Butterfly Effect: a sermon for All Saints Sunday

What kind of worship does God desire. In this sermon, which is part of our on-going series, "What Love Looks Like Here," Pastor Nancy explores the powerful prophetic challenge of Amos 5 alongside Jesus' parable of the bridesmaids in Matthew 25. Together, these scriptures ask a searching question: Does our faith make a difference in the world?Whether you're interested in biblical justice, Christian discipleship, progressive Christianity, social witness, or practical faith for everyday life, this sermon offers encouragement to become the kind of people whose lives reflect the songs we sing.Scripture: Amos 5:18-24 & Matthew 25:1-13

What if changing the world doesn't begin with gaining power or status, but with small acts of kindness or courage?In this All Saints Sunday sermon, Pastor Nancy Gowler speaks of remembrance, humility, the communion of saints, and the everyday choices which make the world more beautiful.Scripture: Micah 3:5-12; Matthew 23:1-12

What can a neighborhood choir, jazz improvisation, and Jesus's response to a hostile question teach us about community? In this concluding sermon of Creating in Community, Pastor Nancy explores harmonization as a spiritual practice. Through stories, music, and Matthew 22:34-40, we find that faithful communities are created not by the loudest voice, but by deep listening to one another. Love of God, love of self, and love of neighbor become an example of holy harmony.

In her sermon, "Creative Resistance," Pastor Nancy explores the element of risk that is a central to creativity using the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 as a starting point. Connecting with marginalized voices through the ages while confronting generations of distrust, her bold persistence and rhetorical wit widens Jesus’s vision of grace. Listen and discover how imagination and risk can be a part of our co-creating with God's renewing work in the world.Scripture: Matthew 15:21–28Storybook: The Little Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

In this week’s sermon, Change in Perspective, Rev. Nancy Gowler invites us to into the practice of holy pauses, listening for God's dream emerging in our world. Weaving together Isaiah 25, Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds, and John O'Donohue's reflections on our identity as artists, she encourages us to notice possibilities where we once may have only seen limitations.Reflection Questions:What are you amazed by?How are you making space for wonder?Where do you sense the Spirit inviting you to get into the balcony and see the bigger picture?

What I'm Learning - Creating in Community. Listen as Pastor Nancy reflects on lessons from FCC's Godspell rehearsals and shows—trust, grace, and the joy of collaboration. Drawing on Harvey Cox’s book Feast of Fools, she reflects on his image of Christ as the holy clown and invites us to rediscover the Spirit’s playful, communal work among us.This sermon continues our fall series focus on our congregation's core values. During October we'll be exploring the ways in which we celebrate creativity in community.Reflection Questions:What intention for creativity, large or small, do you want to carry into the week?Who could be a partner or companion with you in that intention?

This sermon closes the Season of Creation with Paul’s hymn in Philippians 2, as Pastor Nancy explores how Christ's "kenosis," self-emptying love, holds the potential to reshape our relationship with the earth. Drawing on the work of Sallie McFague, Holmes Rolston III, and Thomas Merton, this sermon invites listeners to see this pattern of kenosis not only in the life and teaching of Jesus, but in the very fabric of creation. With a nod to the Broadway musical, Godspell, we find in the stories of Jesus the upending of narratives of domination and an embrace of the upside-downness of the kindom of God Christ welcomes us to join.

In this sermon Pastor Nancy invites us to explore Romans 14:1‑12 and the call to live faithfully and joyfully in caring for God’s creation.Drawing on insights from climate researchers and the Disciples of Christ Green Chalice movement's roots in Kentucky, Pastor Nancy invites us to approach creation care not from guilt or competition, but with gratitude and joy—one quiet, contagious act at a time.

Rev. Nancy opens the Season of Creation with a meditation on the sacred liturgical rhythm we find in the first Creation myth in Genesis 1:1-2:4. She explores how from the very beginning, creation itself participates in the divine artistry.With wisdom gleaned from Wendell Berry, she invites us to tend the earth with reverence, to practice Sabbath rest, and to trust in God's gracious abundance. This sermon begins the second month First Christian Church's focus on our core values, as we reflect upon our commitment to creation care.

In this closing message of Part 1 of our series, What Love Looks Like Here, Rev. Nancy reflects on how love takes root and grows through mercy, courage, and community. Drawing from Romans 12:9‑21 & 1 John 4:7‑12, she explores how genuine love transforms ordinary life into sacred ground.Along the way, we remember Dolly Parton, whose “spark of love” reminds us that celebration can be a form of grace —a way of seeing the holy in every difference and letting kindness shine.