Sermons on Sin (Page 4)
Your Heart
Last week we introduced our theme for 2020: “Focus on what matters: ‘This one thing I do.’” I think probably everyone in our congregation realizes the importance of priorities, and we know that we have the tendency to get them out of order. The “one thing” that we know ought to get our focus sometimes gets relegated to a lesser position, even though we know it shouldn’t. And so we try to do better. We make resolutions and commitments. We…
Which Do You Want?
Two weeks ago we looked at Jesus’ predictions concerning his upcoming crucifixion, and last Sunday we studied his taking the Passover meal and reinterpreting it for the apostles (and for the church). Tomorrow we’re going to reflect on a part of one of his trials that began early on that fateful Friday morning. The religious leaders had brought him before Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea, whose primary goal was to keep the locals peaceful and relatively happy so that…
The God of Life
“Do not kill” is the sixth commandment, and everyone knows that it forbids murder–the intentional taking of an innocent human life. But the implications of this commandment are far-reaching and address more than most of might think. In fact, the emphasis on the sanctity of life touches so many aspects of our lives–the way we think about murder, of course, but also how we think about the lives of the vulnerable, including the unborn. It also touches ethical issues that…
Running the Race
The Christian life is difficult, at times–something we all can relate to. It involves sacrifices and sometimes persecutions, and occasionally we get discouraged. We might even want to quit. The writer of Hebrews compares it to a race, and I suspect he’s thinking of a long-distance run, not a sprint. When you’re running a marathon, for example, the adrenaline runs out in the first part of the race, and you have to tough it out in order to finish. The…
Have Mercy On Me, O God
Psalm 51 is one of the most famous of all the Psalms, perhaps because we’re drawn to the emotional rawness and vulnerability that it reflects. According to tradition, David wrote this psalm after Nathan had come to him and convicted him of the sins he had committed against Bathsheba and her husband, but especially against God. We’ll reflect Sunday morning on what this Psalm teaches us about the ugliness of sin and what it does to us. We’ll think about…
How is Our Culture Affecting Us? “That We May Be Like All the Nations”
We’re about to send six high school graduates off as they begin the next phase of life. Their lives will change significantly as they experience the world without being watched as closely by their parents. So I planned this sermon with them in mind. As the sermon developed, though, I became more convicted that it is a message that everyone in our congregation needs to hear. The temptation that affected Israel in Samuel’s day–to allow the spirit of the age…