinite wisdom, God has designed it to fit us, like a tailor designs a suit or dress and hangs it in our closet, awaiting our donning of it. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Second Sunday in Lent. The Scripture lesson is Mark 8:27-38.
Leaving the Ark
February 21, 2021 14:56 - 22 minutes - 5.36 MBI realize this is a rather sad and dark portrait of Noah’s lengthy life. His overall story doesn’t ring true with the “Arky, Arky” of the children’s song. But in the grand sweep of God’s relationship with the human race – in which Noah plays a crucial role in God’s starting over – there is a redeeming feature to Noah’s life that comes to him even in his silence. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the First Sunday in Lent. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 9:8-17.
Through Thick and Thin
February 14, 2021 19:59 - 19 minutes - 4.64 MBWe welcome the Rev. Evangeline Taylor, Director of Seniors Pastoral Care, to the pulpit on the Transfiguration of the Lord. The Scripture lesson is Mark 9:2-9.
"Many" Is Not "All"
February 07, 2021 16:52 - 20 minutes - 4.78 MBIn today’s sermon – the final in what has turned out to be an unintentional mini-series – I want to capture the spirit of hope in Mark’s gospel as many who seek Christ are healed of the maladies which lead them to turn to him in the first place and offer hope as well for those among the all who are not healed in the way they had hoped. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. The Scripture lesson is Mark 1:29-39.
The Most Important Power Jesus Has
January 31, 2021 14:01 - 19 minutes - 4.61 MBThe title of this sermon is “The Most Important Power Jesus Has.” While it is not a memorable title, it is a bold one, because it claims that one power Jesus has is more important than his other powers. My claim is probably more personal than theological. I am not even sure that there needs to be a competition among the different powers we see in Jesus: we don’t need NFL “power rankings” each week. But for some reason I am wanting to argue for a preeminent place – a #1 ranking – for one of Je...
At Hand: What the Coming of Christ Means and Doesn't Mean
January 24, 2021 16:39 - 21 minutes - 5.15 MB"Since the great and majestic God of the Old Testament pitched his tent among us – was born in a manger, greeted by shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night, angels filling the heavens with glorious music, and magi from the mysterious East bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh – given all this that we are told has happened, why hasn’t the world become more fully redeemed, at least in ways we can see, touch, feel?" Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Third Sunday after the ...
Eli and Ancestry
January 17, 2021 18:35 - 23 minutes - 5.58 MBThe Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany. The Scripture lesson is 1 Samuel 3:1-10.
In the Spirit
January 10, 2021 15:54 - 23 minutes - 5.53 MBRev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Mark 1:4-11 and Acts 19:1-7.
Now Made Known
January 03, 2021 19:16 - 23 minutes - 5.48 MB"A few decades after his death and resurrection, as reflected in our Scripture for today, the earliest generation of leaders of the church seek to bear witness to God’s promise to “all the nations of the world” by sharing the good news and grace of Jesus Christ with Gentiles, people who were not part of the Jewish covenant, people who were among the 'nations of the world.' In our passage, the writer of Ephesians marvels at both the power and beauty of God who through Christ is reaching out to...
Check the Boxes
December 27, 2020 16:44 - 21 minutes - 5.01 MBRev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the first Sunday after Christmas. The Scripture lesson is Luke 2:22-40.
To Their Own Towns
December 24, 2020 16:33 - 20 minutes - 4.8 MBSecondly, the details with which Luke describes Joseph’s journey to his home – And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem – serves as a reminder that as glorious, as spiritual, as salvific as is the event to which Mary and Joseph travel and in which they are direct participants – the birth of Jesus Christ – that birth is rooted to earth. Originating in the beyond, that birth occurs in history. At a particul...
The Biography of the Virgin Birth
December 20, 2020 20:29 - 28 minutes - 6.58 MBThe Spirit of God hovering, brooding, sweeping over, overshadowing the watery chaos at Creation. That same Spirit hovering, brooding, sweeping over, overshadowing the watery chaos of Mary’s womb, and creating within it the Holy Child, the redeemer of the world. Is there anything more worthy of our wonder and worship than this? Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. The Scripture lessons are Genesis 1:1-5 and Luke 1:26-38.
All Decked Up
December 13, 2020 18:23 - 21 minutes - 4.97 MBThe words of the prophet emerge, saying this: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” For God’s blessings to be seen in this world, the world needs those who are willing to claim it for themselves. Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Third Sunday of Advent. The Scripture lesson is Isaiah 61:1–3, 10.
The Least of These
November 22, 2020 19:43 - 22 minutes - 5.19 MBThe point of his final discourse in Matthew is that that even as we might await the end of history, when Christ as the Son of Man will return in all his glory, Christ is still present with us, when, without even thinking about what we are doing, we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick, and visit the imprisoned. “In as much as you have done it to the least of these my brothers and sisters,” he says, “you have done it unto me....
The Parable of the Talents
November 15, 2020 16:51 - 23 minutes - 5.62 MBNow I know in a time of pandemic it is risky for a minister to endorse certain types of risk: the risk of defying health warnings, the risk of not wearing a mask, the risk of ignoring social distancing. For me to urge you to that kind of risk would amount to homiletical malpractice. But what I am inviting you to consider is a different kind of risk: a risk that dares to hope, that dares to believe, that dares to trust that we will not be in this situation for ever, that we will not be sequ...
A Post-Election Sermon
November 08, 2020 19:30 - 13 minutes - 3.16 MBI fear that over the last decade or so, we have become a nation whose unresolved anger – often growing out of centuries of real and profound grievance – has led us to slap the faces of even the people with whom we share earth and stars and common dreams. While one interpretation of this week’s election is a rejection on the part of the American people of an unbridled expression of anger, whatever anger we have within our body politic will not likely disappear with the results of an election. ...
Stewardship in a Time of Coronavirus
October 25, 2020 14:40 - 24 minutes - 5.75 MBI continue to be grateful for the celebration you gave me this summer on the fortieth anniversary of my ordination to the ministry. Among the things that means is that I have been involved in exactly forty stewardship campaigns – that process each Fall in which the church asks each member to make a financial pledge for the upcoming year to support the work of the church. But none of these previous forty campaigns has had much in common – at least outwardly – with the one we are beginning toda...
Status Quo
October 18, 2020 15:13 - 18 minutes - 4.31 MB"My hunch is that whenever this season of our lives is over, our beloved community of faith will looks a little different. Yes, we will still be Presbyterians; yes, we will still be Westminster. But we will have changed. We will have reformed." Rev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8.
Think on These Things
October 11, 2020 12:49 - 24 minutes - 5.71 MBIf we allow the words Paul spoke to the early church speak to our day and time, Paul calls us to rejoice. What on earth can he mean? Has he no accurate sense of the appropriate time to issue such a call? Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Philippians 4:1-9.
Two or Three
October 04, 2020 15:04 - 26 minutes - 6.18 MB"However Jesus said it, we can doubt the number he used mattered that much. The point is the interplay: the two-way dynamic between the gathering of God's people and the presence of God's authority and power." Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, in celebration of World Communion Sunday. The Scripture lesson is Matthew 18:15-20.
The Parable of the Sower
September 27, 2020 15:06 - 22 minutes - 5.35 MBThe Parable of the Sower is thus not simply about our effort, nor simply about any success we might meet. Rather, the parable is about mystery: the mystery of our putting ourselves forward, on this earth, in this life, in this day and time and culture in which we live. Ultimately, the interaction between seed and soil, effort and outcome, is a mystery, residing in the heart and hands mind of God. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson ...
How Do You End a Parable?
September 20, 2020 16:00 - 26 minutes - 6.19 MBMy friends, the only way we will survive this fall in our country, our city, our church is if, over the next several months, we strive to see that we are part of a community and strive to see – and even celebrate – the blessing of God as it is bestowed in the lives of other people, many of whom we have not heretofore considered as worthy as we are. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Matthew 20:1-16.
God Intended It for Good
September 13, 2020 16:03 - 20 minutes - 7.43 MBThis one sentence forms a theme of the Joseph story and touches nearly all the characters in Genesis: "you intended to do evil…God intended it for good." Only time, faith, wise discernment of events will tell us whether the things which so pain us one day we will another day interpret as God using for good. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, concluding a sermon series on Genesis. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 50:15-21.
Judah Drawing Near
September 06, 2020 15:26 - 19 minutes - 7.29 MB"When Judah stepped forward to Joseph, he brought a self, a family, a people, a nation together. The promise of God kept its long and winding road toward fruition." Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, as part of a sermon series on Genesis. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 44:18-34.
Blocked from Behind
August 30, 2020 18:28 - 18 minutes - 4.28 MB"There's a little bit of life left--how are you going to use it?" The Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Matthew 16:21-28.
In the Beginning...
August 23, 2020 14:12 - 22 minutes - 7.92 MBThe Rev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Exodus 1:8--2:10, and is read by Maggie Chamberlain.
Unity Redux
August 16, 2020 15:00 - 22 minutes - 5.34 MB"In this celebration of unity in Psalm 133, we also find the seeds of its critique. Unity isn't always what it's cracked up to be--at least, not for everyone." Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Joseph: The Pit and the Rope
August 09, 2020 14:57 - 25 minutes - 8.65 MBI think a deeper reason Joseph may appeal to us is that we are attracted to people who suffer misfortune but don’t dwell on it; people who are victims but refuse to draw their identity from what has happened to them. We admire people who focus on the future and rather than the past, who keep their eyes on the prize ahead rather than on the pain of the Pit behind. We want to be like them, act like them, flourish like them. We want the Lord to be with us in prosper all we do. Rev. Larry Hay...
Jacob's Holy Limp
August 02, 2020 16:28 - 18 minutes - 7.09 MBWhat has always attracted my attention about this story is the limp – the fact that in his wrestling with God, Jacob emerges blessed, but limping; limping, but blessed. Limping and blessed! Sometimes when we wrestle with God these things emerge in the course of our wrestling. We are left limping, a holy limp, holy because to be blessed is to incorporate all that has been a part of our lives into our lives, in a way that that even the painful parts – the sources of our limp – can become source...