January 3, 2010: 2nd Sunday after Christmas
Sermon: "The Word made Flesh", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: John 1:1, 10-18
And the word became flesh and lived among us...
January 10, 2010: Baptism of the Lord
Sermon: "Fear or Baptism?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Isaiah 43:1-7
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
January 10, 2010: Installation of Brent Barry as Pastor
Lesson: Mark 8:31, 34-35, Patti Hackett
Sermon: "Following Jesus", The Rev. Roger Quillin
Charge to the Newly Installed Pastor, The Rev. Dr. Joe Clifford
Charge to the Congregation, The Rev. Dr. Laura Mendenhall
Brent Barry was installed as pastor of NorthPark Presbyterian Church.
January 17, 2010: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon: "How My Theology Has Changed", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: John 2:1-11
Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.
January 24, 2010: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon: "Going Home", The Rev. Sally Brown
Lesson: Luke 4:14-30
I wonder why the Jesus of Luke's gospel decided to go to Nazareth, his childhood home, at the very beginning of his ministry. Word of his work was spreading rapidly. Surely, he would be welcomed there. After all they knew who he was, right? Well they didn't, and they didn't like what he had to say either. In a world where knowing is subjective, and words are cheap, how do we know and hear God's Word in the midst of the chaos?
January 31, 2010: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon: "Suffering at the Hand of Nature", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Romans 8:18-25, 31, 35, 38-39
...nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
February 7, 2010: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon: "Deep Calls Unto Deep", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Luke 5: 1-11
"When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "put out into the deep water."
February 14, 2010: Transfiguration of the Lord
Sermon: "Sex in the Bible...", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Song of Solomon 2:8-13; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Nestled between the ponderous pronouncements of Ecclesiastes and Isaiah's ringing calls to repentance is this little book that just won't behave. The Song of Solomon (also known as the Song of Songs) is an ode to the joys of sensual love...
Whether you are glad you took the time to listen to this sermon or not, the sermon is indebted to Phyllis Trible and her book God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality, Fortress Press, Susan Andrews and her sermon “Eros and Ethics” delivered at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Rowan Williams and his article “The Body’s Grace” published in Theology and Sexuality, and Martin Copenhaver and his article “Reveling in Romance” published in Christian Century, 1994. A debt of gratitude also goes to the youth groups I worked with in the early 1990's in Austin, Texas who always asked me such tough questions regarding sexual ethics.
Brent Barry
February 21, 2010: First Sunday in Lent
Sermon: "How Do You Know?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Luke 5:1-11
On the first Sunday in Lent we find Jesus in the wilderness hearing several voices that make it difficult to know which one is God's voice. We will consider how we know that it is God's voice that is calling us.
This sermon is exegetically indebted to Anna Carter Florence, Peter Marshall Associate Professor of Preaching, Columbia Seminary.
The audio team had a cockpit error that reduced the audio quality of the first 6 minutes of today's sermon. We apologize.
February 28, 2010: 2nd Sunday in Lent
Sermon: "Salvation Has Come", Dr. William Willimon
Lesson: Luke 19:1-10
On the way to the cross, Jesus brings salvation to the biggest sinner around, Zacchaeus, the Roman tax collector.
March 7, 2010: Third Sunday in Lent
Sermon: "What's Your Story?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Matthew 5:1-12
The sermon for this Sunday is not posted due to copyright restrictions on life stories.
March 14, 2010: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Sermon: "Joy?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.
This sermon is indebted to Dr. Thomas Long and his sermon preached for Day1 radio on March 21, 2004 entitled "Is There Joy in God's House?"
March 21, 2010: Fifth Sunday in Lent
Sermon: "Mary, Jesus, and U2", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: John 12:1-8
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair.
This sermon was preached on the Sunday in which 11 young people were confirmed. It is of course indebted to the music of U2, but also Bono's words to the National Prayer Breakfast in 2006, Anna Carter Florence and her sermon entitled "The Voice You Find May Be Your Own" in Get Up off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog, as well as the voice of NorthPark member John Kenny who you hear at the end of the sermon.
March 28, 2010: Passion/Palm Sunday
Sermon: "The Last Hurrah", The Rev. Sally Brown
The Lesson is read as part of the Sermon.
Luke tells us about a parade like no other. It was a parade with a cause....a wandering preacher who was out to save the world..who talked about a kingdom that welcomes the poor, outcast, the scum of society. Jesus was an oddity for some...for those in power, he was a threat.
April 4, 2010: Easter/Resurrection of the Lord
Sermon: "An Idle Tale?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Luke 24:1-12
These words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
April 11, 2010: 2nd Sunday of Easter
Sermon: "Writing a Postscript?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: John 21:1-8, 15-19
An Easter Postscript?.
April 18, 2010: 3rd Sunday of Easter, Youth Sunday
Sermon: "Childlike Faith", NPPC Seniors Rachel Peters, Jamie Zerwekh & Shea Snider
Lesson: Matthew 19:13-15
NPPC Youth Sunday
April 25, 2010: 4th Sunday of Easter
Sermon: "God With UsGod With Us, The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Psalm 23
Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." The subject is Lord, not I.
May 2, 2010: 5th Sunday of Easter
Sermon: "Living With God in the World", The Rev. Sally Brown
Lesson: John 13:31-35
Jesus said to his disciples, "I give you a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you. People will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." This new commandment doesn't seem new at all...except for one thing. We are Jesus' disciples, named and claimed. Our charge is to enter into the love that defines the relationship between God and Jesus, because we are the extension of that love in the world.
May 9, 2010: 6th Sunday of Easter
Sermon: "What Do You Really Want?", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: John 5:1-9
This sermon is indebted to Ted Loder and his sermon "Mind What's Left" found in The Haunt of Grace: Responses to the Mystery of God's Presence.
May 16, 2010: 6th Sunday of Easter
Sermon: "Something Old, Something New", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Luke 5:33-39
New wine breaks old wineskins. There is use for both new and old.
May 23, 2010: Pentecost
Sermon: "The Holy Delivery Room", The Rev. Sally Brown
Lesson: Acts 2:1-13
May 30, 2010: Trinity Sunday
Sermon: "This Our Joyful Hymn of Praise", The Rev. Sally Brown
Lesson: Philippians 4:4-9
Sally Brown's last sermon as Associate Pastor of NorthPark Presbyterian Church.
June 6, 2010 - Sermon Series " A Gospel for Conservatives, Liberals and all those in between."
Sermon: "When Christians Disagree" - The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Colossians 3: 12-17
June 13, 2010 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sermon Series " A Gospel for Conservatives, Liberals and all those in between."
Sermon: "Christian Faith and American Politics", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Matthew 10:16-20
June 20, 2010 - Sermon Series " A Gospel for Conservatives, Liberals and all those in between."
Sermon: "Living the Questions", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Matthew 12:33-37 and John 14:5-6
June 27, 2010: 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Series "A Gospel for Conservatives, Liberals and all those in between."
Sermon: "Servant Freedom", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Galatians 5:1, 13-23
July 4,, 2010
Sermon: "The Spirit of the Fourth", The Rev. Brent Barry
Lesson: Matthew 22:16-21
July 11,, 2010
Sermon: "The Kingdom of Childhood", The Rev. Dr. Hank Hunt
Lesson: Mark 10:13-16
July 18,, 2010
Sermon: "It Takes Two to Tango", The Rev. John Purcell
Lesson: Luke 10:38-42
