"Featured" Tagged Sermons (Page 3)
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The Root of Jesse
Throughout the month of December, I plan to focus each Sunday on some aspect of the Person of Jesus. To some extent we always do that, of course, but each week this month I’m focusing more intentionally on some aspect of his character or role. This text is clearly Messianic. Throughout the Old Testament there’s this note of anticipation as Israel waits for God to do what he’d promised that he would do. They looked forward to the time when…
Waiting on God
Most of us don’t enjoy waiting, but it’s interesting how God seems to think it’s an important part of the walk of faith. How long did Abraham and Sarah wait for Isaac? Jacob waited for Rachel. Joseph waited for years in Egypt, and of course the Hebrews waited in slavery for 400 years. Throughout centuries of struggle, Israel longed for the anticipated Messiah. And we wait as well. In the text above, Paul says that “in this tent we groan,” and…
Jesus and Legion
Mark is a notoriously pithy writer who gets straight to the point and doesn’t mince words. And yet he devotes twenty verses to this interesting encounter between Jesus and a violent, demon-possessed man that ends up with pigs diving into the sea. That makes us think that Mark thinks there’s something important for us to see here. And there is. It’s a story about demon possession, of course, but it’s more than that. It serves as an illustration of how evil…
A Low Whisper
After Elijah’s (God’s) great victory at Mt Carmel–where God sent fire from heaven–I think Elijah thought everything would change. All of Israel would return to the Lord after seeing such an incredible miracle. But they didn’t. After hearing that Jezebel had signed his death warrant, he ran and ran and ran, eventually finding his way to the same mountain where Moses had once sought and found God’s presence. God sent wind, an earthquake, and fire, but his presence wasn’t there.…
Counterintuitive Truths: Content in Every Situation
In some ways, Christianity is taking a beating in our post-Christian society. Much of the secular media seems to jump at any opportunity to point out inconsistencies or hypocrisies in Christians. So I think it’s good for us to be reminded that the way of Christ actually is the best way to live, even when it seems counterintuitive. Since God knows our true nature, it shouldn’t surprise us that living according to his plan will be best for us. In…
Counterintuitive Truths: It is More Blessed to Give
We aren’t Christians because it’s an easier life, but because we believe Jesus is the Son of God. Nevertheless, when we follow Christ we pursue a way of life that is consistent with God’s creative purposes for us. In other words, it may not be easier, but it leads to what Jesus calls the “abundant” life. In so many ways it’s counterintuitive, though. Jesus reigns over an upside-down kingdom . . . it subverts the way that comes naturally to…
Sunday Dinner
Meals play a central role in Scripture. Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s preparing a table in the presence of our enemies. It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus made meals an important part of his ministry, and of all the gospel writers Luke emphasizes them the…
Come to the Banquet
Meals play a central role in Scripture. The crucial holiday in Israel’s calendar was a meal that commemorated their deliverance from captivity, and the central commemoration of Christians is a weekly meal that reflects on God’s ultimate deliverance from bondage. Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s…
The Best Seat at the Table
Meals play a central role in Scripture. The crucial holiday in Israel’s calendar was a meal that commemorated their deliverance from captivity, and the central commemoration of Christians is a weekly meal that reflects on God’s ultimate deliverance from bondage. Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s…
Conflict at the Dinner Table
Meals play a central role in Scripture. The crucial holiday in Israel’s calendar was a meal that commemorated their deliverance from captivity, and the central commemoration of Christians is a weekly meal that reflects on God’s ultimate deliverance from bondage. Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s…
At Mary and Martha’s House
Meals play a central role in Scripture. The crucial holiday in Israel’s calendar was a meal that commemorated their deliverance from captivity, and the central commemoration of Christians is a weekly meal that reflects on God’s ultimate deliverance from bondage. Our presence in the new heavens and earth is sometimes described as a huge feast where we take our places at a banquet table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the central part of our favorite Psalm is about God’s…