Bethel Ontario

29November2020- Sermon - Seeking Peace - Dr. Mann

Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent, 2020. "Seeking Hope"
"Yikes! It's Advent"...The work God began in the ministry of Jesus, then, continues in our midst. We are faithful disciples not when we focus on the future and obsess about the end of the world but when we commit our lives, here and now, to the great work of God, repairing this world, shaping a new creation of beauty, grace, justice, and joy, leaning into the reign of God, and trusting that future to God, and God's own timing.

22November2020 Sermon Sheep, Goats, and Littles Ones

Sermon from November 22, 2020 - Reign of Christ and Thanksgiving Sunday. Our topic, "Sheep, Goats, and Little Ones" is an exploration of the parable in Matthew 25: 31-46.  We consider all the readings as well, including Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 with Psalms 100.

Ezekiel speaks of the shepherd who searches for lost sheep, rescues them from danger, and feeds them from rich pastures. Matthew makes the metaphor personal, as Jesus blesses the “sheep” who feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Truly, this manner of shepherding is an occasion to join the psalmist in making “a joyful noise to the LORD,” for we are indeed God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture. Thus it is that we are both broken and whole, at once healer and healed, at the same time shepherd and sheep.

Check this out for an additional insight into the parable....here is a snippet from the sermon:

All of this suggests to me that what we have in the parable of the sheep and the goats is not so much a story that urges Jesus’s disciples to be more merciful toward those who are “the least of these.” This story is Jesus’s reassurance to his disciples who are the “least of these:” vulnerable as they carry out his mission to the Gentiles. He reassures them that he is with them and will suitably reward even the Gentiles who unknowingly and unwittingly show mercy to his “brothers and sisters,” the “least of these” whom he is sending out into an often hostile world.

Jesus tells those followers—who have been sent out to him into an often hostile world to tell and show the good news—"I bless even those who don’t know me who treat you well. I will graciously receive those who receive you. I will recognize those who not recognizing me receive you. When the Gentiles, the peoples of the world, receive you little ones, my family, I recognize and receive them.”

Render Unto Caesar

Sermon from October 18, 2020:

This Sunday: "Render Unto Caesar"
In Exodus, Moses, seeking guidance, implores God, “Show me your glory!” In response, God reveals through a cleft in the rock.

In writing to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul gives thanks to God for the witness of the Christians who are gathered there. A key verse: “Our message came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit”, reminding us that if hearts are changes, if the world tilts on its axis, it’s God’s work…

And in Matthew, Seeking to entrap Jesus, critics ask him about whether it is permitted or not to pay taxes to Caesar.

And it is the simple answer given by Jesus, that for me, ties it all together…

Listen closely: Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and Render unto God what is God’s.
See – that’s the important part. Render unto God what is God’s, who is God’s….

 

Sermon - Water from the Rock- 27Sept2020

The Rev. Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann's sermon for September 27, 2020, "Water From the Rock".

 

The focus text this week is Exodus 17: 1-7. The story of Moses striking the rock at Horeb - and the gushing forth of the water. Pastor Sylvia will be focusing on THE Question (which is asked at the end of the scripture passage)...Is God among us or not?

20Sept2020-Sermon-Wilderness

The Rev. Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann's sermon for September 20, 2020. "Wilderness".

The texts this week are Exodus, Philippians, and Matthew. We learn about the people of Israel and the Manna in the wilderness - along with the need for perseverance, and the parable of the workers in the vineyard (What is fair?...) Consider the wilderness, and how it purifies and prepares us....

DELIVERANCE - Sermon from September 13, 2020 SERMON - Sylvia Mann

The Rev. Dr. Mann's sermon from Sunday September 13, 2020. "Deliverance". A look at the parting of the Red Sea, and the need for forgiveness...

Sermon Snippet from this Sunday's service (Sept. 13) "And so now – I come to the forgiveness part of this sermon, the “Matthew part”…Why – in learning of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, is it important to talk about forgiveness? – well, in order to follow God to freedom, in order to be disciples – we have to let of those things that hold us back… and here is something I loved learning: the Greek word for forgive, aphiemi, means simply to open your hand and drop what it’s clutching. So you see - if reconciliation just can’t happen, let it go."

Danger and Restoration - Sermon from Sept 6, 2020 - Sylvia Mann

Our sermon from September 6, 2020, "Danger and Restoration". Our Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann focuses on the story of the first Passover .....
Sermon Snippet:
"The Exodus text is about the establishment of a ritual, a call to a life of worship. But it is also a call to transformation: from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberation. It is a call to risk a new life and to embrace change…"

Our Road to Holy Ground - Sermon 30August2020

Our Sermon for August 30, 2020. "Our Road to Holy Ground".  From Bethel's Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann. This week – . Pastor Sylvia will be focusing on the burning bush and the transforming power of Love - the call we have to do the work - to be on Holy Ground - and that wherever we are with God is Holy Ground, WE are the church. .....

Courage, Transformation, and Rocks - Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann 23Aug2020

Pastor Sylvia's sermon from August 23, 2020

 

This week our theme at Bethel Congregational Church UCC in Ontario California is "Courage, Transformation, and Rocks", as we connect the Exodus story of Moses (and the heroic women who defied the order of the Pharaoh), to the transformation of our minds and souls, and the story of Simon's transformation into Simon Peter - the rock....

Reconciliation, Unity, Compassion -16Aug2020SERMON

Sermon from August 16, 2020 - "Reconciliation, Unity, Compassion"

the Rev. Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann

This week our theme is "Reconciliation, Unity, Compassion"...we hear "the end of the story" about Joseph and his brother, about the reconciliation of the family, along with Paslm 133's call for unity, Isaiah's call for justice and compassion, and the call for compassion and Grace to be extended to all people...
Sermon Snippet:
"So we have come full circle  - 
Back to the lessons of Isaiah: “maintain justice, and do what is right… God’s house is for all peoples.”
And the Psalmist: encouraging unity, inclusion… while we wrestle with who exactly are kindred and who are not.
And Joseph’s story of not just reconciliation – but his recognition that God took something bad, horrible, and completely turned it around and with that forgiveness and reconciliation, and the growth of Joseph into a mature man of God, Joseph cared for his family with compassion – as well as the people of Egypt, and the people of the neighboring lands. 
And finally in the story of the Canaanite woman – the inclusion of everyone in the gifts of compassion. 

Let it be so. May we share the gifts of reconciliation, unity, and compassion, with all."