Sermons from 2024 (Page 3)

The Law and The Priesthood

The Law and The Priesthood

How does the law of Jesus compare to the law of Moses?
The Torah is the closest thing we get to a set of rules from God. But even amongst the 613 commands, there is narrative, mystery, and tension. No set of rules could be complete enough to guide the human heart. The Spirit knew we needed more and has given us a rich set of 66 books. The result is that we are often unable to just turn to a simple answer for the things we face. Rightly handling the word of God means that we must engage with the Spirit, engage with spiritual people, research theology and history, and above all else, pray.

Thread - The Presence

The Presence

We all have things that we rely on or look to in our lives. Often we don’t give these strong influences much thought. As Israel makes their escape in Exodus they are given a physical reminder of the presence of God in the form of a pillar of cloud and fire. Day and night, God was with them, leading their steps, and protecting them powerfully. What are you leaning on? How do you know where God is leading you? Is the presence of God a pillar in your life?

Gifted Opportunities

Gifted Opportunities

In Christ, we have been gifted with a lifetime of opportunities that if grasped, help us find our place in God’s story. We will look at David who grasped his opportunities and subsequently was described as one who fulfilled God’s purpose for his life. We will look to see what we can learn from David’s life to help us find our place in God’s story.

The Wilderness

The Wilderness

We all need to grow in our understanding of God’s process of formation. We want growth to be easy. But that’s not the reality we see in any part of creation, including our own souls. When God wants to grow us (and he does!), he takes us into the wilderness to be formed into people…

The Exodus

The Exodus

In the Great Commission, we are tasked with making disciples and baptizing them. The Exodus story powerfully shows that this has always been God’s plan. But just as there is much more to the Exodus story than moving through the parted waters, there is much more to the Great Commission. The freedom that comes from piercing the waters of baptism should be celebrated as the Spirit-enabled beginning of an incredible journey marked by learning to obey all that Jesus taught.

Patch 'God Nation Formed' on a bright brown background

The Sign

The theme of this week’s service is formation. That might not be a word we use every day – but it is something that God is doing in our lives every day whether we realize it or not. Formation means that God has big plans for our lives, but he needs to mold us or form us into the kind of person who can accomplish his will.

Eyes That See

Eyes That See

As we look into what our vision is for the church, we must ask ourselves who are we and where are we going? We get many of our answers to these questions in the book of Matthew where Jesus tells us that sight/vision is more than just physical – there is also spiritual sight. We are reminded that, while we must “go and make disciples of all nations,” church is not just about getting more people into the church but about transforming lives through love.

A group of students gathered outdoors for campus bible study and worship service.

Keep Your Faith Young

We are challenged to remember the ways God has shown his works in the past and to believe that the God of today is just as powerful as the God of yesterday. Then, we are told how we can ignite our faith through appreciation of God’s creation. Finally, we are shown how the humanity of Jesus can help us remember that he also suffered in this life and that we can deal with our trials as he did, through prayer.

Easter Service I will follow you

I Will Follow You

Using our own lives as well as the lives of biblical characters such as Simon Peter as examples, we are reminded that God never fails and that he is willing and able to do all things. We are reminded that we are all following someone/something and that others are following us. Therefore, if we want to live in the kingdom ever after, we need to stand firm in Jesus and declare, “I will follow you.”

What Time Is It?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 tells us that there is a time for everything, including death. Today’s sermon looks at death as our eternal retirement (from life) and asks us how we are preparing for it. We are reminded that even Jesus was conscious of time and that what we do with our time is critical. We are reminded that God has expectations of his children and their time on earth. What are you doing with your time?