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Claremont United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz

Browse published sermons from Rev. Dr. Jacob Buchholz in Claremont United Church of Christ.

Jan 19, 2025 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Second Chances: "A View From the Rubble"

We often think of second chances coming when we have made a mistake and need an opportunity to get it right. But what about second chances when everything goes wrong, and we did nothing to cause it? This week we read from the Book of Lamentations and ask

Dec 22, 2024 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

All I Want For Christmas Is... Love

We continue our series "All I Want for Christmas," with the fourth candle on our Advent wreath: Love. We talk A LOT about love in the church, but what does it actually mean to love someone? Is there a way to quantify our love? How do we know if we are act

Dec 8, 2024 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

All I Want For Christmas Is...

Each week during our Advent sermon series, Pastors Jen and Jacob will be comparing a classic Christmas toy to one of the candles of our Advent wreath: hope, peace, joy, and love. This week Pastor Jacob questions whether the vision of peace presented in Sc

Nov 3, 2024 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Work Continues

As we head to the polls in the United States, Pastor Jacob's sermon is a reminder that the work of the church will not change come Wednesday morning regardless of the results. We will still be called to stand up for our LGBTQIA+ siblings, to dismantle rac

Oct 21, 2024 1:08 PM America/Los_Angeles

The Blessing of the Animals

Our annual Animal Blessing Sunday! Pastor Jacob explores the language we use during times of war when people are described as dogs or animals in an attempt to dehumanize them. Why did this language ever become an insult? What does it have to say about how

Oct 6, 2024 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Micaiah

The Bible is full of prophets beyond just the ones with books named after them. In the book of 1 Kings we meet a prophet named Micaiah who is willing to share a hard truth with King Ahab of Israel, even though 400 other people are telling the king exactly

Sep 22, 2024 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Bezalel & Oholiab

This Sunday we launch a new sermon series taking a look at the hidden figures of Scripture! In the 31,102 verses of Scripture there are characters that get only a passing reference and are quickly forgotten. Take Bezalel and Oholiab for example! They are

Sep 8, 2024 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Crossing The Red Sea

The story of the Isrealites crossing the Red Sea in their escape from Egypt becomes the central story of the Hebrew people. Join Pastor Jacob as he explores why the crossing is about so much more than Moses vs. Pharaoh or Israel vs. Egypt, and why it tell

Aug 25, 2024 12:51 PM America/Los_Angeles

Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors

You can't think of Joseph without thinking of his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! But Joseph's life was far from sunshine and rainbows. In fact, from the beginning, Joseph was mired in family dysfunction. However, his story is a source of encouragement tha

Aug 12, 2024 1:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Noah's Ark

We launch a new sermon series this week retelling some of the most common Sunday School stories, but this time, looking at both the good and dark parts of the tales. Pastor Jacob revisits Noah's Ark and helps us navigate God's anger to discover the hopefu

Jul 21, 2024 10:07 AM America/Los_Angeles

God as a Mother

One of the primary images for God in Scripture is God as a mother. Join Pastor Jacob as he explores the feminine images of God in the Bible and invites us to expand our understanding of God and of ourselves.

Jul 7, 2024 10:13 AM America/Los_Angeles

God the Potter

We launch our new sermon series on the many images used for God in Scripture by taking a look at two passages from the prophets that describe God as a potter while we are the clay. Thankfully we are never a finished product, hardened by the fires of the k

Jun 30, 2024 10:06 AM America/Los_Angeles

Lady Gaga & the Story of the Ethiopian Eunich

Join Pastor Jacob as he explores how God is continually speaking throughout the pages of Scripture to bring everyone into the love of God if only we can get on board as people of faith.

Jun 17, 2024 5:18 AM America/Los_Angeles

Britney Spears & the Story of Samson & Delilah

Our third Scriptures that Pop sermon series combines the music of Britney Spears with the story of Samson and Delilah. Pastor Jacob shares that there is so much more to both the life of Britney Spears and the story of Samson and Delilah than people usuall

Jun 3, 2024 7:19 AM America/Los_Angeles

Rihanna

We kick-off this month's "Scriptures that Pop" sermon series with a mash-up of the music of Rihanna and the Book of Ruth. The Book of Ruth provides us with some of the most powerful relationships in Scripture when Ruth expresses her commitment to her moth

May 13, 2024 3:47 AM America/Los_Angeles

Let Them Come

Jesus' disciples are constantly trying to limit who he can talk to and be around. Yet every time, Jesus shatters their illusions of who is in and who is out to create a spiritual community where everyone is welcome. As we continue our "Love Leads" sermon

Apr 29, 2024 7:31 AM America/Los_Angeles

We Have Seen Incredible Things

We have all seen the effects of religious communities leading with hatred and division and dogmatism. As we launch this year’s stewardship season, we explore what it looks like when spiritual communities lead with love beginning with a beautiful story i

Apr 8, 2024 8:32 AM America/Los_Angeles

Redemption for Creation

Today we launch a new sermon series and adult education lineup focused on climate justice. While it can feel like preaching to the choir at Claremont UCC to talk about environmentalism, it is an issue that must stay at the forefront of our minds because p

Mar 28, 2024 5:56 PM America/Los_Angeles

Grace Upon Grace (Maundy Thursday)

The story of the Last Supper comes right in the middle of Jesus telling his disciples that Judas is going to betray him and that Peter is going to deny him. And yet, Jesus still sits down with these two men and shares a meal. Jesus informs them that they

Mar 18, 2024 5:49 AM America/Los_Angeles

Let The Flame Burn Brightly

In Mark 14, the Chief Priests and scribes are conspiring to find a way to secretly put Jesus to death. But in the middle of their plans comes the story of an unnamed woman with an alabaster jar. Her small act of kindness serves as a subversive act of good

Mar 12, 2024 6:40 AM America/Los_Angeles

But Now I See

In the blockbuster movie Inception, the characters travel into a dream within a dream within a dream. This week, Pastor Jacob explains that the Gospel of Mark is a story within a story within a story. But what all of these layers of stories reveal is that

Feb 26, 2024 1:22 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Cost Of Discipleship

When Jesus sends the disciples to do ministry in the Gospel of Mark, the story of their ministerial exploits is interrupted by a flashback to the death of John the Baptist. We continue our series on a unique aspect of the Gospel of Mark where one story is

Feb 12, 2024 11:02 AM America/Los_Angeles

Celebration

On our annual Fat Sunday we explore the spiritual discipline of celebration. The spiritual discipline of celebration does not ignore the pain in the world or the pain in our lives, but instead invites us into a radical act of joy that declares that no mat