Salt House Sermons

The Spirit at Pentecost (Act 2:1-13) builds kinship by honoring our differences as sacred mysteries rather than labels to be controlled. This movement invites us to listen to God and one another deeply, ensuring no one stands outside the circle of compassion where we celebrate the "unknowable and unfurling" beauty of community.

Sara Canal is an exchange student from Spain who spent the school year with us. Rachel and Anson Horton were her host family for the school year, and June 7 was her last Sunday with us at Salt House. Sara is a musician, and a joyful spirit who lent her voice, guitar, and piano skills to our music team throughout the year. She’s also a songwriter and wrote a song to say thank you to the community at Salt House.The song is called Bittersweet! The performance last Sunday, while perfect for the moment, was a not a great version of the song (it's hard to sing when you're crying). Sara wanted the community to hear the full song, so she made a recording at home and Jason Bendickson added some production elements. Thank you, Sara, for blessing us with your joyful and uncontainable spirit. May you be blessed as you head home to Spain.

Pastor David Hahn leads us in reflection on Acts 1 that describes the Holy Spirit as a force that "queers" our understanding of God by disrupting normative categories to join us more deeply to one another. Through the lived testimonies of queer community members, this message challenges the exhausting pressure to provide "convincing proofs" of identity, calling us instead to an active waiting that recognizes the divine voice in our neighbors' stories.

Let's consider that God is a living, triune conversation—much like a jazz trio riffing off one another—that we are invited to join rather than merely observe. You are invited to listen and discover how the Holy Spirit moves us beyond just "talking about" Jesus to a place where we are actively being "written" into new life by God's presence.

We have an incredible opportunity in front of us. A group from our community has created a $20,000 matching pledge fund to encourage generosity and help grow the ministry we believe God is calling Salt House into.Here’s how it works:- If you’ve never pledged or given before, every dollar of your new pledge will be matched.- If you already give, every increased dollar in your pledge will be matched.- All matching applies up to $20,000 total.This kind of generosity is already helping Salt House grow. Over the past year, giving increased by 10%, largely through new donors, and we are projected to finish in the black for the first time in years. At the same time, we know there is more ministry ahead of us.- As a community, we’ve named clear priorities for the future:- Strengthening ministry with children, youth, and families- Deepening belonging through groups, learning, and community life- Expanding our justice work through homelessness outreach, radical welcome, and racial justiceTo move toward these goals, we need to continue growing our giving and building sustainable momentum for the future. Even a modest increase in pledges this year could help position us to add future ministry staff and expand the care and connection our community longs for.Whether your next step is starting to give for the first time or increasing your current pledge, every gift matters and every increased dollar will be doubled through this match.We invite you to spend some time in prayer and conversation with God about what generosity could look like for you this season, and to submit your pledge by June 10.

Pastor Sara explores how the Holy Spirit inspires a "magnetic" lifestyle of generosity through serving, sharing life together, and intentional financial giving. Using the vision of the Acts 2 community, discover how embracing these communal practices can create a compelling story of abundance and love that points others toward the way of Jesus.

The concept of "spiritual growth" didn't really exist in Jesus' time. But today, we recognize it as a part of our whole experience of being human that requires stepping outside of comfort zones to embrace the costly but transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Sara explores how we might engage in growth as a community and how "spiritual stretch marks" serve as signs of a heart expanding to hold more grace as we are formed into the likeness of Jesus.

Bill Lennon shared his powerful Salt House story this week, reminding us that faith is often 90% walk and 10% talk. At 91, he's living proof that God meets us where we are, not where we think we should be. From the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest, from football fields to therapy rooms, his journey shows us that becoming who God calls us to be is a process, not a performance.

JESUS SAVES! When we see these words, we've may have a variety of responses. In this dynamic Easter message Pastor Sara brings a compelling and boundless vision "salvation" that looks like healing, wholeness, and justice occurring within our actual bodies and experiences. This invitation calls us to discover how the risen Christ meets us in our deepest wounds to bring new life to our community and the entire cosmos.

This Palm Sunday, Pastor Sara invites us to witness how Jesus’s humble entry into Jerusalem shakes the foundations of authoritarian power by confronting it with the revolutionary force of mercy and love. Listen and discover how this transformative "way of love" offers a word of freedom and hope for our hearts and our world today.

Kimberly Janous explores what it means to be beloved in the wilderness of our grief by examining how Jesus walks straight toward our pain rather than avoiding it. In the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the death, we are invited to see how befriending our sorrow and remaining in its weight can transform our experience of loss into a holy encounter with the God who accompanies us in every tear.

Pastor Priscilla Austin-Paris invites us into the wilderness to remember our identity as God's beloved and discover a faith that lives within our own breath and bones. Through the story of the man born blind (John 9), we are reminded that every person is made in the image of God and that a long-awaited transformation is always possible.

Explore how a chance encounter at a well challenges centuries of social exclusion and reveals the true meaning of salvation as collective healing and wholeness. Join Rev. Terry Kyllo as he uncovers how Jesus and the Samaritan woman conspired to break down barriers, inviting us to build a community where every voice is honored and every gift is recognized.

Special guest speaker Mikah Meyer shars a beautiful story of adventure in the wilderness. Mikah is a storyteller, musician, and avid outdoor enthusiast. He’s also openly gay and a dedicated advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community. He will share with us a film he made called Canyon Chorus about the power of friendship, openness, and knowing oneself all set against the backdrop of the desolate wilderness. As a child, Mikah believed he could never have a successful life AND be publicly out and gay. And then he had an experience that helped him understand the power, openness, and vulnerability within the queer community...and within himself. It’s a beautiful story!

Join us for a forty-day journey into the wilderness where we'll experience an invitation to stop numbing our exhaustion and instead listen to the truth our bodies tell about our deepest longings. In this season of Lent at Salt House come remember your identity as God’s beloved in the very places where we find ourselves in lost in the wilderness.

Pastor Sara calls us to embark on a Lenten journey of "spiritual spring cleaning" as we follow Jesus into the wilderness to explore how seasons of vulnerability and hunger can clarify our true identity. Together, we may discover how to hold fast to our beloved identity even when life feels unmoored, moving past the temptations of control and certainty toward the hope of resurrection.

Pastor Terry Kyllo gives an insightful exploration of how the Transfiguration calls us to reject a "prison world" view of God in favor of a radical love that "unlocks" us from fear. Drawing connections between Roman occupation and modern struggles in Minneapolis, this sermon reveals how the gospel empowers us to transform our communities by choosing love over intimidation.

Meet Rev. Judy Brennan! Judy currently serves as the Director for Evangelical Mission for the Northwest Washington Synod and brings diverse experience—from teaching in Japan to leading congregations in Louisville and Bellevue—and a deep passion for discovering where people encounter the sacred in daily life. Pastor Judy explores the "Upside Down Kingdom," revealing how Jesus redefines blessing not as power or success, but as God's profound presence within our struggles and grief. Together we discover how this ancient teaching—alongside a modern reimagining—invites us to realize that God stands firmly beside the broken, the marginalized, and everyone striving to love in a complicated world.

In a season of disorientation and fear, Pastor Sara invites us to reclaim our sacred identity as the salt of the earth and light of the world, emphasizing that these are not roles to earn but who you already are. Discover how your faithful presence and acts of solidarity can preserve human dignity in world that desperately needs your unique light and audacity.

Today we practice Lectio Divina together, an ancient way of dwelling in scripture that invites us to listen deeply—for God, for one another, and for the light already stirring within us. In these dark and heavy times, we gather trusting the promise of Epiphany: And yet the light grows. Come slow down, breathe, and open your heart to the Word that still shines

Pastor Sara invites you to explore the "curious journey" of discipleship by responding to Jesus’s simple yet profound call to "come and see" (John 1:29-42). In a world where the human heart was never meant to carry the weight of global suffering alone, this message explores how faith begins with curiosity rather than certainty as we take small, human steps to follow Jesus together.

Pastor Terry Kyllo preaches on the baptism of Jesus as a vision and prophetic fulfillment of our common humanity. Step into the waters of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3 and discover a third way of engaging a broken world—neither retreating from it nor trying to dominate it. We are invited into a public faith shaped by belovedness, courageous love of neighbor, and a “soul force” that honors human dignity while seeking real change.

Epiphany invites us to discover a light that shines not through perfection, but through the cracks of our lives. Pastor Sara explores the Magi’s “political dynamite,” inviting us to follow another road—away from violence and toward mercy—by noticing small breadcrumbs of grace and naming the star that guides us to live with courage and love in a world that needs it.

Do you ever feel like your life is a collection of mismatched puzzle pieces? This Christmas Eve, we invite you to listen to a soul-stirring message from Pastor Sara. In a season that can feel rushed and fragmented, this sermon offers a moment to settle in and breathe with a community that recognizes God’s love enters the world not through power, but through the vulnerability of a child. Merry Christmas.

It's the fourth and final Sunday of the Advent season and we turn our hearts and minds to the story of Jesus' earthly father, Joseph. It's a story of acceptance and openness in the face of truly challenging circumstances (Matthew 1:18-25). What can we learn from Joseph's posture in this story? Come Sunday and find out. 

The Magnificat—Mary's revolutionary anthem of divine justice—shows us how God consistently chooses the lowly and unlikely to bring real, astonishing transformation into the world. Pastor Sara's invites us to learn to practice the Advent posture of 'lifting,' allowing God to lift our courage and compassion so we can become lifters for others.

Our guest preacher for the Second Sunday of Advent, Rev. Priscilla Paris-Austin invites us to explore the profound spiritual invitation to "turn and see," moving beyond self-absorption and recognizing God's presence in others; the magnificent variety of the world. As we personally turn toward communal commitment, we are invited to consider what it means to truly surrender and let God move us into the new life that God is creating.

This Sunday we begin our Advent journey—a season of honest waiting, deep hope, and watching for God’s arrival in the real pieces of our lives. All season long, we’ll bring our prayers, questions, grief, and gratitude to God through four Advent postures of holy waiting: Watch, Turn, Lift, and Open. In a season of what can feel like "too much" (or when we feel "too little"), it’s a beautiful, grounding, can’t-miss journey—come be part of it from the very beginning.

Christian Nationalism is not the way of Christ! This Sunday at Salt House, the Northwest Washington Bishop Shelly Bryan-Wee will be preaching an inspiring message calling Christians to unite in faith and join a growing national and global movement of faithful resistance—standing in solidarity to protect the integrity of our democracy, Christian values, and our shared future. We believe that Christianity demands resistance against systems of oppression, greed, and control, rather than aligning with political power and to stand with marginalized communities and fight against injustice with love.

Today we welcome Salt House member Jacqueline Cuayo to the Salt House microphone. Jacquie is a soul care provider, ritual maker, and visitation minister whose life's privilege is coming alongside people as they journey through life's highs and lows. She’ll guide us as we engage Matthew 9:6–13 — commonly known as The Lord's Prayer — which shapes how we seek God’s provision, forgiveness, and liberation here on earth. Through shared stories and reflection, Jacqueline will invite us to encounter the sacred within and among us.

Throughout the first eight chapters of Mark, we’ve watched Jesus reveal—through word, action, and mystery—what the Kingdom of God looks like. Mark has invited us to see through the eyes of those encountering Jesus, letting these stories help us make up our own minds about who he really is. This Sunday, we reach a turning point: Peter’s bold declaration, “You are the Messiah!” But is Jesus the Messiah the disciples expect—and is he the one we expect?

Meet Pastor Kevin Beebe, Executive Director of Lutherwood Camp and Retreat Center (www.camplutherwood.org/). Originally from Pullman, WA, Kevin has spent many years serving in congregations and communities across the western United States. This Sunday, we will hear about the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26).

Forming now: The Salt House LOVE IN ACTION TEAM to meet the immediate, practical needs of individuals and families, both at Salt House and at Kirkland Place. We are responding to increasing community needs due to a lack of public resources with the goal of creating a mobilized group of helpers ready to respond to specific requests for support. And we need you – your YES – to create a new system that can better coordinate volunteers and ensure that help—which may involve time, transportation, and physical labor—can be provided in an organized, intentional way that embodies God’s calling to a ministry of justice and mercy. Learn more at https://www.salthousechurch.org/care Sign up at https://www.salthousechurch.org/loveinaction

This Sunday is a special one! In this often despairing time in our world, we'll ground ourselves in four central teachings from Martin Luther that have such a potential impact on how we see God, ourselves and our world now - all in celebration of Reformation Sunday. A special Sunday indeed! See you then!  

Did you know that every Monday morning Sofia and Lisa and a crew of faithful volunteers gather in the Salt House parking lot to do one thing: feed people. This is the mission of Platefull is to partner with local resources and grocery stores that donate food and help distribute that food to families in need! They aim to foster a community where all people have enough to eat and no one goes hungry.  And Sofia and Lisa share their story and what Jesus shows us in the Feeding of the 4000 (Mark 8:1-13), and to invite us into sharing the good work that Platefull is doing right here, right now!

Did Jesus really just call that woman a dog? Jesus’ odd conversation with the Greek, Gentile woman in Mark 7 is one for the books, and one that, when we look more closely, stirs up compelling questions about Jesus’ vocation – and ours. Join us Sunday for an engaging time together over this text, that will lead to a few surprising opportunities for how to love and serve at Salt House and beyond!

In a world obsessed with appearances, Jesus cuts to the heart. This week, we hear a challenging and liberating word from Mark 7—a reminder that what defiles isn’t about rituals or rules, but what flows from within. Come explore how grace reshapes our inner lives - which then becomes our outer lives! - and reorients us toward love, justice, and wholeness.

Deacon Liz Colver has been a member of Salt House for years and serves the Northwest Washington Synod in the ministry of Transition. One important aspect of transition ministry is the awareness that there's nothing new under the sun, and regardless of the discomfort and uncertainty we might be feeling, Jesus reminds us to "be encouraged, I'm here. Don't be afraid. " Join us Sunday as we continue to journey through Mark's gospel and welcome the good news of God with us through it all.

In Mark 6, Jesus feeds 5000+ in a remote place; a miracle indeed! But God invites into an even deeper miracle; embracing the fullness of our humanity by sharing resources and recognizing the divine image in others, especially when hierarchical systems implore us to be stingy and label others as less than human - and less than worthy of God's love.

In Mark 6:1-13, Jesus sends his disciples out without him for the first time, and he doesn’t send them out alone. We’re not meant to go it alone either. In a world that tells us to be independent, self-reliant, and endlessly strong, this week’s gospel reminds us that we’re called to lean on each other, and to walk and to carry what really matters—together.

This Sunday, we’ll explore the powerful stories woven together in Mark 5:21–43—the healing of a long-suffering woman and the raising of a young girl. Whatever fear and desperation we carry, Jesus meets us - as he met them - with compassion and power. Join us as we consider how Jesus draws us out of fear and into faith, reminding us that healing and new life are possible—even when all seems lost.

Terry is a Lutheran pastor here in the region and is also Executive Director of Paths to Understanding, an organization which fosters interfaith dialogue and tackling the tough issues of Christian nationalism in this time. He's the author of Go and Do Likewise - Following Jesus into Our Common Humanity. In a word, he is a fantastic servant-hearted leader we are privileged to call a friend. We've had him at Salt House before and it's great to have him back!

We turn to Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus calls the storm, and we welcome a guest preacher who is one of our own, Kimberly Janous. In her Salt House story, Kimberly will share both a message grounded in the gospel text and part of her personal journey of navigating life's storms with candid honesty. In a world full of uncertainty and disruption, what does it mean to trust that God is with us -- even when the waves rise?

Jesus' parables in Mark 4 show us that the Kingdom of God does not ask us to discriminate. It's not our role to decide who is in and who is out. It does not come to us by force but by invitation. How we receive it and engage with it is up to us. This Sunday, we will consider what a gift it is to be invited to partake in the revealing of God's Kingdom on Earth.

In Mark 3:7-19, Jesus is pursued by crowds of hurting, searching people. Then, from those who have begun to follow him, he sets apart twelve apostles—those who will carry his love into the world in a particular way. This Sunday, we’ll reflect on how God meets us and how we, too, are sent to embody hope and healing in a world still aching to belong.

This summer, we are walking through the first eight chapters of Mark. As we look to the good news reading for this Sunday, Mark 2:23-3:6, resistance from the Pharisees over violations of the religious law grows stronger. Particularly the Fifth Commandment of observing the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship. The disciples and Jesus appear unfazed. Which brings to mind a quote from priest/novelist Andrew Greeley: “Jesus and his disciples go merrily along their troublemaking way

When times are hard, when prayers go unanswered, when the suffering of our world seems too much, the story of Jesus dares us to trust that God is up to something new and surprising in our midst. Listen for a word of hope and possibility in these troubling times from Mark 2:18-22.

Continuing with the Gospel of Mark. This Sunday, Jesus calls Levi—a tax collector and outsider—to follow him without hesitation or conditions. In a world full of barriers and qualifiers, Jesus offers an open invitation. Come hear how the love of God sets the table for all, no prerequisites required.

Summer is here! And our series on the Gospel of Mark continues with Liz Colver. Join us on Sunday as Liz preaches through a well-known passage (Mark 2:1-12) where Jesus heals a paralyzed man in front of the religious leaders, drawing suspicion and amazement from the crowds gathered around him.

Pride Sunday at Salt House! We celebrate and affirm the entirety of God's creation and especially our LGBTQIA+ community. Sean Mobley shares a message of affirmation and belovedness rooted in Psalm 139.