Sermon Summary

Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18

Love. We continue our series on love this morning. We recently had our kids and their kiddos staying with us, and I was vividly reminded how challenging Sunday mornings can be with very busy small children. I used to say that the devil worked overtime on Sundays, because in addition to needing to get everyone ready and out the door on time (a worthy goal!), you usually try to make sure that they look at least CLEAN, if not “nice.”

All that to say, church is one of the places where we really like to look nice. And holy. Also a worthy goal. But most of us here know there is more to that than just how we look. John has quite a bit to say about how “looking nice” and “holy” reflects our inner holiness. And how that holiness is our essence. [Read more…]

Originally preached Sunday, April 15, 2018

Sermon Summary

Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31

For the next 6 weeks we will be preaching out of 1 John. It is a letter, but doesn’t look like the other letters in our NT: it has no opening address, no closing greetings, and yet when you read it, it obviously has an intimate, personal feel. You can tell that the man who wrote it had a specific situation and group of people in mind. It feels almost anxious, and definitely pastoral. William Barclay says it is “a homily written out of a devoted pastor’s love and care and concern for his people.”

I don’t think that anyone here could argue that we need more of love in our world. And that is what this short epistle is all about—love. What does love mean to each of us? What does love look like? Why do we need to think about it? What does God have to say about it? How do we DO it? I think everyone knows what it feels like to NOT be loved, but we are not always certain about the opposite of that. [Read more…]

Sermon Summary

In the early church the pastor would announce on Easter morning, “Christ is risen!” and the people would respond, “He is risen indeed!” This tradition voices the astonishment and awe that the early followers felt when the darkness and grief of Saturday was flooded with the light of the unthinkable Sunday.

When death was conquered by life.

When the hopelessness was broken.

When the unthinkable happened as he said it would.

What is it like to lose everything you ever thought you wanted or needed, only to have it gloriously and unexpectedly lavished back on you? Well, that is what Jesus has done for each of us. Praise his name! Let us rejoice this Easter morning.

Christ has risen!

He has risen indeed!

We’ve all heard the story of Easter. The crucifixion and the resurrection, but this morning let’s make it personal. Let’s visit it through the eyes of one of the witnesses. It was personal. It was real. There were real consequences. It changed the world.

[Read more…]

Sermon Summary

Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our image of God.” A. W. Tozer

A few years ago there was a movie “Bruce Almighty” starring Jim Carrey as a frustrated, discouraged news man who complains that God is doing a bad job of looking out for him. And then God shows up to defend himself—as Morgan Freeman. Now the premise of the movie—feeling that God is “out there” somewhere not listening—is something that most of us have dealt with at some time—but the way God is depicted—surprising? If I asked you right now what you think God looks like or sounds like, what would you say? What about those cartoons that show God as an oversized old man with a snowy white beard sitting on a huge throne on a cloud, holding a scepter or a shepherd’s crook. Is that the image that popped into your mind?

Or what about how you THINK about God . . . Is God a harsh judge just waiting to punish you? Or do you think that God is too busy to take care of you or think about you, and you don’t want to “bother God” about the things that bother YOU?

OR is God like a chess master, moving us about like pawns, with no interest in our thoughts or feelings or outcomes?

[Read more…]