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The Certain Gospel: Grace for Doubters | Luke 1:5-80
Have you ever noticed how two people can respond differently to the same news? “Look, free puppies!” Great news for kids. Bad news for parents. “Mom and dad, I got into my first choice of college, the expensive private one!” Great news for their child. Bad news for their bank account. “The verdict is… not guilty.” Great news for the defendant. Bad news for the plaintiff. In Luke chapter one, we read how two different people respond to similar news.…
The Certain Gospel: Is Jesus Fake News? | Luke 1:1-4
Fake news… What’s the difference between news that is real and news that is fake? And if you were put to the test to determine what news actually happened, would you get it right? Today, I’d like to put you to that test. I want to show you some headlines and for you to guess if they’re real or fake. “Gatorade banned and fined $300k for bad-mouthing water.” Do you think this is true or fake? This is actually true…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for Us | John 17:20-26
Do any of you have friends who have an in-home camera? You can buy some of them that connect to an app on your phone. I want you to imagine for a moment that on Black Friday you purchased the SpaceTime 2000 NestCam with a crystal clear picture and audio feed. You install it in the ceiling-corner of your dining room. It works great, but one day when you tune to check in on Fido, you see a different scene.…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for His Disciples | John 17:6-19
One of the things Monica and I encourage engaged couples to do when we’re going through pre-marital counseling with them is to make a last will and testament after they get married. Now that’s kind of morbid, right? You’re about to get married! But you also may die… We’re not saying they should see a lawyer on their Honeymoon, but for sure in the first 2-3 years of marriage. Please click “Save” then “PDF” to download a copy of the…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for Glory | John 17:1-5
Tonight we’re starting a three-week sermon series called How He Prayed. We’re looking at how Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 as a model for how we can pray. John 17 is known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. A priest is someone who acts as an intermediary between God and people. So as Jesus prays this passage, we can also learn how to go before God on behalf of ourselves and others. Please click “Save” then “PDF” to…
Instructions for the Rich | 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Instructions for the Rich | 1 Timothy 6:17-19 One of the great things about getting the opportunity to preach occasionally is that you all get to know a little more about me. So, I want to establish one thing right up front before I get too far into this sermon that you should know about me. I’m rich. Seriously; I am extremely wealthy. I know you may not be able to tell by looking at me or my clothes or…
Discipleship 101: Disciples who Suffer | Philippians 4:10-23
Have you ever finished reading a book and wondered, what did I just read? I have lots of books on my bookshelf that I know I’ve read, but I have trouble remembering what they are about. To try to solve this, I’ve become a lot more interactive with my books. Now when I read, I underline and try to paraphrase points in the margins, writing down a word or two that will remind me what it’s about. *Please click “Save”…
Discipleship 101: The Connection Between My Peace & Our Peace | Philippians 4:2-9
I worked on a ranch for a summer. While I was there I helped brand cows, run cattle through chutes, and even tagged one cow’s ear. I’m not much of an animal person, but I do know that in a cattle herd the health of one cow can affect the health of the whole herd. Sickness and disease can spread quickly, so you want to make sure each cow is healthy. If one cow becomes stressed, it can get sick,…
Discipleship 101: Philippians 2:19-3:9 | Two Great Disciples & One Garbage Disciple
Have you ever gotten sucked into one of those cheap magazine or buzzfeed quizzes that tries to tell you something about yourself? You answer a dozen questions and it categorizes you as a certain type of person (introvert, extrovert, shy, outgoing, etc.) or as a character from one of your favorite movies or books. I took a “Which Harry Potter Character Are You” quiz and got Severus Snape. Severus Snape is pretty much the bad guy for most of Harry…
Discipleship 101: The Excitement of Being a Disciple | Philippians 3:10-4:1
For the last month or so we have been looking at what it means to be a disciple. We discovered that being a disciple means to be a student. And in our scripture text for today Paul says that He wants to know Christ. Paul was not satisfied just to know about Jesus. He wanted to know and to experience everything about Him. Please click “Save” and then “PDF” to download a copy of Bernie’s sermon manuscript. Thank you! Church Service You can watch…
Discipleship 101: Joyful Disciples | Philippians 2:12-18
Jesus and the 12 disciples walk into a restaurant and Jesus says to the hostess, “Table for 26 please.” So she says to him, “But there’s only 13 of you?” Jesus says, “Yes, but we all want to sit on one side.” Is it okay to tell jokes in church? Is it okay to laugh? I think so. But what if I were to tell you that the Bible actually encourages us to be joyful and happy as a church.…
Discipleship 101: The Humble Disciple | Philippians 2:1-11
Have you ever heard of a humble brag? A humble brag is a display of false modesty. People do this on Twitter all the time, and thankfully, one user has compiled some of the most humble humble brags. “Can we start a media campaign to question how I got into Columbia, too? Still scratching my head about how I got accepted & demand answers!” – Annie “I just did something very selfless. But more importantly, it was genuine & I…