"prayer" Tagged Sermons
Part 6. “R” – Reign of Christ | Romans 13:1-7 & Philippians 3:20-21
I loved going to Awana club every week when I was a kid. If you’re not familiar with this part of the Christian subculture, Awana is a weekly after-school program where once a week, kids gathered at church to eat snacks, play games, memorize Bible verses, and sing worship songs. And I loved it! One week when I thought I wasn’t going to get to go, I had a major meltdown. I memorized so many verses I got my Sparky…
Part 4. “O” – Other Peoples’ Good | Genesis 1:28; Jeremiah 29:4-7; Acts 2:42-47
We are now in our fourth week, third word, of our sermon series, Faith & Flourishing in Politics. F stands for “Faith, Not Fear.” L is “Love God & Neighbor,” and today we’re on O, “Other Peoples’ Good.” A British game show in the late 2000s tested whether people would put other peoples’ good before their own. The show was called Golden Balls, which was named after golden balls the size of tennis balls that had money from £10 to…
A Thirsty Deer | Psalm 42:1-11
On Palm Sunday, I preached about donkeys. My big idea was “Be a donkey!” Well, we’re talking about deer today, so maybe the big idea should be, “Be a deer!” A doe, a deer, a female deer. Be a deer. About a month ago, I was meditating on this passage, and the elders and I were talking about my sabbatical, and we thought this text could be a good way to kick off my time away, but also the church’s…
Praying to a Righteous God | Daniel 9:1-23
Thank you Rob Cooper for guest-preaching at Cornerstone. We’ve recommended another one of Rob’s sermons here or you can access Rob’s sermon archive here. You can find a PDF of his sermon slides below. Please welcome Rob Cooper’s family. Top row: Bethany, Nadine, Zachoia. Bottom row: Philip, Jonathan, Elias. Center: Rob.
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.…
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work | Acts 6:1-7
Monica and I have a saying in our home, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” This isn’t a saying we created, but it’s something we like to say. So like when Monica is cooking dinner and I am playing with Elijah we’ll say, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Or when I’m doing dishes and Monica is getting Elijah ready for bed, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Or when Monica is scrubbing the floor and I’m playing video games, “Teamwork makes the…
The Benefits of Wisdom | Proverbs 2:1-22
Have you ever had someone try to sell you something? What’s the typical pattern a salesperson uses? First, they tell you all the amazing benefits of their service or product. “Our miracle product… …will lower cholesterol…” …will help you burn fat and lose weight…” …will keep your information safe and secure…” …will give you better gas mileage…” …will make you happy and content…” And then once you’re convinced they show you the price tag… “For only four payments of $999.99…”…
Meditations on Gethsemane | Luke 22:39-46
Meditation #1 – Prayer defeats temptation by connecting us with Christ and each other. (Luke 22:39-41, 45-46) Tonight I have three meditations on Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion (Matt 26:36; Mark 14:32). After each meditation you will have a chance to pray and reflect and respond in song. We’re doing this with the hopes that this passage will sink in deeper and be more life-changing. We don’t want to come to church and…
Prayer & Fasting | Matthew 6:16-18
I tried fasting for the first time when I worked at the Farm Credit Administration in McLean Virginia. I tried it because my pastor preached a sermon on it. In his sermon he turned to our passage tonight, Matthew 6:16-18, and pointed out something that really convicted me. In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches on prayer and fasting and when he does this he says, “when you fast” not “if you fast…” He says it twice (c.f., Matt 9:15). Have you…
Four Prayer Requests | Ephesians 3:14-21
Let’s start by reviewing the big picture of the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 How God is gracious to us Chapters 4-6 How we are to live-out grace The first three chapters, chapters 1-3, don’t include many imperatives, or commands. They don’t tell us how to live as much as they tell us what God has done for us. The next three chapters, chapters 4-6, tell us how to respond to grace and are full of imperatives and commands. Grace…
My Prayer For You | Ephesians 1:15-23
Do you remember prayers? Are there certain prayers that stick out in your memory, maybe from your childhood or more recently? When I was a kid my dad put us to bed every-night by praying something like, “Heavenly Father, would you put a hedge of thorns and a wall of protection around Jonathan, and would he wake up refreshed and ready to go. Amen.” What prayers do you remember? Maybe your parents or a sibling or your pastor or an…
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…