11;15 Worship Sermon Series (check out the 9am schedule in earlier post)

September 12 through October 10: Sermon Series for 11:15 Worship, "Life's Big Questions"

Sept 12:   What is God like?   John 1:1-14
The world has many ideas about God. What is God really like? Can we know the answer to this question? Some will tell us that God is a mystery. Some will say that God did all that God was going to do and now God is done with this world. God is leaving us, the creation of his hands, to fend for ourselves. God has left the building! Good luck down there.
The writings of both the Old and New Testaments show us a relational God. God wants to be known and makes himself known to humankind. The most perfect expression of making himself known is found in Jesus.
What is God like? God is like Jesus. What comes to your mind when you reflect on this?

Sept 19: Where is God when I hurt?  Luke 11:1-44 (selected verses)
Why is there such pain and suffering in the world? Does God care about this? Does God care if I'm hurting? Why don't I have relief from my suffering?  These questions have been on the mind of humanity for millenniums. All cultures and religions have sought to answer these questions at some level. Some say we suffer because we sin. Some say we suffer because it is part of the human condition and we can't change the course of nature. There are those who believe God doesn't intervene in the natural order of things. Others say you have to know the "secrets" of God to have peace.
What do you think? Does God know that you hurt? Does God care about you personally?
If Jesus is making God known to us, what does Jesus' life and teachings tell us?
How does prayer come into play?

Sept 26: Will God ever reach me?   John 3:1-18
Are we ever too far away from God that we can't be reached? Are my sins too many and too bad to be forgiven? We are all reachable! We know that in our heart, but there are times when we feel we are out of reach. Where are you? Do you feel God has reached you? Or, Do you still feel far away from God's care?

Oct 3: Can I really know God?       Matthew 11:28-30 and Luke 15:11-32
Knowing about God's character and saving grace is important. What God is like is knowing about him. There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God in a personal relationship. Is that kind of knowing possible? Can we really know God as we would know a friend? Relationship with God is not the same as believing there is a God. We may know God exists and never be close to God. How can we be close enough to God that we can say we really know God?

Oct 10: How do I follow Jesus?    Matthew 7:24-25
Are you a follower of Jesus? What does that mean, anyway? A disciple and a follower of Jesus does what the master does. A contemporary  Christian song asks the questions, "Which Jesus do you follow? Which Jesus do you serve?" Following in the footsteps of the rabbi Jesus means modeling our life after Jesus' life. How we doing at that? Would the folks at work know that we were following a different master than the non-Christian?

Sermons for 9 am Worship

September 12     "Mercy Me!
God is so good! God chooses to use us in ministry in spite of our sordid past. In 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Paul expresses his assurance that Jesus was merciful to him so that he might be an example to others of the power of God's forgiveness. Jesus, in Luke 15:1-10, tells the parables of lost sheep and lost coin to show how God seeks us when we are far from Him and how God rejoices when the sinner repents. 
Do you see the connection between these texts? God forgives, shows mercy to those who have been far from His ideal of right living. Sinners are chosen for service in God's kingdom. When we turn from our wrong to God's right way of living, God has mercy. The chief of sinners, Paul, is used by God in a powerful way. How much ministry will God do through you? How many lives will be touched by your service?

September 19    "Loving Father"
I chose to use the parable of Jesus of the "Prodigal Son" from Luke 15:11-32 as my text for this Sunday. I think this story of Jesus expresses the unconditional love of God in a way that we all can understand. The child breaks the heart of his father. The father never stops loving and longing for his child's return. The child returns to the arms of a loving father, no strings attached. The son is not required to repay his father. The son is forgiven and restored to his place at his father's side.
Have you experienced the unconditional love of God? Have you come home to God's open arms of welcome?

September 26      "Hope in the Lord"
What is hope? Is hope a desire or wish for something to take place? Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15 tells a story of hope.
Jeremiah is told to buy a field outside Jerusalem. Not that strange, I suppose to buy some land near your home. But this purchase is done when Jerusalem is being besieged by the army of Babylon. Jerusalem was on the edge of destruction and Judah was falling into the hands of the Babylonians.
Hope is buying a field at this time. Hope is that someday orchards and vineyards will grow in this field and houses will be built. Get the idea? Jeremiah is confident that God will restore Jerusalem. The people in exile will come home.  Hope is not a wish or a want. Hope is confidence that the desired outcome will take place.
Do you have hope?

Oct 3         "World Communion Sunday"       2 Timothy 1:1-14        Luke 17:5-10
Around the globe, Christians will be celebrating the Lord's Supper on this Sunday. This says so much about the bond between us and our sisters and brothers in countries far away. We are the same family. We have the same Savior. We have the same Gospel.
The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to "Hold to the standard of sound teaching.......guard the good treasure entrusted to you...." 1:13-14
We have a standard of sound teaching to guard. Guard against what? The truth of the Apostle's teaching about Jesus is not to be changed. The Christian faith and beliefs have not changed over the centuries. Some of our methods of relating the message have changed. We may worship differently than previous generations or Christians in other denominations or lands, but the truth about who Jesus is never changes. We keep teaching the Apostle's teaching, just as they did that first century.

Oct 10      "The Word of God is Not Chained"     2 Timothy 2:8-15         Luke 17:11-19
The Word of God cannot be chained or locked up in a box. No government or person can hold it back. The Word of God reaches beyond the walls we humans put up to stop the message of God's love and mercy.
Don't be discouraged, God will prevail against all forces of evil. The light will always overcome darkness. Mercy and grace will always prevail.

September 5 sermon

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 and Luke 14:25-33      The Psalm is one that gives me that overwhelming feeling of God's providential grace. God knows us more than we know ourselves. We are not mistakes. We are not insignificant bystanders in this fast paced world. God calls us to follow Him.    Jesus makes one of the most difficult statements in verse 26. What could He mean. It seems so unlike Jesus to ask us to "hate" anyone. Could He mean be asking His followers to make a definitive break from all that we have holding us back from following Him with our whole self. Is this another way of saying, "self-denial"?    God knows us and knows our true allegiance. We cannot pretend to follow Jesus while holding on to anything of this world. We give Him all.

August 29

The texts for August 29 are Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 and Luke 14:1, 7-14   I've titled the sermon "Peripheral Vision...Looking to the Margins"    What I see in these two passages is a common theme of hospitality toward those outside our usual relationships. How do we welcome the stranger? Or, put another way, how do we welcome those who may seem "strange" or "different" that we are?  We have the expectation of Jesus that we invite the "poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind"to the banquet. How does that sound to you? What would our response look like if we were to follow through with His request? How would Trinity Church's ministries be different?

Coming up in Mid-September

I will be starting a new sermon series in Mid-September during the 11:15am worship service. The theme will be dealing with some of life's questions. I'll get more detailed later. This is just a teaser:)  The 9:00am worship sermons will be lectionary based. As usual, I intend to apply the readings to the walk of faith in today's world.  
What I am saying is that each service will have a different sermon text and topic. Hope you'll find this little change worthwhile in your Christian life.

New Day

It is a New Day! Thank God we are given fresh starts everyday. We can put yesterday behind us. I can't change the past only today. I don't know the future. I can, however, put down a solid foundation on which to build my spiritual life for whatever the future holds. I thank God for New Days!

Sunday August 22 Text and Theme

Read Hebrews 11:29-12:2 and Jeremiah 1:4-10
Bibles will be presented to 3rd and 4th graders.
My thoughts are with young people of faith being called upon to read and study and grow as disciples.
They are surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses" cheering them on in their faith walk.
They like Jeremiah may think they are too young to make a difference. They are chosen by God.
Aren't we all needing to hear these words?