Sermons on Jesus (Page 5)
An Upside-Down Church | Acts 17:1-9
My wife and I watched the Broadway Musical Hamilton last summer on Disney+. All the songs are brilliant, but I was reminded of one of them as I thought about today’s sermon. Have you heard the one about the battle of Yorktown? Washington is trying to defeat General Cornwallis, and he sends Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton to capture two key positions. In the musical, as they’re going into battle, they sing about what they’re trying to accomplish. They’re trying to…
Christmas Eve Sermons | Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-21 (Bernie & Jonathan)
Pastor Bernie and Pastor Jonathan each preached a short message (a homily) on Christmas Eve on the Westford Common. Please enjoy both messages here (watch Facebook video or YouTube video here). Luke 1:26-38 – Pastor Bernie Michaud This is how it all began. God sent an angel to a young virgin, Mary. The word angel just means messenger. Someone sent to relay a message. But, this was no ordinary message and this was no ordinary messenger. The message was that…
The Light of Christmas | Isaiah 9:2
I love Christmas lights. After Thanksgiving my wife and I decorated our front yard with Christmas lights. We actually got into a bit of a contest. She decorated the bushes on one side of the house, and I decorated the other side. Which side you think is better? That’s right. The right side! My side. Now which house do you think is better? Our house? Or this house in Wilmington that won $50,000 for their Christmas lights display? They won…
5 Steps | Matthew 18:15-18 (Accountability & Church Discipline Sermon)
What do you do when someone you love has a runny nose? You shove a Q-tip up their nose! But before-covid, what would you do? You’d hand them a tissue. That’s it. Maybe you’d say, “Your nose is running. Here’s a tissue.” But what if they don’t want to wipe their nose? What if they don’t realize they’re sick? You could forcefully wipe their nose with a tissue, like I do with my son, who by the way, is getting…
It’s Time To Get Real | Matthew 7:1-5; James 4:1-3
Hurricane Sally just hit the southeast—Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. It toppled trees, flooded streets, and damaged houses. One news station reports, “More than 500,000 people have lost power.” Another estimates it will cause $2-$3 billion in damage. But did you know that termites do approximately $5 billion in damage to U.S. homes each year. Stephen Mansfield says, “Statistically termites do more damage in America than massive storms.” He adds, “Storms get the media. Termites quietly work away.” Apparently,…
Bridges to Multiethnic Reconciliation | Acts 10:34-11:18
Last week I talked about Barriers to Multiethnic Reconciliation (i.e., personal & systemic racism, group pressure and personal vulnerability). This week I want to talk about how we can overcome those barriers by building bridges, so my sermon title this week is Bridges to Multiethnic Reconciliation. My big idea is this… Be bridge builders in a world of walls. In March 1965 several of Martin Luther King Junior’s associates, one of them Representative John Lewis who died this past summer,…
Life Disrupted | Acts 9:32-43
Do you all remember January 1st? It had so much promise, didn’t it? A brand new year. A brand new decade! We had New Year’s Resolutions! We had hopes and dreams for our families, our careers, and our church. And then what happened? Covid-19 happened! Covid happened and everything stopped. Life was completely disrupted. Most of the time when we think about disruption, it’s a bad thing, like the DOW dropping a thousand points or wildfires destroying half of Australia.…
The Two-Handed Gospel Mission | Luke 4:16-20
Gordon Chinamasa’s biography: I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and accepted God’s free gift of salvation in my early teens. Married to Bronwyn for 14 years and we have two daughters, Charis (10 years) and Channa (6 years). I hold a Bachelor of Theology degree from Cape Town Baptist Seminary and was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 2007. I have also received graduate seminary training at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.…
The Least Likely Disciple | Acts 9:1-19a
Who is the least likely person you know who would ever become a Christian? Take a moment and think of them. Is it a family member, a friend, a coworker? Is it because they’re apathetic to Christianity? Or is it because they’re totally against Christianity? Maybe they identify as an atheist, or Buddhist, Muslim, or even Jewish. All you know, is they’ll never follow Jesus… Nabeel fit the description of someone who would never follow Jesus. His parents were from…
Philosophy of Missions | John 13:12-17
Sermon John 13:12-17 | Philosophy of Missions 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that…
Israel’s Biopic & Ours | Acts 7:1-53 (Stephen’s Speech)
What do you think it would be like to have a biopic made of your life? A biopic is a movie made about someone’s life story. I recently watched Ford v Ferrari, which is a biopic of Carroll Shelby, a car designer, and Ken Miles, a British race car driver, building the Ford GT40 to beat the Ferrari racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a long and difficult endurance race in France. Shelby is played by Matt…
The Dance of Redemption | Song of Songs 2:8-10 (Ballet Sermon)
The ballet Giselle is a love story between a young frail maiden and a nobleman. Giselle lives in a small village with her mother where the villagers are preparing to celebrate the Wine Festival. The local huntsman Hilarion secretly loves her but so does another, Count Albrecht. The Count disguises himself as a peasant and shows her affection and care to win her love. The huntsman Hilarion will have none of it. He interrupts their dance and his suspicion grows…