Two Sermons: "Lord, Save Us From Our Exile!" and "Lord, Save Us From Our Excess!"

It's a sign of how busy this season gets for pastors that I didn't get to post my 12/11 sermon last week, so this week I'm posting the last two sermons in our Advent series focusing on Lamentations. Also note that I'm including the Advent Wreath readings for these two weeks; they give us a message of hope after the sermon points out our need for a savior.

"Lord, Save Us From Our Exile!"
Reading: Lamentations 3:1-24; Isaiah 9:1-7
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
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Click here to view the Advent reading accompanying this sermon (.pdf).
Preached on December 11, 2011 at PLWC.


"Lord, Save Us From Our Excess!"
Reading: Lamentations 4:1-22, 5:19-22; Isaiah 60:1-5, 10-11
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Click here to view the Advent reading accompanying this sermon (.pdf).
Preached on December 18, 2011 at PLWC.

Another response to Dr. Jim Garlow, this time regarding Newt Gingrich. Sigh.

It is not my intent to start a feud with Dr. Garlow. As I said the last time I responded to his statements, he is my brother in Christ and I embrace him as such. I have no personal dislike for him, and in fact I've never met him. And normally I try to avoid getting too political in this forum unless it's required by a sermon; there are plenty of other better (and worse) sources for political discourse these days. However, Dr. Garlow is a very public figure in both the secular media/political world and the Wesleyan Church, so his statements have a pretty direct impact on my little corner of the church. Specifically, he has come to articulate a political and theological position which, while it is hardly unique these days, is the exact opposite direction from the one I hope the Wesleyan Church will take. There are no shortage of churches making sacrifices at the altar of American 21st-century conservatism, but it is my fervent prayer that the Wesleyan Church will not join them any more than it already has. Our unique theological tradition puts us in a position to offer the world a desperately needed alternative to the civil religion championed by most Republicans on the national stage, and I hope that my denomination will choose this alternative rather than the course chosen by Dr. Garlow.

In case I have not been clear enough: the theology put forward by Dr. Garlow in his recent letter regarding his support of Newt Gingrich is, I believe, a direct threat to the work of the kingdom of God. This is not simply a difference of opinion, this is a matter that strikes at the heart of the gospel.

Dr. Garlow's letter is intended to articulate a defense of his endorsement of Newt Gingrich as a presidential candidate, but it is not actually Newt Gingrich that I intend to discuss. Dr. Garlow is entitled to vote for whatever candidate he chooses. The beauty of the American voting system is that you get to vote for your candidate and I get to vote for mine, and we're each entitled to our politics. I hope that more people will vote for someone other than Gingrich than will vote for him, and clearly Dr. Garlow hopes the opposite. That's fine. The problem comes in how Dr. Garlow defends his choice: he rests on a dangerous, flawed, unbiblical ecclesiology (that is, theology of the church), an old and toxic lie that threatens to unravel the church in the United States.

Since the problem lies in the theology underlying Dr. Garlow's position rather than the specific points he makes, I will respond to only a couple of points from the letter that illustrate the theology itself.

The church and power

First, during a section in which Dr. Garlow discusses Mr. Gingrich's conversion to Catholicism:

But those reasons are not the most compelling reasons for his conversion, in my opinion.  His conversion to the Catholic Church is based on his love of the “church militant,” to the fact that the church of the Middle Ages “got it.”  They knew the enemies of the faith, and they went on the offensive.  He sees – as did the church of the Middle Ages – that the enemies of the church, both then and now, was and is radical Islam.  Islamicists threaten the entire globe.  When he reads history, he sees a church that was willing to confront the most terrifying force of the time.  That compels him, and well it should.  

Mr. Gingrich is right when he sees the dual dangers of radical secularism and radical Islam.  Few seem to grasp it.  But he does.  And so should the American church.  The one church that seemed to “get it” (at least as it related to Islam) was the church of the Middle Ages. 

He would never defend the excesses or sinful aspects of the Middle Age Church.    Nor would I.   For example, I would not defend the brutalities of the Crusades.  Those are wrong. 

Yet, I refuse to fall into the politically correct, historical revisionism that fails to see that Christians in the Middle Ages were forced to defend themselves against the onslaughts of Islam that came to kill in the name of Allah.  And in that sense, there is a direct “connecting of the dots” that can be made between Christians fighting for their lives then, and those who do not want to succumb to radical Islamicists today.

I confess that I have never before seen a Protestant claim that the church of the Middle Ages was an example for us today of a time when we "got it." Yes, there are certainly many examples of the church serving as the witness to the kingdom of God during that time, and there are many examples of saints and communities of faith honoring Jesus Christ. But the church of the Middle Ages was institutionally corrupt in its compromises with the governments of Europe.  It had appropriated power for itself in a way that was entirely contradictory to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Reformation happened for lots of reasons, but most of them came down to that issue of power.

I find it interesting that Dr. Garlow is politically correct enough to distance himself from the Crusades, yet the Crusades are absolutely critical to understanding how the church operated in that time period. You cannot claim that the church "got it" while rejecting its use of violence. The violence was a necessary result of the model the church accepted. The church had so compromised with the temporal powers in the world that she saw herself as one of them: the princes of Europe were blessed by the pope, the church held vast tracts of property, and it was assumed that God had chosen to act through the political-spiritual entity of the institution in Rome. The result was that a threat to the church was a threat to the state and vice versa, and the church thought it was appropriate to use the sword of the state to deal with those threats. This is why it was acceptable, in their eyes, to fight the Crusades, as well as burn dissidents at the stake.

Almost without exception, bad things have happened as a result of the church making an alliance with the state (or segments of the political establishment). Either the state begins using religious language to justify atrocities committed against an unwanted minority or large parts of the church are led astray from their genuine witness of Christ (as is happening and has happened in the United States). When the church begins to think that it can advance the agenda of the kingdom by wielding political power, the witness of Christ will inevitably be damaged.

This is why the Bible is almost universally suspicious of temporal governments. There are a few exceptions, but they are noteworthy only as exceptions. More often, the kingdom of God works against or in spite of human governments and wisdom. The judges were seen as ineffective at preventing "everyone doing what was right in their own eyes," the prophets regularly criticized the corruption of the monarchy, Jesus was opposed and executed by the corrupt powers-that-be, the Apostles expected persecution at the hands of the government, and John the Revelator saw governments as being in league with the Beast. When the people were saved through governments, it was because God was fighting to save them.

The compromise of the church with Republican politics that Dr. Garlow advocates is directly contradictory to the kingdom of God, in other words. The church of Jesus Christ does not go on the offensive against her enemies, as Dr. Garlow says, because Jesus explicitly forbade this:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:27-31)

There's also this:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28)

In other words, for the church to be a faithful witness to the kingdom of God, she must explicitly reject the power of coercion as Jesus did. If the church thinks she can wield political power as she did during the Middle Ages (and as Dr. Garlow advocates today), she will be an embarrassment to her Lord.

American Exceptionalism

Here's a second quote that illustrates Dr. Garlow's toxic ecclesiology, when he is listing the qualities he sees in Mr. Gingrich:

A superb grasp of the correct definition of American Exceptionalism.  In short, there are nearly 200 nations with constitutions.  A few of them mention God in the preamble.  Only one nation has sacred documents that specifically state that our rights are given “by their (that is, our) Creator” (Declaration of Independence) to “We The People” (opening large font in the US Constitution) with us as “the People” temporarily loaning the power to elected officials.  That is, based on all the constitutions of the other nations of the world, an “exception,” thus the appropriate phrase “American Exceptionalism.”   Mr. Gingrich is able to articulate this considerably better than any elected official I have ever heard. 

Let me be clear: no minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ should ever advocate American Exceptionalism. This view is not only historically and logically absurd, it is also repugnant to the gospel.

It is absurd because it is meaningless and patently untrue. What does it even mean? What does it imply about our history? Is American Exceptionalism suggesting that this socio-political entity is somehow favored by history? Because many empires throughout history have been wealthy and powerful. Is it suggesting that we are morally superior to other nations? Shall I list the atrocities in our history? Two will do, I think: remember that this nation was born through the systematic extermination of one people (First Nations) and the brutal enslavement of another (Africans). I need not mention the fact that we currently ignore our own supposedly sacrosanct principles at Guantanamo Bay.

It is also repugnant to the gospel to suggest that this nation is somehow accorded a higher status spiritually because of our founding documents. God does not favor the United States over other nations; to suggest otherwise is verging on blasphemy. The Apostle Paul had, shall we say, some strong words to say on the subject: the Epistle to the Galatians is written against those who would insist that certain groups are more "in" the kingdom than others. Ephesians and Philemon (and others) very clearly lay out the theology that all peoples are offered the opportunity to become co-heirs with Christ in Christ; God is building a new people out of all the nations founded on Jesus. No nation has privileged status, and Paul shouts that those who disagree with him should perform *ahem* radical surgery.

The fact that we have included some platitudes about God in our documents is as meaningless as insisting that the clerk at the grocery wish you a Merry Christmas. It does nothing to reflect or witness to the kingdom of God. Is there anything in our Constitution or Declaration of Independence that uniquely references the Sermon on the Mount? And these Republican candidates who proclaim their righteousness from the street corners by going to prayer conventions and reciting the line, "Jesus is my personal Lord and savior:" can they articulate how the Beatitudes will inform their public policy?

Dr. Garlow says this at one point: "We are in a war, a war that will determine whether America, as she was conceived, will survive." And why, exactly, should this concern the church? America as a political entity in no way overlaps with the kingdom of God. I certainly appreciate the privileges of American citizenship, but that citizenship does not dictate the terms of my citizenship in Christ's kingdom. The work of God will not be any more hindered by the collapse of America than it has been by the collapse of any other empire. If we are in Christ, we are citizens of His kingdom. All other kingdoms pass away.

What are the main things?

Dr. Garlow writes about many other things, most of which fall predictably in line with the platform of the Republican party. The three issues that seem foremost in his letter are gay marriage, abortion, and fiscal conservatism. These are indeed serious issues that need to be handled carefully, but I am confused at what biblical justification Dr. Garlow uses to single out these particular issues. I would wager that the Bible has at least as much to say about the evils of greed as it does in favor of personal industry and fiscal responsibility; in fact the Bible frequently assumes that the rich have gained their wealth on the backs of the poor. And I'm pretty sure that the Bible has far more to say about taking care of the poor than it does about the evils of homosexuality. And I know that the biblical instruction is to do good in response to evil and fight using only the armor of God; the weapons of the world are forbidden us. It is unacceptable to focus on those parts of the Bible that convict other people but agree with my politics while ignoring the clear commands of Christ that convict me, too.

If I have said some harsh things, it is out of love for the church of Christ and zeal for her future. I bear no ill will for Dr. Garlow, and I know that God has done many great things through him. I hope, however, that he will reevaluate his understanding of the church's role in the world to bring it more in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Lord, Save Us From Our Enemy!

Reading: Lamentations 2; Isaiah 40:1-11

This is the second sermon in our Advent series using the book of Lamentations to call us to examine our need for a savior. I for one find it a little shocking how Jeremiah speaks of God as the people's enemy in Lamentations 2, but it's certainly a powerful statement on the effects of sin in our lives.

Also, note that I've added a link below for the Advent reading that accompanies this sermon.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
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Click here to view the Advent reading accompanying this sermon (.pdf).

Preached on December 4, 2011 at PLWC.

Two sermons: "Healing We Don't Deserve" and "Lord, Save Us From Our Desolation!"

I'm posting two sermons here since I didn't post anything during the week of Thanksgiving. We'll start with the oldest first, the sermon for Christ the King Sunday which concluded our series on healing. One of the most potent demonstrations of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is found in this shocking call to love our enemies.

Reading: Genesis 16:1-13; Luke 6:17-38
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
Click here to download a recording of this sermon.
Preached on November 20, 2011 at PLWC.

This first week of Advent begins a new and somewhat unconventional series for us. Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, and so this year we'll be drawing our theme from the book of Lamentations, in which the people of Israel lament the destruction and exile that resulted from their sin. Their need for a savior was literally right in front of their faces, and so we'll be entering ourselves into their story during Advent to recognize our own sin and need for a savior. Note that each sermon during this series will be accompanied by an Advent reading; the sermon calls us to repentance and confronts us with our sin, while the Advent reading proclaims the promise of a coming savior.


Reading: Lamentations 1, Isaiah 54:1-10
Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).
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Click here to view the Advent reading accompanying this sermon (.pdf).
Preached on November 27, 2011 at PLWC.

Healing Community

Reading: Numbers 21:4-9; Luke 8:26-39; Acts 5:1-11

This is the third sermon in our series leading up to Christ the King Sunday. We've been looking at the ways healing reveals the Lordship of Christ, and in our culture of individualism we tend to ignore the impact healing has on our communities.

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Preached on November 13, 2011 at PLWC.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Reading: John 4:1-42; Romans 3:10-26

This is the second sermon in our "With Healing In Its Wings" series focused on the Lordship of Christ as demonstrated through healing. This week we saw the impact that Christ can have as He heals us of our shame.

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Preached on November 6, 2011 at PLWC.

With Healing In Its Wings

Reading: Malachi 3:13-4:3; Mark 8:22-26, 10:46-52

This week is the start of our series focused on healing. We're approaching Christ the King Sunday, and throughout the Bible healing is associated with the Lordship of God. We'll be looking at a variety of types of healing in the next few weeks, but this time we started with the obvious: physical healing.

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Preached on October 30, 2011 at PLWC.

Seeing Forward

Reading: Revelation 19:1-10; Luke 22:7-30

This was sort of a concluding sermon for our Where Are We Going? series. We started the series by focusing on worship, so it was only appropriate that we should finish with worship by celebrating the Lord's Supper together, especially since the Lord's Supper has so many parallels with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb at the conclusion of history.

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Preached on October 23, 2011 at PLWC.

Where Are We Going? Home

Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-12, 48:35b; Revelation 21:1-5, 22-22:7

This is the fourth sermon in our Where Are We Going? series dealing with the revelation of the future in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. We could of course be spending a lot more time dealing with the details in these books, but we've contented ourselves with looking at the major themes instead. Our focus this week is on heaven, or probably more accurately, home.

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Preached on October 16, 2011 at PLWC.

Where Are We Going? To Judgment

Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-3:4; Revelation 20:7-15

This is the third sermon in our Where Are We Going? series, exploring the future according to the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. Judgment factors heavily into these books (and the Bible as a whole), so what does the coming judgment tell us about what we should do with ourselves in the meantime?

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Preached on October 9, 2011 at PLWC.

Where Are We Going? To Battle

Reading: Ezekiel 38:1-6, 14-16; Revelation 19:11-21

This is the second sermon in our "Where Are We Going?" series focused on the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. The struggle between God and the allied forces of darkness is certainly one of the major themes in apocalyptic works like these, and we can't ignore that reality in the world. We do, however, need to make sure that we're clear on what this battle is like.

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Preached on October 2, 2011 at PLWC.

Where Are We Going? To Worship

Reading: Ezekiel 43:1-12; Revelation 1:9-19, 4:1-11

This week begins a brief series focused on the future as revealed through the Bible. What does God want us to know about where we're heading, and how does that influence us today?

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Preached on September 25, 2011 at PLWC.

The Greatest Love

Reading: John 15:1-17

We finished off our One on One series by returning to the verse that has anchored us throughout. What is this greatest love, and how can we know it?

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Preached on September 18, 2011 at PLWC.

One on One: The Pain of Impact

Reading: Jeremiah 36:1-4, 20-32; John 15:18-27

This is the last sermon in preparation for our challenge to invite our friends and family to join us in worship on Sunday the 18th. The gospel calls us to a tension between making an eternal impact and accepting the sacrifice that often comes with faithfulness to the call.

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Preached on September 11, 2011 at PLWC.

One on One: The Impact of Faithfulness

Reading: 1 Samuel 20:16-42

Okay, let's try not getting so far behind this time. This week continues our "One on One" series by reminding us of the eternal impact we can have through our faithful friendships.

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Preached on September 4, 2011 at PLWC.

Lots of sermons...sorry.

Yikes. It's been a busy summer. The further I got behind, the harder it was to catch up, so now I have to post a whole mess of sermons. What's the collective noun for a group of sermons? A pulpit of sermons, maybe? A congregation of sermons? I'm posting a denomination of sermons today. Sorry.

"Leave It Behind"

Preached on July 10, 2011 at PLWC.

Reading: Acts 14:1-20

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"Is Hope Worth It?"

Preached on July 24, 2011 at PLWC.

Reading: Acts 16:6-40

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"Trash Wanted"

Preached on August 7, 2011 at PLWC.

Reading: Acts 17:16-34

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"Words Worth Speaking"

Preached on August 14, 2011 at PLWC.

Reading: Acts 28:11-31; Philippians 1:12-30

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"One on One: Impacting Family"

Preached on August 21, 2011 at PLWC.

Reading: 2 Chronicles 33:1-20

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Unexpected Freedom

Reading: Acts 10:1-48

The weekend of the Fourth of July is always a tricky time to preach. It's a significant holiday, but it's definitely not a Christian holiday. How do we acknowledge it without sanctifying it? In this case, we took a look at the biblical view of freedom as demonstrated in the book of Acts.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on July 3, 2011 at PLWC.

The Language of the Scattered

Reading: Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:14-41

It seems appropriate to spend some time in the book of Acts in these weeks after Pentecost. To get us started, we looked at Peter's Pentecost sermon.

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Preached on June 26, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: The Gift of God

Reading: Exodus 3:11-15; John 1:9-14, 16:7-15; Acts 2:1-4

This is the last sermon in our Before and After series. We celebrated Pentecost with the Lord's Supper, which might not seem like an obvious choice, but the work of Jesus and the work of the Spirit are inseparable.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on June 12, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: Conflict

Reading: Matthew 18:15-35; 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

This is our last sermon in the Before and After series before Pentecost, and our focus was on conflict. Conflict is a fact of being human, but our response to conflict should be characteristically Christian.

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Preached on June 5, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: God and Country

Reading: Romans 13:1-7; Revelation 19:11-21

Our fifth sermon in the Before and After series tries to strike a delicate balance on the issues relating to God and country. Lots of important issues get impacted by our view of this relationship, and unfortunately few of them are easy to navigate...

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on May 29, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: The Future

Reading: Ezekiel 40:1-4, 48:29-35; Revelation 5:1-14

This is the fourth sermon in our Before and After series, this time looking at how Christians view the future. It's something we tend to get wrong from time to time...

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Preached on May 22, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: Stuff

Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-12; Luke 6:17-49

This, the third sermon in our Before and After series, takes a look at how we ought to use our stuff if we're going to be people who are living after Easter.

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Preached on May 15, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: Personhood

Reading: Joel 2:11-32; John 20:1-18

This week's sermon was a shot across the bow — or maybe a shot right at — those who teach complementarian theology in the church. Complementarianism, if you're not familiar with it, is essentially the teaching that women were designed by God to submit to men, and therefore they are naturally excluded from leadership in ministry. This is a step backwards, folks. It has nothing to do with the good news of Jesus Christ.

I've never focused exclusively on the topic of women in ministry from the pulpit, though I have addressed it, so this was a fun sermon for me to preach. I find it incredibly frustrating that some of the points in this sermon even have to be made; the more I think about the infection of complementarianism in the church the more annoyed I get, especially when Wesleyan pastors subscribe to it. This issue should have been settled centuries ago. Repent and believe in the gospel, for crying out loud.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on May 8, 2011 at PLWC.

Before and After: Behaving After Easter

Reading: John 9:1-41

We've started a new series for Eastertide, the season between Easter and Pentecost. Our theme will be the contrast between life before and life after Easter; this week we looked at the basic question of morality.

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Preached on May 1, 2011 at PLWC.

When the Chips are Down

Following is a quote from Alan Stuart-Smyth, who was serving as a UN peacekeeper in the Congo when he interrupted two men in the middle of perpetrating truly horrific atrocities. The men went for their weapons, and so he shot them both.

"I had turned 19 only two days previous, and still suffered from the native upbringing of a good Christian family. I lost a lot of that upbringing at Okonda. There was no honor here, no virtue. The standards of behavior taught in the homes, churches, and schools of America had no place in battle. They were mythical concepts good only for the raising of children, to be cast aside forever from this moment on. No, I didn't feel guilt, shame, or remorse at killing my fellow man — I felt pride!"

—Alan Stuart-Smyth, "Congo Horror," quoted by David Grossman in On Killing, p.222

There's a lot in his account worth discussing, but one of the things that grips me is that the gospel (at least as it had been taught to him) had nothing relevant to say about the realities of war, atrocity, and killing. He abandoned what religion had been given to him because it was simply inadequate. What bothers me is that I suspect he was perfectly justified in doing so.

The gospel I hear preached (and struggle to balance in my own preaching) is usually a gospel of conservative middle class values and struggles focused on the existential (Shackled by a heavy burden? Jesus can help!), the practical (Got kids who won't come to church? Here are ten Proverbs that will help!), American-conservative-civil-religionist values (Homosexuals/liberals/illegals got you down? Here are three Bible verses that show how they're going to hell!), or surface compassion (Feel bad about your materialistic lifestyle? Send some money to Africa and feel better!). But do we have anything worth saying to Alan Stuart-Smyth?

At best, the gospel I hear preached is powerful enough to heal a broken marriage, set a person free from an addiction, and send some money to a third-world country to build a well. Powerful stuff, yes. But most of us — including most preachers, I fear — simply do not have a theology that can handle issues of atrocity and war with anything other than bumper-sticker platitudes that only end up insulting everyone concerned.

The reality is that the gospel of Jesus Christ does have an answer to Alan Stuart-Smyth. Most of us have just never heard it.

Holy Week Sermons: "How Did We Come to This?" and "There is Joy Here"

I preached two sermons last week, since we had the privilege of hosting the churches of the ecumenical council for this year's Good Friday service. The first is, of course, the Good Friday sermon, followed by our Easter sermon.

"How Did We Come to This?"

Preached on Friday, April 22 at the Ecumenical Good Friday service at PLWC.

Reading: John 18-19

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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"There is Joy Here"

Preached on Sunday, April 24 at PWLC.

Reading: Luke 24:1-35

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Bearing the Cross: The Way to Glory

Reading: Matthew 21:1-11; Philippians 2:1-11

Our final sermon in the Bearing the Cross series looks at Philippians 2, in which the cross stands at the lowest point of Christ's self-emptying, right before He is exalted by His Father. It also helps us understand some of what was going on on Palm Sunday, when Jesus was hailed by the crowds and seemed ready to put His fame to work, only to withdraw suddenly from the spotlight.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on April 17, 2011 at PLWC.

Bearing the Cross: Everybody's Doing It

Reading: Hebrews 11:1-12:3

Our fifth sermon in this Bearing the Cross series takes us to the cross in Hebrews, where the cross stands as the climax of the history of God's people trusting in God's faithfulness in spite of appearances. The heroes of the faith give us plenty of examples of what it means to bear the cross.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on April 10, 2011 at PLWC.

Bearing the Cross: Being and Doing

Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 2:6-3:4

Our fourth sermon in the Bearing the Cross series takes a look at how Paul uses the cross in Ephesians and Colossians. Whereas Lent is generally introspective and focused on repentance, it is also true that the cross is a sign of God's cosmic victory.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on April 3, 2011 at PLWC.

Bearing the Cross: Provocation

Reading: Acts 5:27-42; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:10

For the third sermon in our Bearing the Cross series, our focus was on how the cross factors into the proclamation of the early Christians in Acts and 1 Corinthians. They weren't shy about how they talked about the cross: in fact, the cross was both central and provocative.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

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Preached on March 27, 2011 at PLWC.

Bearing the Cross: Freedom from Slavery

Reading: Galatians 5:1-6:18 (or just read all of Galatians)

Our second sermon in Bearing the Cross series looks at how the cross factors into Paul's instructions to the church at Galatia.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf)

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on March 20, 2011 at PLWC.

Bearing the Cross

Reading: Luke 14:25-35; Matthew 16:13-28

We're starting a new series for Lent focusing on Bearing the Cross. It seemed logical to start by looking at what Jesus had to say on the matter.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on March 13, 2011 at PLWC.

Moments of Glory

Reading: Matthew 17:1-9; 2 Peter 1:16-21

The lectionary for this year places the story of the Transfiguration right before the start of Lent, which is appropriate for a number of reasons, as we explored in this week's sermon. I should note that I haven't been happy with how Google Documents has been handling the .doc versions of the sermons I've been uploading recently, so this week I'm going to see how it handles a .pdf version instead. Let me know if it gives you any trouble and I'll go back to the .doc version.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon (.pdf).

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on March 6, 2011 at PLWC.

Added a new (old) sermon recording

Carey and I were out of town unexpectedly for Sunday, February 20, so I recorded a video of myself preaching my sermon titled "Commandos, Spies, and Secret Missions" and used that video for the sermon during the worship service on that Sunday. The manuscript for that sermon has been posted since I first preached it in August of 2008, but I've now added a link in that post so you can download the recording.

Remember the Mission

Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26

We celebrated communion together last Sunday, so our sermon was centered on that. The Lord's Supper is incredibly multi-faceted, but this time we focused on how it involves our act of commitment.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon (minus the first few seconds, though I'm not sure why).

Preached on February 27, 2011 at PLWC.

No More Normal: Pray

Reading: Psalm 51

We ended our "No More Normal" series with a focus on prayer culminating in a week of prayer. To put it succinctly, prayer is powerful, and we're not likely to get out of the rut without making that connection to God through prayer.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon.

Preached on February 6, 2011 at PLWC.

No More Normal: Connect

Reading: Acts 2:1-4, 42-47; 1 Timothy 6:11-21

Sorry for the late posting of this sermon; it's been a busy week. Our focus for last Sunday was on the need for building genuinely loving connections within the body of Christ.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon. Once again, the file is too large for Google's online virus scanner, so you'll get an error when you try to download it at first. Just click on "Download anyway" when you get the error. Apparently my sermons have been too long recently...

Preached on January 30, 2011 at PLWC

No More Normal: Serve

Reading: John 13:31-35; Luke 10:1-24

Here we go with more meddling. Our focus this week was on the need not only for service, but also for service done with a servant's heart. In other words, do we really love our neighbors?

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon. Once again, the file is too large for the online virus scanner to work, so you'll get an error message when you first try to download it. Just click on "Download Anyway" when you get the option.

Preached on January 23, 2011 at PLWC.

No More Normal: Simplify

Reading: Luke 20:45-21:4; Matthew 19:16-30

There is no sermon for January 9; Carey and I were away due to a conference. This last Sunday, however, we picked up our "No More Normal" series again. Our focus was on counteracting the busy-ness that fills so many of our lives and crowds our focus on Christ.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon. Note that the file is large enough that you'll get a message warning you that Google Docs can't scan it for viruses; just click on 'Download Anyway.' Also note that the audio quality isn't great on this sermon.

Preached on January 16, 2010 at PLWC.

New Year's Resolve

Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Hebrews 3:1-19

This week's sermon is sort of a break in between the two halves of our "No More Normal" series, but it's also sort of preparing us for the second half of that series. Sometimes the temptation is to reflect too much on our past failures and shortcomings when we're entering a new year (and when we're trying to go beyond normal); this time, we wanted to stop and encourage one another for what we're doing well.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.

Click here to download a recording of this sermon (minus the first few seconds, I'm afraid).

Preached on January 2, 2011 at PLWC.