Sermon Video: When we exasperate God - Mark 8:1-21

 God gets frustrated with human beings. That shouldn't be surprising given what people say and do. After a second miraculous feeding of a large crowd, Jesus becomes frustrated with the self-righteous pride of the Pharisees who demanded a new 'sign', and of the hard-hearted blindness of his own disciples who didn't see the spiritual lesson he was attempting to impart to them. What is the solution? Letting go of self-righteousness would be a smart place to start, secondarily, we must do what Jesus did for his disciples when they erred: refocus on the kindnesses and power of God.

Sermon Video: Jesus walks on the water - Mark 6:45-56

 After taking an evening alone to pray, Jesus walks across the Sea of Galilee as his disciples row across. When they see him they are terrified, but after he assures them that it is him, they remain amazed even as their fear dissipates. Why? "Their hearts were hardened." Even though they had seen numerous miracles from Jesus, the reality of his divinity had still not penetrated their hearts and minds. What Truths is God attempting to communicate to his people today through his Word that they aren't hearing? Where are our hearts/minds hard? Introspection is needed, mentorship and discipleship is necessary. The Church needs to hear God when he speaks, needs to be open to the Spirit, for this need we pray.

Sermon Video: Five loaves and two fish - Mark 6:30-44

 Instead of finding rest in a solitary place, Jesus and the disciples are met with a large crowd.  Jesus has compassion on them and teaches them, but when the disciples observe that the people need food, Jesus says, "You give them something to eat."  HOW?  They can't solve this problem, but Jesus still asks them to try, to asses their resources, and then uses their small contribution (5 loaves and 2 fish), blesses it, and then has the disciples be the one to pass out the food to the crowd.

What is our lesson in all this?  19th century missionary William Carey said it best, "Expect great things from God.  Attempt great things for God."

Sermon Video: "God is really among you!" 1 Corinthians 14:20-28

While the people of the Church might long for signs and wonders, for flashy manifestations of the presence of God among us, the Apostle Paul instructs the church at Corinth that such things are not what convinces the Lost of their need to accept the Gospel.  Signs might get people's attention (as it did at Pentecost) but it is the preaching/teaching/sharing of the Word of God that illuminates for people their need for repentance.  And while it church services will seem odd or confusing to non church goers who happen to visit, Paul cautions us that our activities cannot afford to appear crazy (for example through people being "slain in the Spirit" or wild predictions about the future or conspiracy theories), lest the Lost be repulsed by us, and not hear the Gospel.  Instead, our church services ought to be thoughtful, organized, and useful.

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Sermon Video: Israel crosses the Jordan River - Joshua 3

The crossing of the Jordan River by the people of Israel as they entered at last into the Promised Land need not have required a miracle.  The people could have entered into the land using a variety of means, but were directed to cross the Jordan, while it was at flood stage, for a very specific reason: God wanted to demonstrate his power to his people once more, and at the same time, to show that Joshua was his chosen leader.

For God, the performing of miracles is not a burden, nor a challenge, the focus then in scripture when we encounter God working miracles is the question: How do the people respond to seeing God at work?  In this case, the response required of the people by God was simple, they need only watch the priests enter the river carrying the Ark and then cross the river once its flow had been interrupted.

What then do we glean from reading about the crossing of the Jordan by Israel?  As the Church, we too know that when God chooses to act that the availability of power will not be an issue.  Like Israel who had God among them, the blessing of having God in our midst (via the Holy Spirit indwelling believers) assures us that amazing things are entirely possible when we obey his Word.

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Sermon Video: Paul and the Power of the Spirit - Acts 19:1-12

As Paul continues on his third missionary journey, he first visits churches that he had helped found during the 1st and 2nd journey, and then returns to Ephesus where he had stopped briefly the previous year.  At Ephesus, Paul finds some disciples who had not yet received the Holy Spirit.  Questioning them, Paul realizes that they only knew the baptism of John (the need for repentance) but nothing about the one whom John had prepared the way for, that is Jesus.  Upon hearing about Jesus, and believing, these disciples also receive the Holy Spirit.
Paul continues his mission effort by spending the next several months teaching in the synagogue until opposition there forces him to seek out a new venue.  Undaunted, Paul continues teaching in Ephesus, ultimately spreading the Gospel message throughout that province.

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Sermon Video: A House Divided - Luke 11:14-26

As Jesus resume his journey toward Jerusalem for the final confrontation, he heals a man tormented by an evil spirit which had made him mute.  The miracle itself was no different than dozens of other miracles that Jesus had performed, and the healing no different than many, many others that Jesus had healed, but some in the crowd saw this not as the act of grace that it was, but as an insidious attempt by the devil to deceive the people of God.  The doubters in the audience accused Jesus of casting out demons under the authority of Beelzebub the prince of demons, in other words, they were calling Jesus a double-agent, saying that his acts of righteousness were in reality acts of deception.  That such an accusation, against Jesus of all people, is ludicrous doesn’t stop it from happening, just as the lack of evidence doesn’t stop some people from withholding vaccines from their kids.  This crazy situation is troubling, but it does provide Jesus with a chance to illustrate a principle that is applicable in nearly every human interaction and even within the life of every person: A house divided against itself will fall.

The universal principle given by Jesus has wide application, it applies to nations, too many of which are torn by civil strife, it applies to businesses, institutions, churches, families, and marriages.  We cannot long endure when were are fundamentally divided as a group of people.  This is a danger in secular situations just as it can be deadly to a church.  Because division is so dangerous, we ought always to be supporting reconciliation and healing, trying to hold together those who are in danger, and helping to pick up the pieces when splits do occur.  That this is a fundamental problem in the church and society as a whole is beyond doubt.  The divorce rate in America confirms our weakness on the issue of unity, as does the poor record of church splits.

Beyond the groupings of people in danger because of division, we must also be aware that individual people can be torn internally by conflicting goals, an unclear sense of purpose, or even simply a lack of commitment.  We cannot serve two masters, both will be disappointed in us, and we cannot avoid choosing which side we are on because we have already begun by being on the side at war with God, our only chance is to make peace with God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus ends his comments with two important additions to this principle: Those who aren’t with me are against me, and it will be worse for those who see the light but don’t change.  These two thoughts remind us that this is no game, God takes very seriously our choice to either continue as we are or repent and follow him, the good news is that when we do choose to join his side and help out in the work of the kingdom, we’ve chosen the side that has already been victorious in the battle, a battle won by Jesus on Easter morning.

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Sermon Video: An Unexpected Hunger and an Unexpected Feast - Luke 9:10-17

What is faith?  Is it believing the unknown, the improbable, the impossible, the absurd, or something else?  In Luke 9:10-17 Jesus is once again confronted by large crowds which he ministers to by teaching them about the kingdom of God and healing the sick.  On this occasion, that ministry template is put to the test ironically by the success of the ministry itself.  Because of the enthusiasm of the crowds for what Jesus could do for them, this large crowd had followed him into a remote place where there was neither food nor lodging available.

            At this point in the narrative, the question becomes: What do we do about this new need of the people?  Is it our responsibility because we’re involved with them already, or do we need to keep our focus on our original mission?  Such questions routinely confront churches and charities because problems such as poverty are certainly multi-faceted.  Along with the deciding if a new problem should be addressed by an organization is the connected question of whether or not the resources exist to take on a new responsibility.  For the disciples, both questions seemed to be easily answered as a “no”.  The focus of their ministry thus far has clearly been teaching and healing, why change now?  Likewise, this massive crowd’s need is so far beyond their available resources that no logical solution to the problem can even be attempted. 

            Jesus, in response to their conclusion, tells the disciples that they should solve the problem.  What?  How is that possible?  As the disciples contemplate the seemingly impossible, Jesus takes the five loaves and two fishes that they do have, gives thanks to his Father for them, and begins to pass them out to the crowd.  At some point, early on in this process, the disciples would have been aware that a miracle was taking place.  When everyone has eaten, the disciples gather up a basket-full of leftovers each, a physical reminder of the over-abundance of God’s power.

            So, what is faith?  Is this episode an example of God asking you to trust in the impossible or the absurd?  Only if you don’t recognize the power of God at work in our world each and every moment of each and every day.  When God demonstrates his power through a miracle it isn’t a moment where God decides to take action, God is always acting.  If we truly saw the world as it is, our list of things which we think to be impossible would be far shorter.

            The lesson for the Church today is one of trusting in God for the results.  We must take what resources we have, even if they seem far too meager, and put them to work for the kingdom of God to try to solve whichever problems confront our communities.  To believe that God can do the improbable is far from crazy, it is looking at our world, seeing the history of God’s actions in it, and trusting in his love.  We must do our part, we must trust, let God worry about multiplying our effort for his kingdom.

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Sermon Video: The Birth of John the Baptist - Luke 1:39-66

The Christmas story continues with Mary hurrying to visit her relative Elizabeth, a woman to with whom she can share the story of Gabriel's visit as even now Elizabeth is in the 6th month of her miracle pregnancy.  The unborn John "leaps" in the womb of Elizabeth, prompting her to remark on the blessing that Mary has been given as the one who will bring the Lord into the world.  Following Mary's song of praise, the son of Elizabeth is born to much fanfare as word of the birth spreads far and wide.  At this point, the words of Gabriel are fulfilled and the boy is named John, but not until Elizabeth speaks up (and is disregarded) and then Zechariah confirms it in writing.  Zechariah's speech returns to him (after 9 months of silence) and he begins to praise God, adding to the general amazement and wonder as to what John will one day become.
As the birth of Jesus approaches, all eyes are on John, the one who will a few short years from now travel into the desert to prepare the way of the Lord.

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Sermon Video: "Friend, your sins are forgiven" - Luke 5:17-26

As Jesus once again heals the sick while he is teaching he is faced with a paralyzed man lowered through the roof by his friends.  Upon seeing their faith (the plural is intentional), Jesus tells him, "Friend, your sins are forgiven".  The religious leaders are rightly offended by Jesus' usurpation of God's sole right to forgive sins, and wonder who he really thinks he is.  To back up his claim, Jesus does the easier task, he heals the man of his paralysis.  Only God can forgive, Jesus, declaring himself to be the Son of Man (acc. to Daniel's prophecy), has just laid claim to being God...This episode beautifully illustrates how we can help those in need find faith and forgiveness, as we ourselves did at the foot of the cross.

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