Sermons from 2017 (Page 2)
Dead to Sin
A Sermon for June 25, 2017 on Romans 6:1a-11 We’re continuing our series on Romans with the first chunk of chapter 6, where Paul is continuing to work out what it means to be justified by faith. Last week we talked about one way of looking at this thing called justification. Before justification, we are God’s enemies. Once we are justified, we have peace with God. God…
Justified Love
A sermon on Romans 5:1-8 for June 18, 2017 There’s a retired United Methodist pastor, Dennis Dorsch, who has been walking with me for nearly a decade as I’ve been growing spiritually and discerning God’s call on my life. For someone who has some significant mobility problems, he remains incredibly active and committed to that Wesleyan spirit of “Do all the good you can,…
Authority for Mission
A Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20 for June 11, 2017 The passage that we read from Matthew’s Gospel contains what is called “the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” In the late 18th century, a man named…
The Reason for the Season
A Sermon on Acts 1:6-14 for May 28, 2017 Last week, we spoke about the person of the Holy Spirit, and we talked about a few of the roles that the Holy Spirit takes in our lives. In particular we talked about the Holy Spirit as Advocate, as Comforter, and as Helper. We also spoke about how in the church year, we’re in the season of Easter. The resurrection has happened,…
Another Advocate
A Sermon on John 14:15-21 Did you ever see the show Mythbusters? The premise is that special effects experts rig up scenarios to test various Myths. Will a cell phone used near a gas pump cause an explosion? Can a human hang onto the roof of a speeding car? Does a car explode when driving off a cliff? Something usually ends up blowing up. And even if it doesn’t, they…
Why the church?
A Sermon on Acts 2:42-47 How is it that the church exists? I’m not asking what we exist to do. I’m simply asking, how is it possible that the church of Jesus Christ exists at all? Have you ever stopped to consider how unlikely it is? Before Pentecost, which we’re going to celebrate on June 4, the church was about 120 people according to Acts 1. On the day of Pentecost,…
Aha!
A Sermon for April 30, 2017 on Acts 2:36-41, Luke 24:13-35 Have you ever had a moment when something you’ve been trying to understand just… clicks? I’ve heard of this happening to some people as they learn to read. They learn what the letters are individually, and they learn that they go together to form words. But at some point something their brain just goes “pop” and…
Doubting like a Disciple
A Sermon for April 23, 2017 on John 20:18-31 Listen to Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek Wasn’t that song that Greg sang powerful? It’s not surprisingly called “Doubting Thomas,” and it was written by Chris Thile, the mandolin player for the bluegrass group Nickel Creek. I’ve listened to the album version of the song quite a few times in the past week, and found it to be a…
Why are you crying?
A Sermon for Easter, April 16, 2017 on John 20:1-18 “Why are you crying?” Mary Magdalene was asked. It’s a question that gets asked twice in the Gospel reading– once by the angels in the tomb, and once by Jesus himself. Mary Magdalene, why are you crying? Don’t you know it’s Easter Sunday? Let’s put ourselves in her shoes. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Mary…
Humble Awareness
A Sermon for Maundy Thursday, April 13, 2017 on John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Visual: https://goo.gl/images/C8vaJ0 Think about your tongue, and it feels all puffed up in your mouth. It’s pretty odd. But do you know what the Christian version of being aware of your tongue is? Being aware of your own humility. If you become aware that you’re humble, then you immediately start being…