Speechless
In this well-known miracle is a parable for the contemporary Church. Like the father’s boy, we have been “robbed of our speech”. In the eyes of the public, we cannot speak because we cannot hear and we cannot hear because we no longer believe. Whenever we’re speechless, the solution is not to keep talking, but to really listen, first to God and then to others before we know what the gospel really means for our world today.
The Hope for the Gospel
At the center of our church is a bold gospel: God makes all things new! This is an optimistic view of God’s grace and it calls each of us to participate in this gospel. This sermon will include stories of old lives made new, showing how God has been active in our congregation through the years, and encourage us to be faithful to the mission of our church in the next generation.
The Sending Church
The Church is the hope of its community. Like the first disciples, God calls us to “gather (and) stay until we’ve been clothed with power from on high,” and then “to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth”. Our mission is to gather and to send. We gather people from the city and the Church, and help to clothe them with power from on high, then we send them back to the city and the Church to be witnesses all over the earth.
Mission Drift
One of the great challenges of growing churches is to stay true to their mission. Of the organizations who don’t, 85% of their leaders blame internal factors, meaning that complexity and bureaucracy have caused them to drift from their mission. God has placed a high calling on each of us, and yet as we grow older there is a tendency to drift. We settle for something less and can miss out on the “fullness of life” (Eph. 3:19) to which God is inviting us.
Part Hearted
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
The Wrong Next Thing
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Learning Christ
The work that follows the miracle of new life is the slow and sometimes frustrating process of renewing our mind until we have the very mind of Christ. Most of us do not have a plan for this and so the mind is often the last thing converted, if it is ever converted at all. Yet because it lies at the bottom of all our instincts and desires, the transformation of our mind is essential to the process of having Christ “fully formed in us.”
Grace in the Slump
Many Christians find themselves in a spiritual slump. Their passion for God has diminished. They still come to church, pray and read their bible, but deep inside they feel as if their best days in Christ are behind them not before them. The good new is that God doesn’t abandon us but comes to us while we’re in the slump to get us back on a spiritual streak again.
Including and Belonging
Favoritism is one of the hardest things to get over because most of us prefer the company of others like us. It is our very sense of “belonging” that makes “including” so difficult. But to love others as much as we love ourselves is at the core of our religion even more important than our worship. What would it look like – what would WE look like – if we put our preferences down and love others as much as we love ourselves?
Living Resurrection
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
The Ultimate Test of Worship
In Luke 9, we read the story of The Transfiguration and Jesus healing a demon possessed boy. The marriage of these passages call for two equal movements within our faith. First, that we withdraw to be alone with God. Second, that we become involved with humans who are in deep need. There are whole religions that focus solely on withdrawing or solitude, and entire religions focused only on outreach or benevolence.
Too Good to Love
Is there a place in your life where you unknowingly live face to face with the will of God and keep missing it? This week we are going to experience the book of Philemon anew. We will discover some key differences between the way Paul and Philemon lived out their faith and the impact that had on others.
Even Greater Things
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
The Challenge of Blessings
Because of our human nature, blessings can be misunderstood and even misused because, we tend to lose sight of that purpose and make blessings an end rather than a mean; and then the very blessings that were intended to make us grow, (move) may become the reason we’re not growing. We want to encourage hearers to get a Biblical perspective on “blessings.”
A Thing of Beauty
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Others
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Sacred Companions
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Offensive Grace
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Getting Unstuck
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages
Faith Seeking Understanding
Additional Resources Video Download Audio Download Discussion Guide Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on email Related Messages