Sermons by - Rev. Paul Sanderson from First Community Church of Southborough, MA
Rev. Dr. Paul Sanderson
If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at: [email protected] (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.
Episodes
You Have To Let Go
This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of the Easter season.Today we explored Mary Magdalene’s experience of the risen Christ, specifically how Jesus told herDo not cling to me.It is often important to let go.
Easter (Post) - Do Not Be Afraid
Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.When Jesus met the two women by the empty tomb, he told them not to be afraid.The Bible tells us not to be afraid.Fear gives rise to anger. It triggers a fight-or-flight response to the real or perceived threat.It limits our ability to respond creatively.How can we not be afraid when we face serious problems?The answer is presence.You are not alone.
See For Your Self
The title of today’s reflection is “See for Yourself.”It is about seeing.Through the eyes of a child.With the heart.Goethe said, “Thinking is better than knowing but not as good as looking.”
It's Not A Religion; It's A Relationship
Today is the Second Sunday in Lent.The basic theme of our reflection this morning was "Christianity--It's Not a Religion; It's a Relationship." It's about what it means to be a Christian.
Lent 1 - Rend Your Heart
Today is the first Sunday in Lent.The theme of my reflections over the six Sundays in Lent will be on Jesus' life and teachings that immediately preceded his death and resurrection. Today's reflection drew from the teachings of the prophet Joel who tells us that God calls us to "rend our hearts." What does this mean?
The Rabbi's Gift
This really isn’t a sermon; it’s a story, perhaps a parable.It’s entitled “The Rabbi’s Gift.”
Lookin Back - Looking Forward
Greetings!This reflection is about how our identity as individuals, as a church, as a nation, and as a world is formed by our past but also by our vision of who or what we can be. The occasion is the celebration of our 160th annual meeting as a church!Blessings!Paul
Love Sees Deeper
This morning’s reflection focused on listening:as a kind of presence as a creative energyin our relationship with other peoplein our relationship with ourselves in our relationship with GodGod called Samuel by name.Is God calling you?
Creative Stupidity
Jan 19, 2025This morning, as we experienced a deep gratitude to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his contributions to our nation, to both Blacks and Whites. The theme of our reflections is stupidity.
How Can We Change The Future?
The theme of today’s reflection was how to change the future. I assume you think it needs changing.Are you curious?
The Meaning Of Epiphany
This morning, we reflected on the theme of Epiphany. It involves a search.It leads to a discovery, a realization.I read T. S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi,” which I like.I also include a quote on becoming seekers by Peter Matthiessen, who wrote “In Search of the Snow Leopard.”Are you a seeker?What (whom) do you seek?
Advent 1 - Hope
Today is the first Sunday of Advent.The theme of our reflections this morning is hope.The spiritual experience of hope is deeper than wishing.The opposite of hope is despair.We really need to receive the spiritual gift of hope in our nation and around the world this Christmas season!
Stewardship - Building With Rubble
This sermon is about building- our self- our church- our nation- our world- with what we already have.It is entitled, "Building With Rubbish" (no offense)It is about building on rock, on The Rock.
The Widow's Coins
This sermon is about The Widow’s Coins.It is also about an unusual experience I had many years ago.
For All The Saints
Today, in our church, we observe a mixture of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.We remember those who have a profound impact upon our lives and our spiritual formation. Then we remember that we, also, are called to be saints!
The Great Invitation!
This morning, on a communion Sunday, we think about the different calls, the different invitations that are extended to us by John the Baptist and by Jesus, though they may be two sides of the same coin.In inviting us to be yoked to him and to each other, Jesus invites us to a life of abundance, not in terms of material possessions but in care, compassion, love, and service.
Renewing Our Covenants
This morning our church renewed the covenant between pastor and parishioner that we first shared October 7, 1997. The renewal of our covenant marked the 27th anniversary of my call to be the settled pastor of First Community Church. I talk about the four dimensions of our covenant as members and friends of our church.
Just As I Am? Really?!
In today's sermon we look at how Taoism and Buddhism can help us understand Jesus' relationship with the woman who was a "sinner."Once again, I believe the gospel lesson is not about forgiveness; it is about love.This reflection begins to grapple with Baruch Spinoza's assertion that "this is the best of all possible worlds."Aren't you just a little curious?
The Way To Heaven ...
The title of this sermon is “The Way to Heaven.”If you have ever despaired of qualifying, take heart!You may already be there!(I know, it doesn’t always feel that way. But just listen.)
People - The Elder Son In The Parable Of The Prodigal Son
This sermon, which focuses on the elder brother in Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son, looks at the parable from a Jungian psychological perspective.If you happen to be Freudian (or are so inclined for any other reason), you may stop listening now. If you happen to think, as I do, that Carl G. Jung just might help us understand the spiritual life and its relationship to our religion from a deeper perspective, I encourage you to read on.
Communion - Sacrement Of Presence
I would like to continue the exploration we began last week of Jesus’ encounter with the unnamed Samaritan woman by the side of Jacob’s well. The woman’s life was radically changed through this encounter. Even though there is some teaching in the exchange, e.g., around the issue of sacred space, it seems to me that the most important part of what happened was the transition from second-hand religion to first-hand religion through the woman’s encounter with Jesus. She was healed (or saved, for they mean the same thing) not by a teaching, but by a presence.And the same can happen to us!
People Of The Bible - The Samaritan Woman At the Well
This reflection, the third in my summer series sermons about little known people in the Bible, is about Jesus’ encounter with the unnamed Samaritan woman at the well.It raises the question of which is more important: what Jesus gives to us or what Jesus asks of us. It is about religious experience, specifically William James’s distinction between first hand and second hand religion. It raises the question of what counts as a religious experience.Have you ever had a religious experience?You now have to admit that you are at least a little curious!
People Of The Bible - Jacob
This sermon is part of a series that Charley Eastman of Pilgrim Church and I have been preaching in our two churches this summer. It is about some of the little-known or lesser-known people in the Bible.Today we are taking a look at Jacob. I took the liberty of reading the story of Jacob and Esau from the Children's Bible--I highly recommend it!Jacob, one of the central figures in the early history of Israel, was a liar and a cheat. I guess we could call him a trickster, if we had Jungian leanings. He was sort of a likable scoundrel. So how did a person who was not a moral giant, who has no claim on sainthood, come to take up five chapters of the Book of Genesis and become such an important part of our Judeo-Christian tradition.Aren't you just a little curious?
The Power Of Prayer VI - Prayer From The Heart
In our scripture lesson this morning from the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray--just like John the Baptist taught his disciples. The disciples’ question implies that John taught his disciples to pray. I wonder what John taught his disciples. We don’t know; there is not enough information. I’m just curious: would his teaching about prayer have been similar to Jesus’ teaching? Would it have been different? Was John praying to the same God to which Jesus prayed? Was John’s God different? Was it the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or was it the revelation of a different dimension of this great mystery we call God? In any event, knowing John, as we do, we can assume that his teaching about prayer probably had something to do with sin and repentance.
The Powerw Of Prayer V -- What Did You Expect?
This morning, we are continuing our reflections on the power of prayer. I hope our reflections during this Easter season and beyond have begun to lead us into a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of prayer, have led us to believe more fully in the power of intercessory prayer, and will lead us to pray more constantly and more meaningfully in our daily life.
The Power Of Prayer IV - The Hundreth Monkey
Last week, in my sermon on the theology of the Trinity, I touched on one way of understanding intercessory prayer, prayers that I/we offer to someone in need. Today I would like to say a little more about this understanding and what it teaches about the importance of your prayer.
The Tinity - God's Crazy Math
Today is Trinity Sunday. The sermon title is "The Trinity--God's Crazy Math!"In this reflection, we explore the richness of a trinitarial theology, how it might help us pray by deepening our understanding of God and also our relationship with God.It also points to a direction that we may need to go theologically and in our prayer--the evolution of the Trinity into a Quarternity.Are you curious?
Where Is Jesus? - Ascension Sunday
Today is the sixth Sunday of the Easter season. The fifty days between Easter and Pentecost is a special time in our church year. It is a time that we set aside to reflect on what happened to Jesus following his crucifixion. On Easter Sunday, we focus our attention on the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection, on the empty tomb, the cornerstone of our faith. In the seven weeks that follow, we focus on the post-resurrection encounters, the disciples’ experiences of meeting their risen Lord in several different places, ways, and even forms.
Baptisim Is The Beginning Of The Spiritual Journey
We had a baptism in our sanctuary this morning during the worship service. My reflection, which focuses on the way our sanctuary is set up architecturally and on the relationship of form and function, is a reminder that baptism is only the beginning of our spiritual. journey. I think you might find it at least informative.(At least I hope you will.)
Don't Try To Hold On (The Fourth Sunday of Easter)
This reflection, the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, is entitled "Don't Try to Hold On." It could just as easily have been named, "Don't Touch Me," "Don't Cling to Me," or "Don't Hold Me," depending upon which translation of the passage in John you read.It is about the suffering that arises from our attachments, from our grasping, whether it is of a loved one, a self-image, a set of beliefs--or even Jesus! Remember, "When you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" Curious?
Believing Helps Us See - The Second Sunday In Easter
The liturgical season of Easter is one of my favorite times of the Christian year. It is a time when we read the gospel accounts of how the disciples encounter Jesus, encounter their risen Lord, or are encountered by him. Their experiences of rediscovering the One whom they felt they had lost can guide us in our own experiences of our risen Lord, can guide us in the deepening of our relationship with Jesus. In our scripture lesson this morning, when Jesus meets the women who had come to the tomb two days following his crucifixion to prepare his body for burial, the very first thing he tells them is “Do not be afraid.” I wonder why he said that.
The Triumph Of Easter
In our observance of Holy Week, we move from Palm Sunday, a day of triumph, to Easter Sunday, another day of triumph, without passing through the dark night of the soul that is a central part of Holy Week. It is tempting to think we can have a resurrection without a crucifixion, without a sacrifice, without a death, either in Jesus’ life or in our lives. This is why so few churches, and so few Christians, observe Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.
The Paradox Of Palm Sunday
Today is Palm Sunday, a day of celebration! Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem marks the beginning of Holy Week, one of the most profound and deeply symbolic weeks in human history.Churches distribute palms to their communicants on this day, sometimes as palm branches, sometimes in other forms. This morning, We reflect on the symbolism of the palm cross that graces our altar--its meaning for Jesus and its meaning for us.
The Power Of Prayer - 3
This morning, the fifth Sunday in Lent, we are continuing our reflections on the power ofprayer. I hope our reflections will lead us to a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of prayer, will lead us to believe more fully in the power of intercessory prayer, and will lead us to pray more constantly and more meaningfully in our daily life.
The Power Of Prayer - 2
The Power Of Prayer - I
This morning, on communion Sunday, we are belatedly beginning our Lenten series of reflections on the power of prayer. I hope our reflections over the next few weeks, and probably after Easter as well, will lead us to a deeper understanding of the meaning and power of prayer, will lead us to believe more fully in the power of intercessory prayer, and will lead us to pray more constantly and more meaningfully in our daily life.
The Healing Power Of Community
Last week we thought about solitude, a theme to which we will be returning during our reflections on prayer, and the importance of touch, of breaking down or setting aside, or reaching past the boundaries that separate us from each other. This morning, let’s build on what we began last week by reflecting on community, on our community, and on the healing power of community, because this is an important, an essential part of what we are, of who we are as a church.The scripture lesson that came to mind when I thought about this theme was the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus as recorded in the Gospel according to Luke. In this encounter, Jesus, not surprisingly, takes a counter-cultural stand; he claims his own authority in initiating a relationship with Zacchaeus. Jesus is undoubtedly aware that “the crowd” views Zacchaeus as a pariah. As a tax collector, a minion of the Roman occupying force that is bleeding the people of Israel dry through the taxes they impose, Zacchaeus is, not without cause, despised by his fellow Israelites. No one would even think of sharing a meal with him! They would rather break bread with a leper! I have read the story of Zacchaeus many times. As I read it this past week, I knew what I wanted to say about this encounter. The story tells us something about Jesus; it tells us something about Zacchaeus; and it tells us something about ourselves.
The Healing Power Of Touch
For one more week, I would like us to remain with the theme that we began several weeks ago, the theme of healing as illustrated in the healing miracles that are described in the Bible. In previous weeks, we have attempted to discern what these healing miracles have in common (if, indeed, they have anything in common). We have attempted to identify the factors within us that enable us to open ourselves to Jesus’ healing power, that can make us receptive to the healing powers that God has placed not only within our body, but also within our psyche, within our soul. And we hope that our reflections encourage us to realize that we have a healing power within us, that in many ways, we can be healers.
Healing The Syrophoenician Woman’s Daughter
Are You Blind?
Healing Our Inner Leprosy
Set Your House In Order
Advent IV - The Answer to Fear Is Love
If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at [email protected] (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.
The Answer To Fear Is Hope!
Thankful? Or Grateful?
Sermon delivered Nov 26,2023If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at [email protected] (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.
We Are All Just Visitors Here
Sermon presented Nov. 26, 2023If you would like to comment on this, or any of the sermons, please email Rev. Sanderson at [email protected] (PDF) copies of the sermons are available on our web site: firstcommunitychurch.com.
Don't Eat My Cookies!
All Saints - All Souls Day
We apologize for the delay in posting this sermon. We had technical problems with the original file and had to re-record it.