A Revelation or a Revolution?
Joanne Gallardo
Our memory verse for this month is Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” I invite you to take this verse and make it formative. Put it where you can see it and remember it, say it daily, and keep reminding yourself that in […]
A Faith That’s Faithful
Joanne Gallardo
To start off here, I want to share our memory verse for this month, which is also the focal point of this sermon. It’s Isaiah 40, verse 8. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” I encourage you to “write this verse on your heart,” […]
Overwhelmed by God
Joanne Gallardo
The first Sunday of every November is All Saints Sunday, also known as All Souls Sunday. I have now been with you here at Berkey long enough for the lectionary to come back around to me, and the Revelation reading for this week is a text I have already preached on! While I’m sure none […]
This Little Light of Mine
Joanne Gallardo
The Great Commission is one of the most challenging direct commands from Jesus in the New Testament. If you thought loving your neighbor as yourself was difficult, if you thought loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength was difficult, if you thought not casting the first stone was difficult, Jesus’ final […]
A Two-Handed Theology
Joanne Gallardo
I have had a really difficult time loving my neighbor lately. I mean that both in the literal and more metaphorical sense. I don’t understand the point of view of my actual neighbor. She tells me about how our current pandemic has been planned, because she saw “Plandemic” before the media shut it down. She […]
The Most Amazing Thing
Joanne Gallardo
When I was younger, my brother Steve was obsessed with professional wrestling. He would save all his money so he could watch a special pay per view of Wrestlemania every year, and every Monday night he would tune in for hours (or at least it felt like hours) to see these grown men in elaborate […]
Fake News
Joanne Gallardo
The Lectionary text this week comes from Matthew, often referred to as the “teacher’s gospel.” This passage in particular is one that highlights the blessing that is the teaching of Jesus. To be honest, this scripture goes everywhere. At first, we find Jesus followers, and Jesus in particular, to be under harsh scrutiny. Then, we […]
We Can’t Breathe
Joanne Gallardo
We can’t breathe. I realize the strangeness of me saying that. In our current context, many of us are free from the worry of having someone’s knee crushing our neck, of being shot in our own home, or having the police called on us for something as simple as birdwatching. In that sense, many of […]
Reflections of the Way Life Used to Be
Joanne Gallardo
I’ve spent the last few weeks running away from my reflection. I’m talking about my literal reflection and metaphorical reflection. Any haircuts or personal grooming habits have sort of gone out the window given that Zoom doesn’t produce the sharpest image of ourselves. My lowered levels of vanity is probably a good thing. But I’ve […]
When Every Day is Good Friday
Joanne Gallardo
I always feel conflicted about Palm Sunday. We go from celebrating the entry of Christ into Jerusalem to a week of thinking about Easter dinners, baked goods, and dyed eggs to Good Friday. I feel that “Good Friday” is always a bit of a misnomer. While Jesus’ resurrection can certainly be labeled “good,” there’s really […]
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