Sermons: Recent Episodes
Bethany Community Church
By engaging with the larger-than-life characters in this Old Testament story, we will stand up and speak truth to the idols in our lives and the benefactors of idol worship by practicing the faithfulness of Elijah through reflection, confession, repentance, and worship. I. Ahab II. Asa III. Elijah
Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to capture the sermon from Jen Manglos this week. As a result we have posted her sermon from last week at Bethany Northeast. We hope you enjoy it.
We live in a universe where two realities not only exist, but compete for prominence. Seeing both realities, but learning which is the truer and deeper reality and finding a way to live in the right reality, determines everything about our life!
I. The reality of a living hope and incorruptible inheritance 1:3–6a II. The reality of trials and suffering 1:6b–12 III. The reality: One of these will overwhelm the other and become our primary reality
As we reflect on another challenging week in our nation amidst further tragedy that is unfolding around the globe, it is easy to feel powerless in response to all the chaos that surrounds us. And yet, as we let the Scriptures read us this morning we can learn how God invites us to play a part in the redemption of all things. Join us as we discover how ‘thoughts and prayers’ can make a difference in our lives and in our world.
Three verbs define the “what” and “how” of spiritual formation: I. Behold (the glory of the Lord) – II Corinthians 3 II. Release (your past) – Philippians 3 III. Offer (your body to God) – Romans 12
3 Steps to Establish a Rhythm of Spiritual Formation
Step One: Create a Habit Four Tips to Build a Habit 1. Start_______ 2. Do the _______ things ________ 3. Add the _____ habit to ___________ 4. ________ Yo’self
Step Two: Pick a Practice Bible Study is the spiritual practice of __________ Meditation is the spiritual practice of __________ Prayer is the spiritual practice of __________ Gratitude is the spiritual practice of __________ Fasting is the spiritual practice of __________ Solitude is the spiritual practice of __________
Step Three: Stay Focused On Your Relationship With Christ _________ oriented, not ___________ oriented
The reality of Jesus having risen from the dead has powerful implications for our story. Because Jesus has risen, we have access to: I. A New Depth II. A New Power III. A New Invitation
On this first day of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, he sets both a direction and an example for his followers, then and now: I. Just get the donkey II. Triumphal Entry: Parade or Pathway? III. Pause, Take a Breath, Feel, Reflect, Re-group, Take Action
The questions of what happened and why are seen as we look at the event and two observations about the event: I. The curtain is pulled back II. The temptation is to fixate there III. Our Daily Calling: The Lesser is Informed by the Greater
To see and follow Jesus for who He truly is, we need... I. Eyes To See II. Ears To Hear III. Heart To Follow
The three views of Jesus articulated in this text are true, and interdependent, but only one, at its core, is revealed as the headwaters of life! I. The source of individual ethics, like John the Baptist II. The vision for systemic ethical change, like the prophets III. In reality: He’s “The Christ”
It’s in the midst of stormy seas that Jesus once again invites his disciples to live a new and better story amidst adverse winds. We are similarly invited to deeper levels of discipleship as we better understand the following realities: I. An Old Story II. A New Memory III. A Softened Heart
This story may be hard to relate to because demonic possession seems so outside of our everyday experience. And yet this story speaks of something that we all know deep down---that there is a complex spiritual power of evil at work in the world. The Bible teaches that evil is real and personal, and that evil is actively at work in the world to unravel God’s good purposes for humanity. We see that in the extreme in this man in the tombs. And yet Jesus goes far beyond the boundaries to find this man, to undo the evil at work within him, and to restore him to wholeness. I. The complexity of evil (v. 2-5) II. The undoing of evil (v. 6-13)
- Can you share about an experience a season when you knew where you were headed was not “the way”?
- Where in your life do you need to experience hope right now?
Unlike the other gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark begins quite suddenly. Mark lacks an elaborate birth narrative. Mark doesn’t contain a genealogical preamble. Nor does Mark waste time with poetic descriptions of Jesus. Mark instead gets straight to the point asking us to respond to a simple question: Who is Jesus? (Mark 8:29) In that way, Mark never intended his gospel to be a historical exploration of the life of an Ancient Near Eastern rabbi, but instead an intimate confrontation with a living person. Indeed, Mark believes that Jesus is alive and that he is confronting us, even now, with his presence in our lives, and inviting us to follow him. I. The setting (v. 2-3) II. The herald (v. 4-8) III. The baptism (v. 9-11)
BIG IDEA: Mark’s story of Jesus may become, if you let it, a place of hope and discovery and invitation to the power, peace, and purpose of God in your life. Who you say Jesus is has the possibility to lead you on the way to Christ in real and powerful ways in the season ahead.
I. Messiah declared II. Mission designed III. Meaning desired
- When is a time in your life you had to lay down your assumptions? What happened as a result?
- At the end of the book of Job we see that Job has been changed through his encounter with God. What part of Job’s journey do you relate with most in this season of life? Why?
I. Be Humbled – Trust in the Creator II. Be Reconciled
– Eyes to see the goodness of God III. Be Restored
– Hope for the trajectory of our story in Christ
We finally arrive at the long-anticipated moment of God’s response to Job. When God speaks. . . I. Roles are re-imagined II. Revelation happens III. An invitation is made
As we continue in the Book of Job we are looking at one of Job’s “soliloquies” (Job 29) in which, as he’s going through his own particular experience of suffering, he’s reflecting on his life and all that is happening to him. In this particular reflection, Job offers one of the most explicit and detailed articulations of Biblical justice and of how we as God’s people are called to participate in the work of justice.
I. What justice is (vv. 11-17) II. How and where we can we participate in the work of justice (v. 7)
- What is wisdom? Where does wisdom come from?
- What are some areas of life that you need to relinquish to God?
- How do you respond to God in your suffering and pain?
Grief and suffering have a tendency to destroy relationships, but in studying how Job stays present to himself, God, and others, we get a picture of the redemptive power of presence to grow relationships and restore health despite our seasons of suffering. I. Presence to Self II. Presence to God III. Presence to Others Things to consider: 1. What is one thing your body or longings might be speaking to you about pain or desire you can be present to? 2. Explore the prayer practice this week of simply bringing the circumstances of the day to God OR paying attention to your consolation and desolation each day. 3. Practice presence this week with a person in your life who is suffering. Let them know you are thinking of them and/or take time to listen/validate/comfort without answers.
- What is one thing your body or longings might be speaking to you about a pain or desire you can be present to?
- Explore the prayer practice this week of simply bringing the circumstances of the day to God OR paying attention to your consolation and desolation each day.
- Practice presence this week with a person in your life who is suffering. Let them know you are thinking of them and/or take time to listen/validate/comfort without answers.
“We live in a world drowning in information but starving for wisdom.” - E.O. Wilson. E.O. Wilson penned these words back in 1998 and with each passing year they’ve become more relevant to our lives. Indeed, our lives are saturated with data and information but void of understanding, and the truth is that we need wisdom, not more knowledge. Which is why I love Job’s question in Job 28:12, “Where can wisdom be found?” Wisdom isn’t quick, it’s experiential. Wisdom takes time and patience and staying engaged. I love this about Job’s story. He stays in it. And so today we’re invited to explore this question posed by Job and in doing so, perhaps come to a greater understanding of what God is up to in our lives. I.Wisdom is absolutely important. (v. 9-12) II. Wisdom is virtually unattainable. (v. 13-27) III. Wisdom can nonetheless be cultivated. (v. 28)
“When people go through suffering, their lives are often transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness, in remarkable ways that could never have been anticipated before the suffering. So, instead of continuing to focus on preventing suffering—which we simply won’t be very successful at anyway—perhaps we should begin entering the suffering, participating insofar as we are able— entering the mystery and looking around for God.” Eugene Peterson
Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” – Job 1:9 Jesus said to him, “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. – Matthew 4:10, 11
Lost: • Body • Soul • Spirit
Found: • Shema/ Be Attentive • Shadad/ Be Made and Unmade • Shalom/ Be Agents of Peace and Wholeness
“Maybe the place we experience God-with-Us today is in the very fears we have about our own lives, our own world, our own future. The fears that keep us from believing that anything can be different. The fears that we are here all on our own.... Today, let our fears be the starting place of divine connection.” God has not left us. “May you not be afraid, for Love has drawn near.” Scott Erickson, Honest Advent (191) I. The Root of Fear: “Where Are You?” II. The Response to Fear a. Imitation b. Contempt c. Violence III. The Hope of Fear: “The Fear of the Lord”
There’s a whole lot of singing this time of year. Yet of all the wonderful Christmas songs, Mary may have written the first and the best of all. Called the Magnificat (“Magnificat” is the first word of the song in Latin, which just means “Magnify”), Mary’s song is a song of both transformation and revolution; the transformation in her own life because of God’s announcement to her, but also the revolution that God will bring in the world through Jesus. What caused Mary to sing. (v. 39–45) What Mary’s song is about. (v. 46–55)
To see more of Scott Erickson and his art, visit: https://scottericksonart.com @scottthepainter
scottthepainter
The church in Ephesus was no stranger to division. As the Apostle Paul encourages the church towards unity, he does so by insisting they speak the truth to one another. As we seek to be a unified church, we lean into Paul’s teaching with a specific focus on these three words from our text: I. Deceit II. Truth III. Love
How do you respond to this quote? What emotions do you experience?
When have you experienced disorientation in your life? How did you navigate that time?
When have you experienced joy in your life? When have you experienced pain? Where are you now?
Where do you see tameable darkness in your life, places where your suffering is a result of your own actions or behavior?
What do you find yourself focusing on? What do those things you focus on move you to? What are they moving you away from?
What does it mean for you to wait on the Lord? What are you waiting for and as you are in this place, how easy is it to choose power over faith?
How is the thing you are focusing on, and waiting for distracting you from following Christ wholeheartedly?
How do you respond to fear? What do you fear? To what do you give reverence, besides Christ?
What does it mean to you to be a good steward of your pain?
How have you buried past pain or fear?
Why is it easier to bury pain rather than expose it? How do we create space for others to unbury their pain?
If you would like to open up, who can you talk to?
What is the difference between following a map vs. following a guide? Which do you prefer?
Who are the guides in your life? How easy is it to ask them for guidance?
Bruggemann reminds us “that which cannot be resolved must, in time, be relinquished.” In what area of your life would you like to move forward? What needs to be let go of before you can move forward?
What does it mean for you to shed light in your context, helping people see that darkness and light are a part of a whole life?
Where are you shining light into darkness? What would you like to say to those you know who are trapped in the darkness?
What do you do to maintain control of yourself and your surroundings?
How do you process the difficult issues you see in the world or in your neighborhood today? How do you reconcile this with God's faithfulness?
What do you complain to God about? How do your complaints reflect what is important to you?
How have you responded to doubt and/or unanswered spiritual questions in your life?
What are you doing in your waiting to hear from God regarding your doubts or complaints?
When have you experienced God's answer? How was it different than you expected?
How much do you rely on your own goodness to feel confident in your faith? How do you rely on the goodness and faithfulness of Christ?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. What do you find hopeful about this? What phrase stirs you? What challenges you about this passage?
Where do you find yourself needing renewed hope in God's faithfulness and goodness ?
Read Habakkuk 3:17-19. What do you need to take to heart in this passage?
What past victories remind you of His faithfulness in the present and in the future?
How do you cultivate joy in the midst of your life circumstances?
How can you encourage someone else in your life who needs hope and encouragement?
When have you found safety behind a closed door? What other emotions emerge for you with the image of a closed door? When have you been grateful for a closed door (literal or figurative), either for you or for someone you love? In what ways do the doors or walls of your life give you identity? Community? How do you find limits in your life a source of freedom? What compels you out the door in the morning? What do you find at the end of the day when you return? Is it harder for you to head out the door or come back into the fold at the end of the day? Why? What do you hear Jesus saying to you throughout the day that keeps your identity in Him? How does your security in Christ go with you during the day? How is this awareness reflected in the way you live, work, and interact with others? Where do you find home? How do you create home for others? When have you experienced transformation by choosing home over wandering? In what area of your life is Jesus inviting you to come home? How are you responding? What is at stake? How can you help those around you find the safety of home in whatever context they are in?
Where do you see a lack of mercy being reflected? What make is difficult for you to merciful? Where have you experienced mercy from another? From God? How have your experience of someone being merciful to you inspired you to exercise mercy? Is there an area of your life where you need to experience mercy now? What are you doing to do about that? How can you be an agent of mercy in your context? What barriers do you see in being able to show mercy?
When have you eaten too much before a wonderful meal and “spoiled your dinner”?
When have you been satisfied by a cheap substitute for your deepest desires?
Can you think of a time when you have felt ashamed of your longings?
How do you process unmet longings in your life now?
How do you see longings as a gift? I n what area are you not asking enough of God? What have you settled for and why?
What distracts you from hungering and thirsting for righteousness?
What outcome do your pursuits reflect? How would the outcome change if your pursuit reflected more the righteousness of Christ?
When have you seen meekness used as a derogatory characteristic?
In the 8am service at GL, meekness was defined as exercising God's strength through His control. What does this definition stir in you?
We tend to respond to conflict by either fighting or fleeing? What is your general tendency?
What are you trying to protect in your fight or flight response?
What does meekness say to those who would fight? For those who would flee?
How do you see meekness as a lens through which to see not just the ends but the means as well?
When has the meekness of another unnerved you?
What is your context where you are challenged to maintain your convictions? How would embodying meekness guide you to hold fast to your convictions?
What are you cultivating in your habits to know God better and understand what your next step is as a follower of Christ?
What does it mean that the earth owns us?
Sep 11: Passing the Torch (Deuteronomy 34)
The death of Moses has much to teach us about living well as God’s people
Questions:
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What do you find interesting about Moses’ death as told in Deut. 34?
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Have you ever thought about your funeral or what might be on your
tombstone when you died? How might considering how we finish life help us
focus on how we live today?
- What is most compelling to you about the journey Moses took God’s people
on? Endurance? Perseverance? Faith? Intimacy with God? Explain to the
group.
- What will you remember from this series as you journey with Christ?
Can you think of someone who has left a legacy behind that you have benefited from?
In what ways are the days of your life contributing to how you want to live and represent?
What emotions does the thought of death stir up in you?
What are you yearning for? How do you feel about dying before you ever experience what you are yearning for?
When have you seen scripture taken out of context in a way that didn't or doesn't reflect the heart of Christ?
How do you look to Christ to form your ethic? How would it look different if you didn't have Christ as the perfect Example?
Are there areas where you are trying to playmore roles than you are called to play, so that the role you are to play suffers? What distracts you from the role or roles you know God has called you to?
Who are the people whose lives are you investing in by playing a role? What role do you play?
Can you think of a time when someone reminded you of the impact you had on their life, even when you may have not remembered it?
Are there actions and behaviors for which you are living the consequences? What can you learn from this?
Are there are areas of your life where you need to be more attentive?
When have you experienced God giving you the strength to do something that He called you to do?
Is there something God might be calling you to do, but you are fearful because you don't trust Him to give you the strength you need?
Who are you committed to that God is calling you to serve? How are you using your power to empower and serve others?
How can you look to God for identity and direction so that you can grow and mature into a "good and faithful servant?" What practices do you need to add to your life? What practices do you need to relinquish?
What have been some of your major choices and how did they impact the trajectory of your life?
What were 3 choices, big or small, that you made today?
How does advice that you have given changed because of your experience with the consequences of past choices you have made?
What messages do you bring with you from your family?
How does your relationship with them inform your identity?
How does your relationship with God and others in your community speak to your identity differently than your family?
In what areas of your life are you needing to choose life? What makes it hard to choose life?
What would it look like to walk in the way of God? What steps are involved today on this walk?
In what area are you looking for God to provide ?
What do you want to hear from God so that you can rest in His provision ?
What are you grateful for?
How does your understanding of God invite you to lean on Him in difficult times and trust Him? What makes it difficult to trust?
Where can you choose life this week and be fed by Christ?
What have been some of your major choices and how did they impact the trajectory of your life?
What were 3 choices, big or small, that you made today?
How does advice that you have given changed because of your experience with the consequences of past choices you have made?
What messages do you bring with you from your family?
How does your relationship with them inform your identity?
How does your relationship with God and others in your community speak to your identity differently than your family?
In what areas of your life are you needing to choose life? What makes it hard to choose life?
What would it look like to walk in the way of God? What steps are involved today on this walk?
In what area are you looking for God to provide ?
What do you want to hear from God so that you can rest in His provision ?
What are you grateful for?
How does your understanding of God invite you to lean on Him in difficult times and trust Him? What makes it difficult to trust?
Where can you choose life this week and be fed by Christ?
Can you name an event, positive or negative, that was a turning point for you? Read Exodus 19:5,6. How would you describe yourself or your Christian community as it relates to your place in your larger context? What forces cause you to forget your identity in Christ? Can you think of a time when you have heard God speak? How does this idea of God speaking to you sit with you, emotionally or intellectually? How does calling the Ten Commandments the Ten Sayings change the way you look at them? What can you find in the Ten Commandments that helps you find your identity as one who belongs to God? When have you grown tired of waiting and sought satisfaction or needs met in a less meaningful or fulfilling way? What made the waiting difficult? What did you lose sight of? What regrets do you have when you think of times when you acted out of distrust or impatience? What steps have you taken to forgive yourself and experience the forgiveness of God? Are there people in your life who need you to influence them toward waiting for God? How can you encourage them? Who are the people in your life who encourage you to trust God? How easy is it to be completely honest with them about how you are doing? How does your life reflect a reverence for God? What does your reverence for God contribute to your understanding of who you are? What other things or people speak into your sense of identity? What can you incorporate into your life to remind yourself and your community that you belong to God?
Can you name an event, positive or negative, that was a turning point for you? Read Exodus 19:5,6. How would you describe yourself or your Christian community as it relates to your place in your larger context? What forces cause you to forget your identity in Christ? Can you think of a time when you have heard God speak? How does this idea of God speaking to you sit with you, emotionally or intellectually? How does calling the Ten Commandments the Ten Sayings change the way you look at them? What can you find in the Ten Commandments that helps you find your identity as one who belongs to God? When have you grown tired of waiting and sought satisfaction or needs met in a less meaningful or fulfilling way? What made the waiting difficult? What did you lose sight of? What regrets do you have when you think of times when you acted out of distrust or impatience? What steps have you taken to forgive yourself and experience the forgiveness of God? Are there people in your life who need you to influence them toward waiting for God? How can you encourage them? Who are the people in your life who encourage you to trust God? How easy is it to be completely honest with them about how you are doing? How does your life reflect a reverence for God? What does your reverence for God contribute to your understanding of who you are? What other things or people speak into your sense of identity? What can you incorporate into your life to remind yourself and your community that you belong to God?