Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Matthew 3:13-15

Matthew’s Gospel presents the ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist as inseparable, binding their adult work together through shared proclamation, vocation, and divine purpose. Even before either begins public ministry, Scripture portrays their lives as joined by kinship, expectation, and a calling that will bring both into conflict with the religious and political powers of their day.

As we follow their relationship through Matthew, the church is invited to notice that ministry is shared work. While Jesus and John are not doing the same thing, they are participating in the same movement. Additionally, the Kin-dom they proclaim is not abstract or distant but is meant to impact people’s lives in real time. What they say and do both challenges how authority is exercised and how the law is practiced. They remind people that God favors the outcasts, marginalized, and oppressed – and because of such – their shared messages of repentance, justice, and belonging disrupt the normal order of power and privilege, ultimately costing them their lives.

During this season of Epiphany, by paying attention to the relationship and ministries of Jesus and John, we gain a deeper understanding of God’s revelation in Christ and are reminded that the coming Kin-dom is/was/and will be established through shared purpose, faithful courage, honesty, and costly love.


January 11 - Baptism of the Lord (Remembering our Baptism)

  • Sermon Title: Repentance, Resistance, & Responsibility
  • Scripture: Matthew 3:1-17
  • Theme: Baptism - Repentance is the honest turning John calls for - naming what is broken in us, around us, and then refusing to pretend that things are fine as they are. To be baptized is to resist the earthly powers that claim authority over our lives. When Jesus rises from the water and is named God’s beloved, a different loyalty is declared. In baptism, we receive grace that we did not generate and cannot control. At the same time, we reckon with the implications of that grace. To be named beloved is not an escape from responsibility; it is an entry into it.

 

January 18 - Second Sunday after the Epiphany

  • Sermon Title: Ministry is a Team Sport
  • Scripture: Matthew 4:12-25
  • Theme: Jesus does not replace John but picks up the work John has already begun. Jesus proclaims the same call to repentance (using almost the same words). What John started in the wilderness now moves into towns, along roads, and into daily life. Ministry is shared, not solitary, and it is meant to keep moving. We do not start from scratch, and we do not carry the work alone. We receive what has been handed to us, and we move it into new places, trusting that God continues to do new things. Jesus does more than repeat what John has done. Repentance is still the call, but now it is lived out through relationship, healing, and shared life.

 

January 25 - Third Sunday after the Epiphany

  • Sermon Title: Redefined and Reoriented
  • Scripture: Matthew 5:1-20
  • Theme: Jesus is not simply telling people how to behave; he is reshaping their imagination about what a faithful life looks like and who it is for. The Kin-dom takes visible form in ordinary people who live differently because they belong to God. We also see Jesus define his role as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

 

February 1 - Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Communion Sunday)

  • Sermon Title: The Dynamics of Shared Ministry
  • Scripture: Matthew 11:1-20
  • Theme: John, who once spoke with authority in the wilderness, now questions Jesus from prison. Jesus does not shame John or correct him harshly. Because John prepared the way, Jesus honors that work publicly. Having named his own role as one of fulfillment, Jesus now clarifies that although he and John have different roles, they share the same goal. Faithfulness includes moments of confidence and moments of questioning. The Kin-dom makes room for honest questions amongst those working towards the same ends.

February 8 - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

  • Sermon Title: Earthly Kingdom vs Heavenly Kin-dom
  • Scripture: Matthew 14:1-23
  • Theme: Where the powers of earth deal in selfishness and death, Jesus offers a counter-narrative of community and shared life. Herod takes life to protect his power. Jesus gives life by sharing what is offered. Amidst grief and loss – even in the shadow of violence - the Kin-dom work continues through shared responsibility and miracles of multiplicity.

 

February 15 - Transfiguration Sunday

  • Sermon Title: Shared Calling, Shared Ministry, & Shared Suffering
  • Scripture: Matthew 17:1-13
  • Theme: If God is really doing something new, why does it still look like suffering and loss? In the tradition Jesus’ disciples know, Elijah is expected to return before God fully restores things. Elijah’s coming is supposed to signal renewal, justice, and repair. When Jesus names John as Elijah, he is saying that restoration does not arrive through force or dominance. It comes through repentance, truth-telling, and faithfulness (and that kind of work is often resisted). John’s suffering reveals how resistant the world is to the Kin-dom God is bringing. John’s fate also foreshadows what will happen to Jesus. The disciples finally understand that this is one shared story. What happened to John is what will happen to Jesus, not because God wills violence, but because God’s way threatens the systems that rely on it. In Matthew’s telling, this moment at the Transfiguration clarifies that glory and suffering are not opposites.


For more information about participating or leading in worship, please click the following links: