We are in the process of updating this page to include recent sermons from our Interim Pastor, The Rev. Dr. Robert (Bob) Livingston. Recent worship services can always be found on our YouTube page.
Below you will find the audio and video recordings, as well as text, of sermons from Pastor Liz and guest preachers. Edgewood also has a dynamic lay preaching program that all church members are invited to participate in. Lay Preachers meet as a group to learn about the sermon writing process, workshop their ideas, and practice preaching. Each lay preacher has an opportunity to give a sermon on Sunday morning during the year. You will see some of those sermons in this archive.
The Collective Wilderness
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: March 15, 2020 Text: Exodus 17:1-7 Video: Virtual Worship Service Wilderness is a frequent theme that comes up in our worship life throughout the year. This is especially true during Lent when, as we mentioned last week, we honor Jesus’s forty days in the wilderness and use this season to explore our own understanding and experiences of being lost in the wilderness. But we often talk about wilderness as an individual experience. We treat it…
God’s Nickname
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: March 8, 2020 Text: Genesis 16:8-15, 21:9-19 On my personal journey to incorporating prayer in my life, one of the turning points was when I started to feel comfortable praying on my own. Prayer transformed from something I passively did in church, or others did and I listened in, to something that I could do by myself, any time I wanted to. Listening for God, or having a conversation with God, became a tool that…
Finding God, Finding Ourselves
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: March 1, 2020 Text: Psalm 46:10 and Mark 4:39 When I lived in New England, I was close to an incredible yoga retreat center called Kripalu. Kripalu is tucked into the Berkshires in Massachusetts surrounded by mountains, overlooking a lake, and serving the best plant-based food in the region. Everything about Kripalu is designed to help you tune into your body and spirit. In addition to the wide variety of yoga that you would expect…
Is This Going to be on the Final?
Preacher: Rev. Melanie Baker Date: February 23, 2020 Text: Matthew 6:24-34
Growing From God
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: February 16, 2020 Text: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 There was a time when I was a kid that I was really into cults. It should not surprise you that I was kind of a weird kid. It was 1997, the year that Heaven’s Gate made the news, the cult founded by Marshall Applewhite. They were based in San Diego, California, just four hours from where I lived, when 39 of its members lost their lives. I…
The State of the Church
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: February 9, 2020 Text: Matthew 5:13-16 I’ve watched a lot of State of the Union speeches this week in anticipation of our Annual Meeting and my self-proclaimed State of the Church address. From the President to Governor Whitmer to Billy Porter’s LGBTQ State of the Union to Mayor Andy Schor’s State of Lansing address, there has been one shared theme: they are all very, very serious. No time for laughter. No time for joy. Even…
Blessings
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: February 2, 2020 Text: Matthew 5:1-12 When I think about what it would have been like to live in the same time as Jesus did and have the opportunity to meet him or hear him speak, I think about being a part of the crowd. I’m talking about the generic crowd we always read about: “Jesus got out of the boat and a crowd was waiting…Jesus began to teach and a crowd listened…When Jesus saw…
Changing the World – Be the Change
Preachers: Olivia Madaski & Hanaa Yoo Date: January 26, 2020 Text: Psalm 104:10-15 The youth led worship lay preachers, Olivia Madaski and Hanaa Yoo, asked the congregation ways that we can be agents of change in the growing climate change crisis. Below is a list of ways members of Edgewood suggested to help reduce our carbon footprints; Carpool to events Bike to work, if possible Recycle & Reuse products Drive less, combine outings from home to one trip Plant trees…
Called
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: January 19, 2020 Text: Isaiah 49:1-7 It seems like we just recovered from a big round of holidays, and here we are again in the midst of another holiday weekend. Just like the last round contained a multitude of holidays, so does this weekend. Of course we all know that tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr Day. But do you know what today is? Today is National Quitters Day. It is the day that, according…
Lessons From Edgewood Camp
Lay Preacher: Jackie Himelright-Smith Date: January 12, 2020 Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 I want to thank the lay preaching team for their support and feedback as I sifted through the many ideas and stories I chose to share with you today. I’ve been an active Edgewood member since 1985. I’ve participated in various leadership roles since the Monday after I joined the church and Marilyn Rentschler called and asked me to serve on the women’s fellowship committee. I remember thinking,…
Star Gifts
Preacher: Pastor Liz Miller Date: January 5, 2020 Text: Matthew 2:1-12 It is the start of a new year and a new decade. The United States is at the brink of war, yet another far-flung, never-ending war for resources and power with the threat of countless casualties on all sides. News of wildfires in Australia rage on, bringing worries of climate change to a heightened state. We are only five days into 2020 and it seems like each day there…
The Place Where Dreams Come True – Or Not
Preacher: Rev. Melanie Baker Date: December 29, 2020 Text: Matthew 2:13-23