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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.

Dec 6, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Home for the Holidays: Set Up a Tent Among Us

Most English translations of John 1:14 don't quite capture what the original hearers of this passage would have imagined. The literal translation is that Jesus "set up a tent" among us. The Israelites thought God lived in their tent or tabernacle, but now

Nov 22, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Thanksgiving Sunday: What is Truth?

There has been a war against truth in our culture over the last four years. How can we sort through fact and fiction in our world today?

Nov 8, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Post-Election: Forgiveness is Not the End

No matter the results of the 2020 election, the work of the church does not change. We are called to always strive for greater love, inclusion, and equality in the world.

Oct 25, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Lost and Found: The Prodigal Son

The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most well known stories in Scripture, but Jesus never meant for the parable to have only one meaning. How can we hear this parable again today and learn something new for our context.

Oct 4, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Lost and Found: The Lost Sheep

When Jesus introduces a series of three stories about lost items in Luke 15, he begins with a story about a lost sheep. Join Pastor Jacob as he connects this story to the Black Lives Matter movement and asks, "Who is really lost?"

Sep 20, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

When Will This End: The Seventh Generation

There is an Iroquois law that said decisions should be made based on how they impact the community seven generations into the future. What if God is calling us to invest in creating a better world, even if we never live to see it?

Sep 6, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

When Will This End: These Are Your Gods

While they are in the wilderness waiting for Moses to come down from Sinai, the Israelites ask Aaron to make them some sort of god that they can see and touch. We always crave certainty. But what if the only thing that is certain is our uncertainty? How d

Aug 23, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Unread Books: The Remaining Books

Pastor Jacob admits he likes to check things off lists and felt compelled to preach out all of the remaining books before the series came to a close. He looks to eight different passages and asks if there might be a common theme unifying the entire canon

Aug 9, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Unread Books: Jude

Doesn't it sometimes feel that Christianity has been hijacked by fundamentalists. But what if they think the same thing about us so-called "progressives." Pastor Jacob provides some guidance about how to have conversations regarding the heart of our faith

Jul 26, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Unread Books: 1 & 2 Chronicles

These two books of history are seldom read because the stories they contain are mostly repeats from the historical books that come before. In this sermon, Pastor Jacob suggests that we cannot practice our Christian faith without understanding how we live

Jul 12, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

The Unread Books: 2nd and 3rd John

The books of 2 and 3 John almost did not make it into the canon of Scripture because they are so short and lack context. Is there something we can learn from these letters that contain less than 300 words each? Pastor Jacob suggests that these letters cap

Jun 28, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Saints You Should Know: St. Theresa of Calcutta

St. Theresa is often lifted up as a saint extraordinaire, but there were many criticisms of her work in her lifetime, and she herself experienced periods of intense spiritual darkness. In this period of spiritual darkness for our country, Pastor Jacob cal

Jun 14, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Saints You Should Know: Julian of Norwich

The most famous line of Julian of Norwich's writing is, "All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well." But how can we think that anything will be well as our country confronts two major public health crises in Covid-19 and

May 17, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Seeing 2020: Tell Me What I Want to Hear

The parallels between King Ahab in our passage for today and our current administration are uncanny. We can gather people around us who will tell us what we want to hear or people who will be honest and candid with us. Friends, we cannot return to "normal

May 3, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Seeing 2020: Going Where the Spirit Leads

During Paul's missionary journeys in the Book of Acts, the Spirit of God takes him to unexpected places. How is the Spirit leading us to new places and new discoveries during this pandemic?

Apr 19, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Earth Day 2020

The parallels between how our country responded to Covid-19 in its earliest stages and how we handle climate change are uncanny. On these world issues we must come together to accept the fact before us and make wide-spread, systemic changes.

Apr 5, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

3 Day Flip: Cleaning House

Our homes are at their cleanest when guests are about to arrive. We curate the images we put on social media. But when Jesus enters the temple before his death to cleanse the temple of the money changers, he asks us to keep a clean house year-round and to

Mar 15, 2020 3:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

3 Day Flip: A Wordless Miracle

Join Pastor Jacob as he explores how the Deaf community understands the story of Jesus healing a man who is deaf in Mark 7. What is the real miracle of this passage?

Mar 1, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

3 Day Flip: The Way

This week for our "3 Day Flip" sermon series, we look at the example par excellence of restoration in the New Testament: Saul's conversion experience before he becomes Paul. Do we believe that anyone is capable of change?

Feb 16, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Uncorked: It's Not Fair

Jesus' parables are intentionally multi-layered and challenge us to think below the surface. Join Pastor Jacob as he explores The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard and its possible message for us now and after death.

Feb 9, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

Uncorked: The Divine Meal

In Scripture, a meal is never just a meal. Bread is never just bread. Wine is never just wine. Join Jesus at his last meal with his disciples, even the disciple who is about to betray him, as they share together in a Passover Seder. As Jesus takes a cup a

Jan 19, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

New Year's Resolutions: Embody God's Word

Oftentimes so-called "Bible-believing" churches perpetuate the worst racism, homophobia, and hatred in our country. In today's sermon on New Year's Resolutions, Pastor Jacob reminds us that to embody God’s Word doesn’t just mean to read the Bible, bec

Jan 5, 2020 2:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

New Year's Resolutions: Take Responsibility for Myself

When Paul was establishing churches throughout the Mediterranean he quickly discovered that when people gather together, disagreements are inevitably. Unfortunately, modern psychologists confirm what Paul knew 2,000 years ago: humans are bad at having dis