Sermons
Sermon: Falling Upwards
Rev. Linda Knieriemen
We welcome the Rev. Linda Knieriemen as guest preacher on July 14. Linda is the Senior Pastor/Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church in Holland. A 1990 graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, she served as associate pastor here at Westminster between 1995 and 2005. She has served in several denominational roles and held positions with the Synod of the Covenant and Madison Ave (NY) Presbyterian Church. She is married to David Walter.
Sermon: All Is Not Lost
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Weenink
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Weenink has served as the Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Pittsford, NY since November, 2017. He was Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church, Bay City, MI for 19 years and had served several other Presbyterian congregations. He has preached here at Westminster a number of times and early in his ministry he served as program staff at Camp Henry.
Sermon: They Are Stronger Than Us
Rabbi Michael Schadick
Michael Schadick has been the rabbi of Temple Emanuel, one of Westminster’s interfaith partner congregations, since 2000. He received his ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1994 and his BA in Economics from Connecticut College in New London, CT. Before coming to Grand Rapids he served congregations in Orlando, Florida and in Plantation, Florida. Rabbi Schadick is an active participant in local interfaith activities and loves to spend time each summer on the faculty of the Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, WI.
Sermon: Come Upon You
Rev. Scott Hoezee
Rev. Scott Hoezee is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. He has served Christian Reformed congregations in Fremont MI and Grand Rapids and has been a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ. He is the author of several books, including the just-published Why We Listen to Sermons.
Sermon: Majestically Backwards
Rev. Scott Hoezee
Rev. Scott Hoezee is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. He has served Christian Reformed congregations in Fremont MI and Grand Rapids and has been a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ. He is the author of several books, including the just-published Why We Listen to Sermons.
Sermon: Can You Hear Me Now?
Rev. Denise Anderson
Rev. Denise Anderson is the Coordinator for racial and intercultural justice for the Presbyterian Mission Agency and was the Co-Moderator of the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (2016). She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and continued her studies at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. She served as pastor of Unity Presbyterian Church in Temple Hills, Maryland and is a member of the NEXT Church strategy team.
Sermon: Where Do We Look?
Rev. Dr.Suzanne McDonald
Rev. Dr. Suzanne McDonald is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland. Born and raised in Australia, she studied in the United Kingdom and received her Ph.D from St. Andrews University. She also has taught at Westminster College, Cambridge and Calvin College and is the author of two books and several essays and articles, including John Knox for Armchair Theologians.
Sermon: A More Profound Alleluia
Kyle Kooyers
Sunday, May 19, 2019 | Two services at 8:30a and 11:00a | Join us as we welcome Kyle Kooyers to the pulpit. Kyle is a Candidate for Ordination in the PC(USA), a Westminster member, and a program manager for the Kaufman Interfaith Institute.
Sermon: A Great Multitude No One Could Count
Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Brouwer
Sunday, May 12, 2019 | Two services at 8:30a and 11:00a | We welcome back Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Brouwer as our guest preacher this Sunday. Dr. Brouwer has served a number of Presbyterian congregations and, most recently, the International Protestant Church in Zurich. Join us as he leads us in worship using Revelation 7:9-17 and John 10:22-30.
Sermon: The Mess That A Conversion Makes
Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Brouwer
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | Two services at 8:30a and 11:00a | Heritage Sunday with Communion | We welcome Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Brouwer as our guest preacher for this special service honoring and including our Fifty year and more members. Dr. Brouwer has served a number of Presbyterian congregations and, most recently, the International Protestant Church in Zurich. Join us as he leads us in worship using Acts 9.1-6 and “The Mess That A Conversion Makes.”
Sermon: Grief and New Beginnings
Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity
Sunday, April 29 | TWO services at 8:30 & 11:00 | Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity | As an artist, pastor, and retreat leader, Lisle works with communities of all kinds across the nation. She is the founder and creative director of A Sanctified Art LLC, a collaborative arts ministry providing multimedia resources for worshiping communities. Join us for this unique worship experience as we witness Rev. Lisle proclaims the Word visually.
Sermon: Telling a Truer Story
Rev. Jeremy Bork
Easter Sunday, April 21 | TWO services at 8:30 & 11:00 | Rev. Jeremy Bork | Near the end of Luke's account of the resurrection, when the women share the news with the apostles, their words sound like "an idle tale," and they don't believe them. What made the message so hard to believe, and what makes it difficult to believe today? What are the stories we believe about God, the world, and ourselves, and how might the hope of Easter invite us to believe and tell truer stories? Join us at 8:30 and 11:00 as we wonder into and celebrate resurrection.
Sermon: What Do your Poinsettia’s Look Like Now?
Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence
| AThe Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence is the Transition Co-Leader/Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of Lake Michigan. Fran serves on the Board of Trustees for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary, the PCUSA’s only historically black seminary; she also serves on the GA Racism Truth and Reconciliation Committee, and is past moderator of the GA Committee on Theological Education. Prior to her service as the Transitional Co-Leader/Stated Clerk, she served for 9 years at the First Presbyterian Church in Niles, MI, and prior to that as Executive Director of Laughlin Memorial Chapel, a faith-based community center, in Wheeling, WV.
Sermon: The Island of Misfit Toys
Rev. Dr. Bill Evertsberg
Sunday, April 7 | TWO services at 8:30 & 11:00 | Rev. Dr. William A. Evertsberg | We welcome Rev. Dr. William A. Evertsberg to our services this Sunday. Rev. Evertsberg is the Senior Minister at the Kenilworth Union Church in Kenilworth Illinois and served here at Westminster from 1990-1997. A graduate of Calvin College and Princeton Theological Seminary, Bill has also served congregations in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Sermon: The Spirit of the Thing
Rev. Paul Timothy Roberts
Sunday, March 31 | TWO services at 8:30 & 11:00 | Rev. Paul Timothy Roberts | The Reverend Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. is President of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA, a position he has held since the spring of 2010. We are happy to welcome his return to Westminster.