Sermon Archive
March 22, 2015 "An Exile Promise"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Jeremiah offers the people a promising future in the midst of their greatest separation from God. Whenever we feel farthest from God, that just may be when God breaks in with beauty and Good News for our lives.
February 22, 2015 "Covenant Living"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
After the flood, God makes a covenant promise that there will not be another flood. To us, it seems far away and a long time ago. But the covenant is for us, too, and for our living every day.
June 15, 2014 "I Love to Tell the Story"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
There are some children's stories we know so well we could tell them by heart. God has a story too, that Peter and John can't keep from telling.
May 25, 2014 "As Silver Is Tried"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Ok, we know God isn't a statue made out of silver. But who is God when we go through the really difficult periods of life? How do we know?
April 27, 2014 "Say It With Me"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
After the resurrection, Jesus appears to his followers behind closed doors. But someone isn't there.
March 16, 2014 "The Windswept Christian"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Nicodemus and Jesus have a confusing conversation that resembles the Christian life in its chaos. What does this have to do with you?
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February 23, 2014 "And You Belong..."
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Ever feel homesick? Or like you just don't fit in? People in Corinth wanted so much to belong that they created factions to give themselves a sense of identity. Paul encourages them, and us, to know there's one place we all belong.
January 12, 2014 "De Profundis"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Oscar Wilde's letter from jail, entitled De Profundis, lends context to a conversation about what part suffering plays in our life of faith.
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December 29, 2013 "Sweet Butter Cream Frosting"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Sometimes the sugary sweetness of Christmas is just too much. What if you have overdosed on Christmas cheer and don't feel up to the fake smiles anymore?
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December 15, 2013 "The Waiting Room"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Advent is a season of waiting, waiting in a room together with others. The sermon is based on this passage from James.
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November 17, 2013 "Bending in the Wind"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
In a service of healing, we turn to words from Isaiah for promises of new heavens and a new earth. Our days will be like days of a tree. What does that mean for our own life and healing?
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October 6, 2013 "Bring An Ethnic Food"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Isaiah delivers God's message that "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." This World Communion Sunday gives an opportunity for people of all backgrounds, yes all backgrounds, to celebrate their heritage.
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September 22, 2013 "Whom Do We Serve?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
"You cannot serve both God and wealth." Jesus' words ring very true to us. Robert Lupton's book Toxic Charity analyses when churches and charities hurt more than they help.
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July 28, 2013 "An Introvert's Prayer"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
"Be still and know that I am God."
These ancient words from Psalm 46 call us to find quiet and centering in our lives. Pastor Rosenau reflects on a week of noon time Centering Prayer and what brings people to a special time of prayer.
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These ancient words from Psalm 46 call us to find quiet and centering in our lives. Pastor Rosenau reflects on a week of noon time Centering Prayer and what brings people to a special time of prayer.
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July 14, 2013 "In the Fruit of Your Soil"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
A reflection on this passage from Deuteronomy after a week of Sandy Relief work in New Jersey.
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May 26, 2013 "The Hope Complex"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
There are many reasons to bristle at this passage from Paul's letter to the Romans, and one compelling reason to embrace it.
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April 21, 2013 "Who Are These People?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Responding to the events of this week, we turn to a passage from Revelation 7:9-17 to see how God speaks to us at times like these.
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February 24, 2013 "Divine Zeal"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Jesus throws the money changers out of the Temple and shows us what Divine Zeal looks like.
Based on John 2:13-22
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Based on John 2:13-22
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July 22, 2012 "Church - So What?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
What difference does church make? Can’t you just pray and be a good person? Why bother with getting up early on Sunday morning and sitting in worship for an hour? A passage from the Hebrew Scriptures lays the groundwork for the final installment in the sermon series So What?
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July 15, 2012 "God With Us - So What?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Continuing the sermon series So What? we read the Christmas story where we hear that the child will be called Emmanuel, which means God is with us. What difference does it make to know that God is with us when we go through our weekly routine of our daily lives? What difference does it make when we go through the valleys in life?
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July 8, 2012 "Forgiveness - So What?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
First in the sermon series So What? on different aspects of our faith and what difference they make in our daily lives. Isaiah's call story shows us what difference forgiveness made in the life of one person. What would it take to convince you that you were forgiven?
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June 24, 2012 "Where is your Ebenezer?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
An unfamiliar story from the Hebrew Scriptures shows the ancient people marking a place where God has helped them with an Ebenezer, which means "stone of help." Where are the places in our lives and in our communities where God has been conspicuously present? How do we mark them together?
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May 27, 2012 "Alighting Fire"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
The wind and fire of the Holy Spirit take over the assembly at Pentecost. The miracle of understanding gives power to the fledgling group of disciples, but not the power they were expecting.
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April 29, 2012 "Who Do You Think You Are?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Religious leaders arrest the disciples for preaching about Jesus and healing in his name. God may be doing new things in our midst that we do not always see.
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Easter April 8, 2012 "The Hint Half-Guessed"
Pastor Jim Reisner
What does a trapeze artist have to do with the resurrection? The Gospel of Mark lends insight into the experiences of those first witnesses.
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Maundy Thursday April 5, 2012 "Until All Are Fed"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
On the night when we remember Jesus' Last Supper, we ask what bearing these ancient practices have on our everyday lives. 1 Corinthians 11:17-26
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March 25, 2012 "Jesus Wept"
Pastor Jim Reisner
Why does Jesus weep? He looks out over Jerusalem and knows that the whole situation is looking for a scapegoat, and the blood that will be shed is his own.
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March 18, 2012 "Lament over Jerusalem"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Part way through his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus laments over the city. Here at Westminster, we are called to serve the city we live in, especially when we grieve over street violence and economic injustice.
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February 19, 2012 "A Glimmer of Something More"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
There is more to faith than meets the eye. The Transfiguration story shows us how a few disciples respond when they see a revelation of who Jesus is.
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February 5, 2012 "Don't You Get It?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Why is there so much hunger in the world? Are church feeding programs making a difference? The congregations that make up FOCUS gather annually for a joint worship service. Hear Pastor Rosenau's reflections on ending hunger in the Capital Region.
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January 8, 2012 "It Has?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
"Arise shine your light has come" reads the prophecy of Isaiah. What an empowering and triumphal message. Only there's a catch; there's always a catch.
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December 4, 2011 "More Than Those who Watch for the Morning"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
What do waiting in line for a Philly Cheese Steak and waiting for Christ's coming have in common? Psalm 130 sheds some light on Advent, the season of waiting.
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October 30, 2011 "Comfort the Afflicted and..."
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Do we welcome discomfort and hardship in our walk as Christians? Our Reformation heritage empowers us to act boldly in our life as a congregation and in the streets of Albany no matter what affliction may come.
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September 11, 2011 "Ten Years Later"
Pastor James L. Reisner
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August 21, 2011 "Being Multicultural Part 3: Radical Hospitality"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
The sermon series concludes with hospitality. The Council at Jerusalem in Acts shows us an example of early Christians struggling with hospitality toward Gentile converts. After a process of inner searching and prayer, they are able to be radically welcoming to those on the outside.
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sermon_8-21-11_radical_hospitality.pdf | |
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August 14, 2011 "Being Multicultural Part 2: To Seek Justice"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
Are we a "melting pot" or the Body of Christ? This sermon examines how we treat cultural and racial differences in our communities. Paul's letter to the Romans helps us understand our call to stand by one another in our differences and seek justice together.
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sermon_8-14-11_to_seek_justice.pdf | |
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July 31, 2011 "Being Multicultural Part 1: Who Are We?"
Pastor Frances Wattman Rosenau
The first in a three-part sermon series on being a multicultural church. We look at God's proclamation through the prophet Isaiah that "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7 NRSV) and how our partnership in Ghana has helped us answer that call.
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*note - the audio sermon references the PC(USA)'s consideration of the Belhar Confession. While the confession did receive approval by a majority of presbyteries, it did not, in fact, receive the two-thirds majority needed to go further.
sermon_7-31-11_who_are_we.pdf | |
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