Sermons

Together or apart

November 10, 2019

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: Together or Apart

The Pharisees accused Jesus of using the power of Satan to do the miraculous things He did. Jesus reminded them that He served God, and that it would be ridiculous for Satan to allow Jesus to defeat Him as that would not serve Satan’s purposes at all. So comes the famous line: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” What about us? If we serve the Kingdom of God and the household of faith as followers of Christ, can we truly thrive if we allow division among us? God calls us to unity and harmony as we serve Him in community.

Matthew 12:24-30

24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

A debt of gratitude

November 3, 2019

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: A Debt of Gratitude

The wicked tenants in this parable had three problems, all of which could have been easily overcome. After all, the tenants Jesus was talking about were the Jews, particularly the religious leaders of the Jews and they were God’s chosen. But they chose to ignore their problems. First, they refused to believe that the owner (God) was the real authority in their lives…they thought they were. Second, they refused to give to the owner (God) what was agreed upon in rents (prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness). Finally, they refused to obey the reminders the owner (God) had given them to be faithful. Can we apply these failures to our own lives and learn how to live our lives as God’s faithful followers?

Matthew 21:33-34

The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

From Nurture to Refuge

October 27, 2019

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: From Nurture to Refuge

There is more to being a Christ follower than going to church and reading a few random passages of scripture. To truly be a disciple of Jesus, we have to be moving towards a goal, growing deeper in our relationship to Him through intentional study, thoughtful prayer, vibrant worship and loving outreach. The parable of the mustard seed as an image of the Kingdom of God is about how that Kingdom grows in us and what happens when it does. In the beginning, the tender, vulnerable shoots coming out of that tiniest of seeds needs to be cared for and nurtured. But when it is mature, it becomes a refuge, offering protection and nurture to others. That is our goal…to grow beyond needing to be nurtured into agents of Christ who care for and love others fully.

Matthew 13:31-32
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”