In this week's sermon, we explore Luke 18:1-8 and 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, examining the parable of the persistent widow and what it teaches us about prayer, justice, and hope. Through historical context and modern application, we consider how different forms of justice work parallel the widow's persistence at the city gates. The sermon challenges us to find sustainable ways to participate in God's ongoing work of justice while acknowledging the need for both action and rest. Special attention is given to how we can support those who must persistently navigate broken systems, and how our collective persistence can help bend the arc of history toward justice.

Join us for a reflection on Luke 14:15-24, where Jesus tells a parable about a great dinner party and unexpected guests. On this World Communion Sunday, we explore what it means when those initially invited make excuses not to come, and how God's table becomes a place of radical welcome for those who have been historically excluded. This message challenges us to move beyond superficial acceptance to genuine welcome, reminding us that God's invitation knows no borders.

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells a challenging parable about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus that goes far deeper than a simple morality tale about wealth. Drawing on Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall," Samuel Wells' A Nazareth Manifesto, and contemporary insights about isolation and community, this sermon explores how we create and maintain barriers between ourselves and others - barriers that can become permanent spiritual chasms if we're not careful. The parable invites us to examine what walls we build, what we're walling in or out, and how we might work toward the kind of beloved community God intends, where no one suffers alone outside the gate.