Sermons on Life with God (Page 7)
Messiah, Magi, and the Nations
One of the promises about the Messiah was that the nations would stream toward him. This vividly happens in the story of the magi, or wise men, who came to visit Jesus, setting of the wild fury of Herod Antipas. Matthew 2:1-12 SERMON OUTLINE “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew…
Mary
Looking at the birth of Jesus through the eyes and experience of Mary. Matthew 1:18-25 SERMON OUTLINE “’The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” (Matthew 1:23) The Obedience of Mary Her place in the genealogy Contrast with Eve The Role of the Holy Spirit God is fully holy and Mary is honored Parallel with Genesis Dignity of the body in the incarnation Mary the Virgin Mother…
Joseph
Looking at the birth of Jesus through the eyes and experience of Joseph. Matthew 1:18-25 SERMON OUTLINE “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’” (Matthew 1:20) Joseph the Upright (Matthew 1:18-19) righteous – “faithful to the law” merciful Joseph the Dreamer (Matthew 1:20-23) dreams of Joseph (1:20-21; 2:13;…
Women of Faith
This week will give attention to notable women in Jesus’ line—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba—with some discussion of redemption. Matthew 1:1-17, esp. 1:3, 5-6 SERMON OUTLINE The Point The Gospel, the story of the Bible, and the story of Jesus is for everyone. Tamar (Genesis 38:6-30) Canaanite Widow “Unredeemed” Rahab (Joshua 2:1-7) Amorite Harlot “Unclean” Ruth (Book of Ruth) Moabite Widow “Unredeemed” Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2, 3; 12:24; 1 Kings 1:11-31, 2:13-19) Canaanite Victim “Unclean” The Point The Gospel, the story…
Faith-Full Public Engagement
What does our faith mean in relation to the wide variety of publicly debated concerns in our society, like abortion, marriage, healthcare, economic models, and more? We will begin to construct a biblical framework for thoughtful Christian engagement with these various concerns. We also plan to consider what it means to live together and converse with one another as God’s people, even when we may not see everything from the same perspective as we engage in the public sphere. SERMON OUTLINE…
Run
The life of faith is like a foot race of endurance that, although we wear down sometimes, brings the greatest joy of living with God. Hebrews 12:1-11 SERMON OUTLINE “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2) Run with the crowd (Hebrews 12:1a) Hebrews 11 Surrounded Run without hindrances (Hebrews 12:1b) throw off everything that hinders get rid of the sin that entangles or distracts Run after the One (Hebrews…
Faith
The nature of faith shapes the life of faith. Hebrews 11:1-3 SERMON OUTLINE “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith and the future – “what we hope for” (Hebrews 11:1a) Faith and the present – “what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1b) The ancients’ faith (Hebrews 11:2) Faith and the past – creation (Hebrews 11:3) Key things to remember about increasing our faith Some faith is better…
Let Us Draw Near and Persevere
In light of the cost of Jesus’ sacrifice, we must step forward with perseverance in our life of faith. Hebrews 10:19-39 SERMON OUTLINE Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. A Look Back at Hebrews so Far Hebrews 10 is the Book’s Pivot Point towards Application What is the “therefore” there for? The Source: Drawing Near to God (Hebrews 10:19-23) Our approach vs God’s approach Religion vs Gospel The…
Soft Hearted
Disobedience hardens us to God, so we are called to obedience, turning from sin, and keeping our hearts soft toward God. SERMON OUTLINE “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12) Hearing God’s Word Today (Hebrews 3:7a) “as the Holy Spirit says” An Example Not to be Imitated (Hebrews 3:7b-11) Background: Psalm 95; Exodus 17; Numbers 14 Hardening of the heart An aside about…
Restoration and Embodied Sexuality
This message explores the fourth and final chapter of this series with restoration in Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah has brought redemption to us through His death, and now His resurrected body is ushering in a new “Now But Not-Yet” kingdom. Pastor Matt discusses how Christ’s resurrection has raised us with new resurrection bodies. In these bodies, we will see the ultimate restoration of all things by God at the end of human history, including in our love, sexuality, and…
Redemption and Embodied Sexuality
This message explores the third chapter with redemption in Jesus Christ. Jesus the eternal Son enters into the fallen cosmos in a real body as Messiah to redeem us, including our love, sexuality, and bodies. Encountering true love of God through Christ helps us find God’s presence, provision, truth, grace, acceptance, and freedom. When we see Jesus’ encounter with people throughout His ministry we see the dignity of redemption for real people with real challenges in real bodies. This redemption…
Fall and Embodied Sexuality
This message explores the ways in which all of creation has been impacted by the Fall into sin, including our bodies, love, the chance for a more-thoughtful engagement with the questions of singleness and what it means to live for God’s glory in the body as a single Christian. This message will address topics such as: do you need to be married to be fulfilled or ‘complete’?, how do you deal with singleness after divorce or the death of a…