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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Preached on March 13, 2011 at PLWC.

A Strange Victory for the Man in the White Hat

Preached on March 9, 2008 at PLWC.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 12:14-21

This is our final sermon exploring why Jesus died on the cross. This week we saw that the cross is the place where Christ conquers all things demonic.

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"Justice Is Not Blind" and "Recycling the Disposable"

"Justice Is Not Blind"
Preached on February 24, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Romans 1:18-25, 5:15-21

This is the second of our sermons dealing with the atonement, or the actions of Christ on the cross that reconciled us to God. Previously we looked at the cross through the lens of a sacrifice; this time we're looking at it from a legal standpoint. How does the death of Christ satisfy the justice of God?

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"Recycling the Disposable"
Preached on March 2, 2008 at PLWC.
Reading: Genesis 3:17-19, 23; Romans 5:12-15; Philippians 2:5-11

And continuing the discussion of the atonement, for this week's sermon we talked about what is technically called recapitulation: that is, Jesus served as the new Adam, a new head for a new human race, summing up God's acts in creation.

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Wondering Why

Preached on February 17, 2008 at PLWC.

Reading: Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 9:11-15

I haven't posted anything in a while because I haven't been in the pulpit for about three weeks, but now my little break is over. This week was a communion Sunday, and it also started a series of sermons focusing on atonement theology -- in other words, what exactly happened on the cross, and how are its effects transferred to me? This week we looked at the life and death of Jesus as a sacrifice offered to restore our relationship with God.

Click here to view a manuscript of this sermon.