Sermon by Rev. Dr. Gary Charles, September 27th, 2020 Crowds. I miss them. I miss the energy of being at a concert with the crowd cheering their favorite musicians on stage. I miss the deafening cheers of the crowd when the UVA point guard makes that game-winning basket. I miss the Sunday morning crowd at Cove heading to familiar pews and swaying to Linda playing, “Glory to God.” Even knowing that it is in everyone’s best health interest right now to avoid crowds, I still mis

Introduction: There is no scholarly consensus on when the book of Jonah was composed. It is safe to say that it was written during a time in Israel’s history when people were not preoccupied in God’s mercy for all people but did demand God’s justice against hated enemies. It is safe to say, then, that it is a book still be written today. Let us pray. Jonah’s story begins: “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city,

Text: Romans 12:1-18 For most of my ministry, the Sunday after Labor Day has kicked off a new church year. The choir came back after a summer break. Sunday Schools classes began after a few months off. The summer church attendance slump was finally over. People were back from their travels. And, folks were ready to return to their Sunday church routine. Well, this is the Sunday after Labor Day, but in this very odd year there has been no summer church slump. More people view

Text: Psalm 130 “Lighten up, Gary!” “You can’t be serious, Gary?” “This is Labor Day Weekend and over 10% of the country is unemployed.” “Gary, no matter how politicians try to spin it, this pandemic is about to leave 200,000 Americans dead.” “Gary, we are so tired of the bad news. Why can’t you just say something peppy and cheerful?” All the voices you have just heard are mine. These voices are racing through my mind on Sunday, September 6, 2020. They are largely a variatio