Jesus, Barabbas, and Pilate

In this fourth sermon in Lent we encounter Jesus and Barabbas in front of Pilate. We take some time to discern who each of these persons are and come to realize that only by the grace of God are any of us pardoned by the act of Jesus taking our place.

TheProposal

This second sermon in the Marriage series takes a serious look at our expectations for our spouse. When we ask them to marry us who do we expect them to be, and what do we expect them to do for us? Is our understanding of marriage based upon how they will fulfill us or on our honest desire to love and serve them?

I hope this will challenge you to look at your marriage relationship with a little more scrutiny to find more ways to love and serve your spouse.

The Prodigal

Guest Speaker Johnathan Wright shares with us words of insight and wisdom surrounding the parable of the Prodigal son.
What would it be like to offend the father so much and yet be received back with overflowing grace?

Emergency Brake

This is the final sermon in the Hitchhiker series. Today we encounter an arrogant, stubborn, and dense Prophet. Jonah determined that the city of Nineveh should be destroyed and he was confounded when God decided to grant them mercy. Actually he was angry that God didn't give them what they deserved.

Jonah needed to learn an important lesson about God's forgiveness. Jonah needed to be reminded that God was in charge.

We need to learn the same thing. That even though someone really hurt us and we want to see God bring the wrath down on them, that we are not called to judge, but to forgive, just as He has forgiven us!

If there is someone who you still hold animosity against, make today your day to forgive them.

Switching Drivers

This is the third week in the Hitchhiker series and in it we encounter the evil city of Nineveh for the first time. By their behavior they were running away from God just like Jonah. But, when God told them to repent, they did.

This message acknowledges that every person is sinful, and begs the question, will we respond like Jonah who ran and hid, or will we immediately repent and turn to God for forgiveness.

In the same venue as the other hitchhiker sermons, the analogy is related to driving a car the wrong direction. Today it is realizing that sometimes our lives are spinning out of control. This message closes with a song by Carrie Underwood - Jesus take the Wheel.

The closing challenge is to surrender control of those areas in our life that are spinning out of control.

Paroled

In this final sermon of the Prison Break series we find David convicted of his sin, experiencing the consequence, and humbly repenting. His behavior leads to healing and reconciliation with God.
This is a challenging passage for today's world because most people believe that reconciliation is a joke; it is not possible. When faced with a conflict of perspectives or tension of disagreement, most people would rather walk away and avoid the situation. But that is not what the Bible teaches us.
Reconciliation is possible, and in fact it is the core of our Christian faith. That is what the Cross is all about. Christ died to to reconcile us with God. Now we must do the same with the world.

Cover Up

This sermon follows David through his indiscretion and attempted cover up of his sin with Bathsheba. I take a moment to compare our modern day lives with David's and help people recognize our own tendency toward making everything look rosy on the outside while still wearing a prison suit of guilt underneath.
Finally I hope to point out that covering up our sin is not a good choice. It is better to confess, repent, and seek forgiveness, both from the persons involved, and from God.

Selective Hearing - the sermon that did not get preached

Well this sermon was anything other than what I expected. I organize and plan a six month preaching calendar and this is the fifth month into what I planned in January. The sermon that I wrote fit very much with what I was thinking from this text in January however when it came to Sunday morning I knew that I would be unable to preach it. There are just times when the congregation has to hear the Holy Spirit doing the preaching and not the pastor. (which sometimes feels like a lecture and one sided rebuke) Whether I was right or wrong in not preaching this sermon I will never know. But after reading the text on Sunday I asked the congregation to share what they heard the passage saying to them. The good news is they basically preached the same sermon that I had written, but it was not me saying it. It was the congregation allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through them.
I know this is a bit unconventional, but I also knew that because of the difficulty and poignancy of James that my words could have been misinterpreted. (That fine line between a pastor illuminating the text and standing in front of it I think)
Anyway, I did not record the pseudo sermon but I did decide to post the PDF of what I had prepared. If you would like you can read it and comment.

Even the Shirt off His Back

This sermon is the fourth in the Lenten Banner series as we dig into the events that surround the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Today we look at the contrast between the soldiers casting lots and playing games what was happening behind their backs on the cross.
Have you ever asked yourself the question: "Am I playing games with my life while Jesus is trying to work redemption in my heart?"

This is the real underlying question that we attempt to answer in this message. I look forward to your thoughts.

Guilty!

This message is a powerful sermon that created a powerful response. The altar of our United Methodist Church was full of people and not an eye was dry.
As Christians is it time to stop playing games, time to stop holding on to our sin, time to repent and ask forgiveness. Do you realize that your sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross. We judged Jesus guilty, and by our sins he was crucified. As you listen may the Holy Spirit turn your heart again to God. Amen.