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The Certain Gospel: Wait… What? God’s Storyline | Luke 5:17-26
When you expect one thing and God does something completely different, remember God is telling a bigger story than you can ever think or imagine. Watch, listen or read this sermon on Luke 5:17-25 by Mark Pender. Click “Save” to download the pdf manuscript. Church Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube. Sermon Slides
The Certain Gospel: Consumer Christianity | Luke 19:45-48
I want to start out by playing a little game. I want to see if you can guess each answer. I’m going to ask you a “how many” question and you’re going to see if you know the right answer. How many cars and trucks did Americans buy in 2017? Answer: 17.3 million How much did we spend on movie tickets domestically in 2017? Answer: $11 billion How much did Americans spend on donuts in 2014? Answer: $581 million How…
The Certain Gospel: Pray for Justice | Luke 18:1-8
Does prayer work? When you’re going through something and you ask people to pray for you, does it matter? Does it help? Maybe you’ve seen this meme on Facebook about the uselessness of prayer. “I named my cats ‘thoughts’ and ‘prayers’ because they’re useless.” I actually think that’s pretty funny, but it’s sadly popular because people believe it. Prayer doesn’t work. Maybe some of you were on social media after the recent Parkland Shooting and you saw this meme showing…
The Certain Gospel: Divorce & Remarriage | Luke 16:18
I think I’m a bit naive. When I chose preaching on divorce and remarriage this week I thought it would be an easy sermon. I mean I’m preaching on one verse, right? How hard can it be? Don’t the majority of pastors and scholars agree about what the Bible has to say on divorce and remarriage? No they do not. The more I studied this topic the more I realized I don’t know, but I’m still going to try and…
The Certain Gospel: What is the kingdom of God? Part 2/2 | Luke 18:15-17
We’re starting this sermon by watching a clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This clip shows how many people feel about the idea of kings and authorities. Dennis really didn’t like the king, did he? He saw no reason to respect King Arthur and King Arthur was not very respectable. He used his authority to repress his subjects. If you could have a good king, would you want him? Would you want a king to lead you, protect…
The Certain Gospel: What is the Kingdom of God? Part 1/2 | Luke 17:20-37
I want to start today with an ice-breaker question. “If you could choose, who would you prefer to be in charge of your life?” Myself Scientist Celebrity Politician King Now I want you to be honest. Don’t just give the answer you think I want to hear. Who could you trust to handle your life well? Maybe some of us would say, “I want to be in control, so I choose myself!” Are you sure you want that much responsibility?…
The Certain Gospel: Bait & Switch Christianity | Luke 14:25-35
When I was in college I was walking to my car when I found a poster slipped under my wiper blades. It advertised free pizza. All I had to do was go by the local Dominos and I would receive my own pizza. I looked at this poster for a long time. It didn’t say I had to do anything to get that pizza. It simply said that I had to show up and I would get my pizza. But…
The Certain Gospel: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector | Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Cornerstone Luke 18:9-14 By Rev. Bernie Michaud, June, 2018 Question: Why did you come here today? What do you want form God? What do you need, what do you expect to receive from God today? I know that if we were perfect, we would not come as needy people; we would come just to sing praises and to worship God. But, we are just people who are in need, and God…
Singing of Christ in the Book of Psalms | Psalm 1 & 2
I. Introduction: When I ride the subway in Cambridge from time to time, I love to pay attention to the subway ads. Being in an area that is flooded with research universities and major hospitals, there are usually ads for clinical studies or experiments in need of human subjects. For example, here is an ad that I found online for a clinical study at Mass General. They’re testing the effects of LEDs on brain function. So, if you’re…
The Certain Gospel: Do Not Be Afraid | Luke 12:32-34
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The unit of thought starts at verse 22 and maybe as far back as the…
The Certain Gospel: The Ministry of Food | Luke 14:1-24
I want us to start by thinking of the last people we had over for dinner. Whether that was last week or a month ago, think of the last people you shared a meal with. And if you didn’t have them over for dinner, think of those you went out to dinner with. Do you have them in your mind? What are they like? Are they similar to you or different than you? Do they share a similar education background?…
The Certain Gospel: Will I be Saved? | Luke 13:22-30
One of the most important questions any of us can ask is this. Will I be saved? Will I go to heaven? How can I know God will save me? Will I be saved when I die? Can you think of a more important question with such long-term implications? I mean, we’re talking eternity here. How do people answer? I’ll go to heaven because all paths lead to heaven. It’s like we’re all hiking up the same mountain we’re just…