Sermons on The Church
Pray for One Another
James gives us a picture of the church as a praying community—not a place where prayer is merely a phrase we use when we don’t know what else to say, but a family where life is brought honestly before God together.When someone is suffering, they pray. When someone is cheerful, they praise. When someone is weak or sick, they ask for help. When sin is present, it is confessed. And through it all, brothers and sisters pray for one another…
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…
Elders Who Shepherd and Members Who Submit
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you…
Living as Christians in an Unbelieving World
We’re in the middle of a sermon series on 1 Peter, a letter the apostle wrote to Christians who were struggling to figure out how they were supposed to relate to an increasingly hostile world. Like them, we sense a change in the cultural tides against the practice of historic, orthodox Christianity, and sometimes we’re confused about who we are and how we’re supposed to live. What does the world think when they think of Christianity? Their opinions might be…