Aug 27, 2023
Sermon: John’s Subversive Ministry
Matthew 21.23-32: John and Jesus' ministry is about exposing the darkness and exposing it with the light. To overcome the darkness is to set up God's kingdom, where no injustice reigns and where forgiveness and hope is found. To have hope in this world and the next, we must look to Jesus, for it is upon his gift of grace that we find our hope.
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  • Aug 27, 2023Sermon: John’s Subversive Ministry
    Aug 27, 2023
    Sermon: John’s Subversive Ministry
    Matthew 21.23-32: John and Jesus' ministry is about exposing the darkness and exposing it with the light. To overcome the darkness is to set up God's kingdom, where no injustice reigns and where forgiveness and hope is found. To have hope in this world and the next, we must look to Jesus, for it is upon his gift of grace that we find our hope.
  • Aug 20, 2023Sermon: John the Martyr
    Aug 20, 2023
    Sermon: John the Martyr
    Matthew 13.53-14.13: John, the greatest of the prophets up until Christ, finds an end similar to other prophets that came before him. But like the other true prophets, his words do not disappear when he is dead. True prophets' words do not 'fall to the ground', but they continue to speak truth and call the darkness out into the light. The main words that stand are his testimony of Jesus, who is the prophet of prophets and who will undo all the powers that seek to destroy the righteous and just prophetic voice.
  • Aug 13, 2023Sermon: Getting Our Expectations Aligned
    Aug 13, 2023
    Sermon: Getting Our Expectations Aligned
    Luke 7.18-35: In the midst of prison, John the Baptist has a moment of doubt about Jesus' ministry. He is stuck and hopes to get unstuck, but Jesus calls him to trust in his work and to hold on no matter what might come. John will never make it out of prison, but he clings to Jesus' identity as the Messiah. In times of stuckness, we may expect God to act - he might and he might not - but no matter our present stuckness, the surety of everlasting freedom is ours to hold out hope for - a sure hope.
  • Aug 6, 2023Sermon: Look! The Lamb of God! Part 2
    Aug 6, 2023
    Sermon: Look! The Lamb of God! Part 2
    John 1.19-39: In calling Jesus, the Lamb of God, John is presenting both an apocalyptic view of Jesus and a redemptive view. Would you stand behind a Lamb for protection against the beasts of this world? Yet, it is the Lamb that will overcome as he removes sin from the world and brings forth the goodness of God's kingdom against all evil.
  • Jul 30, 2023Sermon: Look! The Lamb of God! Part 1
    Jul 30, 2023
    Sermon: Look! The Lamb of God! Part 1
    John 1.6-8, 19-34: John comes in the wilderness to signal both the coming disintegration of the known Jewish world and the recreation through the coming Messiah. He calls all as individuals to ready themselves, to set themselves up for renewal, reorientation, and recreation. Themes of creation, of water, and of Spirit circle all around as John points our eyes to Jesus. "Look," he says, "not at me, but at Him!" Who is Him? The Lamb of God, the Word made flesh, the Messiah, Jesus.
  • Jul 16, 2023Sermon: Fiery Tongue, Fiery Baptism
    Jul 16, 2023
    Sermon: Fiery Tongue, Fiery Baptism
    Luke 3.1-20: John the Baptist calls us to reorient ourselves from those just above us to the heights of God and his riches bestowed on us. In doing this, we begin to notice the needs of those below us and to assist them with our plenty. This changes our hearts from those of envy and discontent to contentment and generous love. Through Jesus, we are enabled to live like this because it is like God. It is our calling and the pathway to life.
  • Jul 9, 2023Sermon: Becoming Lesser
    Jul 9, 2023
    Sermon: Becoming Lesser
    John 3.22-36: We begin an extended look at the ministry of John the Baptist. Today, one of the phrases that defines him in contrast to Jesus, "He must become greater, I must become lesser." Like John, we are to live our lives in pursuit of Christ receiving glory, not ourselves. Our lives become a service to his glory as he has given us everlasting life.