Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria Va

We come now to sermon four of five in a Lenten series entitled “Construing the Cross.” Through these sermons we are looking at different but complementary ways the Christian faith interprets the death of Christ on the cross: sacrifice, scapegoating, deliverance, tree and serpent. All these ways I hope prepare us to celebrate even more hopefully that day on which we will sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Larry Hayward preaches from Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Revelation 2:7; and Revelation 22:1-2.

What does it mean to “follow Jesus,” to “practice” Christian faith in an increasingly post-Christian culture? What makes us uneasy about claiming Christian faith in the current climate? Is there a difference between being a good Christian and just trying to be a good person? Does being a Christian mean we have to reject other religions? This 5-week Lenten series explores these and other questions as a way of helping us name in new ways our sense of Christian identity in contemporary culture. This week's topic is "Christian Spiritual Maturity." Please note: part 3 is not available due to technical difficulties. Dr. Kathy Staudt works as a teacher, poet and spiritual director at a number of institutions, including Virginia Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary.

This series looks at different but complimentary ways our faith seeks to interpret the death of Jesus Christ: as sacrifice, as scapegoating, as deliverance, as tree, and as serpent. Today the association we explore is that of the cross as deliverance. God moves through history bringing freedom. God moves through humanity bringing salvation. These gifts are part of the larger movement of God’s redemption of all of creation – found within and jumping out at us from the pages of Genesis through Revelation. Larry Hayward preaches from Exodus 12 and John 6.

What does it mean to “follow Jesus,” to “practice” Christian faith in an increasingly post-Christian culture? What makes us uneasy about claiming Christian faith in the current climate? Is there a difference between being a good Christian and just trying to be a good person? Does being a Christian mean we have to reject other religions? This 5-week Lenten series explores these and other questions as a way of helping us name in new ways our sense of Christian identity in contemporary culture. This week's topic is "Jesus: The Heart of Christianity." Dr. Kathy Staudt works as a teacher, poet and spiritual director at a number of institutions, including Virginia Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary.

In this series we explore differing but complementary understandings of the death of Jesus Christ: sacrifice, scapegoat, deliverance, tree and serpent. Today’s sermon explores the association of the death of Christ with the ancient practice of sending a scapegoat into the wilderness and the common phrase that ritual has bequeathed to our language. Larry Hayward preaches from Leviticus 16:7-10, 20-22 (KJV) and John 11:45-53.

In Christian tradition, we say as a matter of course that the death of Christ involves sacrifice: Christ sacrificing his life or his being sacrificed for us. Today we look at sacrifice as related to the cycle of life and death in nature: as in the cycle of all living things, Jesus's death bears fruit that changes the human heart and overcomes the power of sin and evil in the world. Larry Hayward preaches from John 12:20-26 in the first of a five-part Lenten series.

What does it mean to “follow Jesus,” to “practice” Christian faith in an increasingly post-Christian culture? What makes us uneasy about claiming Christian faith in the current climate? Is there a difference between being a good Christian and just trying to be a good person? Does being a Christian mean we have to reject other religions? This 5-week Lenten series explores these and other questions as a way of helping us name in new ways our sense of Christian identity in contemporary culture. This week's topic is "Christians in a Secular Culture: A spiritual path." Dr. Kathy Staudt works as a teacher, poet and spiritual director at a number of institutions, including Virginia Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary.

Between 1820 and 1850, the U.S. contended with a set of urgent problems: how to reconcile the ideal of liberty with the reality of racial slavery; how to square Christian belief with the removal of Native tribes from homelands coveted by white people; how to interpret the principle of “equality” vis a vis women, free people of color, and Catholic immigrants; how to invent a national identity and a robust nationalism in the face of conflict, demographic diversity, and geographical immensity. Underlying these conundrums—as we see in the literature of the era—was an unresolved contradiction about citizenship: were you an “American” because you pledged allegiance to the nation and its laws or because your ancestry connected you to the first colonists, those in the vanguard of “Anglo-Saxon Civilization?” And complicating it all was the righteous (but possibly self-serving) belief that God had destined Americans to be a new “Chosen People” and Am

"Love your enemies is not the only teaching of Jesus Christ that leads me to question the seriousness, if not the reach, of my faith. Then when Jesus adds, 'do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you" - my doubts remain. Larry Hayward preaches from Luke, Proverbs, and Romans.

Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Luke 6:20-26.

"In the year King Uzziah died." For all their tumultuous history, Israel lived in relative stability during the reign of Uzziah. When he left the throne, it ushered in a time of instability--Isaiah's career as a prophet will largely take place under Syrian occupation. Was it the finality of death and the inevitable reminiscing that comes with shock and mourning that made Isaiah recall "the good old days"? Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on Isaiah 6:1-8. The Scripture is read by Nico Gutierrez from Boy Scout Troop 129.

A three-part series with Dr. Diana Bermudez, a psychotherapist specializing in early childhood who helps young children, parents, educators and administrators to enhance emotional health and decrease challenging behaviors. In this session, Dr. Bermudez discusses the transformation of parenting from the traditional generic/authoritative style to a more responsive/nurturing style.

German pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has achieved iconic status as one who epitomizes what it means to struggle and resist tyranny and fascism and how one acts in faithful witness as a religious and political commitment. Dr. Victoria Barnett, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, will guide us through his faith journey, with an emphasis on how he engaged with the issues of his times and how that in turn led to some new theological insights. Part 4 of 4.

In a world in which sin and evil, death and disease, tragedy, treachery, and tyranny retain a great deal of their power, the church will never be able to reach every human being, heal every illness, eliminate every form of injustice, bring reconciliation to every personal, familial, political, religious, class, ethnic, tribal, national, or global conflict. But even when we accept, however reluctantly, what the church cannot do, there is one thing – one thing – that the church retains the power to do: bear witness to the Word God has given us, a Word which – in the end – is a word of hope. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Luke 4:21-30 and Psalm 71:1-6.

A three-part series with Dr. Diana Bermudez, a psychotherapist specializing in early childhood who helps young children, parents, educators and administrators to enhance emotional health and decrease challenging behaviors. In this session, Dr. Bermudez discusses how brain research has transformed our understanding of early childhood mental health and the role of parents.

Westminster members Matt Viser, Dan Judy, and John McArdle team up again to bring us up to date on the implications of the 2018 midterm elections. Matt is National Political Reporter with the Washington Post, Dan is Vice President at North Star Research, and John is Producer and Host at C-Span. Hear their insights and analysis of the midterms, just as the new Congress is getting started.

German pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has achieved iconic status as one who epitomizes what it means to struggle and resist tyranny and fascism and how one acts in faithful witness as a religious and political commitment. Dr. Victoria Barnett, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, will guide us through his faith journey, with an emphasis on how he engaged with the issues of his times and how that in turn led to some new theological insights. Part 3 of 4.

When we come to church, we expect to hear about love. But love and hate are bound in very intimate ways, so today we'll take a detour into the realm of hate. We ask ourselves, what is it that we hate? Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on Luke 4:14–22a.

German pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident, Dietrich Bonhoeffer has achieved iconic status as one who epitomizes what it means to struggle and resist tyranny and fascism and how one acts in faithful witness as a religious and political commitment. Dr. Victoria Barnett, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, will guide us through his faith journey, with an emphasis on how he engaged with the issues of his times and how that in turn led to some new theological insights. Part 2 of 4.

The first miracle Jesus performs in the Gospel of John occurs at a wedding feast that lasts seven days and doubtless costs more than a few shekels. When Mary notices a human need – not one of life or death, of poverty or plenty – she turns to her son, whom both she and the reader know is “the Word” that has become “flesh” and “dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, ” and lays this situation at his feet. Larry Hayward preaches on John 2:1-11.