Condemned by the Righteous

In this fourth sermon in the Lenten series we follow Jesus through his trial by the Pharisees and rulers of the law.
Ultimately we find Jesus is proclaimed guilty because of his clear claim to be the God the Messiah.
Do we act like the Pharisees when we act in ways that condemn Jesus?

Armed and Dangerous

This sermon draws the lines of connection between the spiritual world and our our daily lives. Each of us face days when trials overwhelm us. Each of us encounter trouble in relationships or situations. What is it that is really coming against us, and how can we have the strength to overcome those difficult times? How well dressed are we for the Spiritual battle that we face in this world on a daily basis?

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.

Anarchy in the Temple

This Sermon compares our Christian lives to a light house. It forces us to think about the total opposite nature of Black and White, sin and righteousness. We talk about how our world is struggling and becoming more foggy every day, and we all react to that fog of society in different ways. Both Paul and Jesus indicate that we are to be the light of the world even in the midst of a "crooked and depraved generation." How do we do that? What does it look like? How can we honestly inspect our lives and look for ways to improve the way that we are being the Temple of the Holy Spirit? Join us for this fun message and I pray that God will inspire you through the words that you hear.