Seaside Church Sermons: Recent Episodes
Seaside Church
What does it mean to shine as lights of the world? What will it cost our reputation? What will that mean to the reality we live in?
Paul is in prison. That much is clear. And many, on the outside, are wither saying, "Why didn't you listen to us - we told you not to go to Jerusalem!" or "Serves you right for not listening!" or "Good riddance - now we can get back to the things we want to say without interference"
But Paul is not swayed. His motivation is the call of Christ - and in his eyes this temporary circumstance is just one more way for the Gospel to reach into the corners of the world it has not yet reached. This is because Paul sees, in everything, the platform and opportunity to tell the story of the Gospel one more time.
Paul writes to the Philippians, and with all of his affection and love for them, his prayer is that they would not grow cold to the Gospel, but that they would engage with the living savior. But they must pursue the things that are vital - but how do they know what is vital?
We look at this passage, Philippians 1.6-7 in light of Paul's story in Acts 21, to see what he means when he talks about God bringing things to completion, and the tie that must bind us altogether,
So often we give up the long story of God for the short, momentary story of the things we are facing here and now. We are looking at the backstory of the book pof Philippians, looking specifically at the story of Paul's first encounter with Philippi (the city were the Philippians lived) in Acts 16.
The dialogue of Job is tough. we are faced with a complicated back and forth, one we are lucky enough to view from above. We can see the futility of trying to save men by merely changing their behavior rather than pointing them to a Savior. But as absurd as the conversation seems, it has a lot of implications in how we live with our kids, our family, and our community. How can we see the positive, and in this case, mostly negative, nature of relationships and conversations in light of who He is? How can we seek to serve rather than be served? How can we love those who are clinging to grace in the midst of suffering?
The question is - how can I help those in my life when they are suffering? In this section of Job we look at what not to say - how not to act, and where not to go when you encounter suffering. And we won't leave you there, we also will look at ways in which you can help those in need - biblical ways to point them to God and stand with them in the midst of trying times,
We begin to look at this man named Job - who is he, what does he do, where is he from. We want to know this man of whom God ordained to have a whole book written. Why was he is the position he was - and how does he respond when times are good and bad? Most of all, we begin to look at God, and His part in this great and tragic story.
As we close the 2nd letter of Peter, we reflect on some of the themes that have resounded throughout the book. In many ways we have seen Him reveal so much to us, but as we look forward to the book of Job, we are also reminded of what is ahead in our life of learning to trust Him for who He says we are. We are learning to cling to His grace in our times of need. We are loved in all of that. Here's to growing deep in Him.
Transitions can be hard. Sometimes we can look forward to them, other times they are unexpected. and it just is hard to wrap our minds around them. As we head to the last week of our great time in the 2nd letter of Peter, we are looking forward to the transition into our next study - in the book of Job, starting April 1st. And within Seaside, there are other transitions happening in the next year that will affect us all.
Chris Cerveny, one the pastors at Seaside Church, leads us through a top-level look at what Stewardship is all about, both in our own lives and at Seaside.
Chris Cerveny, on of the pastors at Seaside Church, leads us through a top-level look at what Stewardship is all about, both in our own lives and at Seaside.
The end is coming - there is an end time. and all that will be left is a new world - a new hope. This is pointedly following up on the thought from 2 Peter 3.10-12, what sort of people ought you to be - out of holiness - acknowledging who He is and all that He has done for us - how can I live out this ought to my neighbors, to my friends, to my kids - essentially a life of godliness. How we live a life that desires for Him to teach us and to restore the brokenness in us? We know He has restored our hearts of the brokenness that is in them - the sin and sorrow and shame in your Son - how can I live out the life You have called me to in your scriptures? This isn't about the rules, because we are unable to live out a life that is governed by rules, hoping that we might make good on the work He has started, but instead about seeking to trust and be found in Him.
In the midst of struggles, pain, and suffering, we are all looking for answers. And in trying to find those answers we just push on, mistaking so-called-diligence for obedience. Peter want us to see how the way to fight against the false teachings is not just knowledge and action, but preparedness. We must be prepared to engage in the redemptive work He is doing.
So it's going to come. The end is near. But how near is one of the greatest questions never answered. Oh, we know, many books have come and gone, many preachers and teachers have postulated, invested in lots of chart paper, and invested their whole future in what is essentially unknowable. It's not unthinkable, unworthy of discussion, or un-valuable. But having a unhealthy view of the ends times can be..well..unhealthy. Instead Peter asks the question, "What sort of person ought you to be?" in light of all that is coming - in light of the coming return of Jesus and judgement of the earth. That means today. How are you going to live today? If we are not promised tomorrow - why are we focused so much on it? What would look like to live for Him today, in His Kindgom? If it's all gonna burn - how ought you to live?
Balaam Funny story about a guy & his donkey. A donkey that was more aware of God than he was. Peter takes us to the story of Balaam as a reminder of the false prophets who he calls little more than root animals. These false prophets & teachers basically ran after 3 things - food, drink and sex. They saw life as little more than that. Anyway, back to Balaam. Here was a man who is known as a prophet of God, and so he is enticed with a offer to do some outside work. and the results of that request present us with some instructive help in how we live our lives as well, both personally and in the world around us.
Peter continues his look at the stories of the Old Testament, this time specifically looking at the story of Lot. Often Lot is scripted as a selfish guy, who chose the best land for himself. He is remembered as the guy who volunteered his daughters to the crowd seeking the angelic messengers that were sojourning in his home for the night. Or maybe you remember the story further down the line where those same daughters get him drunk and sleep with him to get pregnant. This guy, this obviously flawed guy, is called righteous by Peter. What??
This is where His story gets complicated. Shoot, it's all complicated. Whereas we want tidy lives and tidy folk leading us, this ongoing story of God continues to involve some crazy twists and turn woven together by a great storyteller - the greatest storyteller.
It is too easy, far too easy, to just point at Lot and be disgusted by his action (or lack of). But we are not altogether different. He is not unlike us - just change the actions and we are not so far from him. Peter is intimately acquainted with this sort of living. He is writing to a people who are not unfamiliar with this sort of living. We are not outside this sort of living.
In that - there is hope. He makes beautiful things out of dust and dirt. Part 1 of 2 in this story.
(Oh, and we take a look at the long story of Sodom and Gomorrah as well. Heritage says one thing about this sinful place - but His story says another.)
Lies. They are all around us. They pervade our conversations - both inside & outside our heads. As Peter starts to dig into the meat of the purpose for his 2nd letter, what we find is that there is a subtly to the lies we hear, process and believe. The only way to fight the lies, to fight the untruth about who we think we are (versus what He says to be true about us) is through His Word. To reinforce the fight against false teaching, Peter references the stories of the Old Testament - specifically the stories of the fall of angels and of Noah. Through looking at those stories through the lens of the broader story of Scripture, we gain insight into the work that God is doing in our lives and in the lives of others, and how to stand firm against the lies of the world.
Communion. It's a tough biblical topic. This is often due to our viewing it from a single perspective - from our history and heritage, rather that from His view - the view of His story in the Old & New Testaments, in the work of His people Israel, in & through the work of Jesus. This has led to many misunderstandings and even ruination of the original intent and purpose. We have made the symbol, too often, the purpose rather than essential value in the redemptive work of remembrance.
As we wrap up the 2011 Advent Celebration's first stage, we are looking back at the story of the incarnational work of Jesus. It's far too easy to exclude folks that are on what we would call the fringe, and yet, when we look at the example of Jesus we are faced with the reality of His incarnational life. In order to grow & mature out of who we are in Him, we must not only recognize this, but also respond.
Growing. It often is something that we want, but either we plunge ahead, just randomly trying to work this life out, or we sit back, stoically waiting for God to make us perfect so that we can get out there and not screw it up. As we dig into 2 Peter 1/5-7 we find a list of virtues. And at first glance, the doers say "Let's get going!!" And the thinkers, the feelers, they can default to just being overwhelmed. But there is a great balance here. We need to be diligent in our faith - in trusting in the promises of God that we have everything we need for life and godliness. Even if failing-ly moving forward in seeking to be like Him, we are identifying both our kingdom belonging and our need. diligence, peter, grow, jesus, david, seek, father, the will of god, moral excellence, cupcake girls, advent, seaside church, bremerton, self-control, endurance, godliness, hope, knowledge, change, failing, grace, sin, mercy
This Sunday's gathering we focused on laying out the details of our Advent Celebration project - working with The Cupcake Girls [http://www.thecupcakegirls.org] to reach and build relationships with the Strip Clubs and Brothels in the Las Vegas area.
We also spent a chunk of time reading/talking through the ongoing story in the 2nd Letter of Peter - specifically the 1st chapter and even more specifically verses 3-4. In this passage Peter is continuing to emphasize not only the incredible value of knowing God, but also the order in which He has called us. It isn't - stop sinning, the Jesus will accept you, and then He'll save you. Instead it is - Jesus called you, loves you, and through that you can seek to fight against the lies that Satan continues to throw at us with the truth of who He says we are. Not who we were, but who we are should drive our responses and our decisions in life.
Starts with announcements. Figures huh? We have quite a few cool things coming up over next months - so don't jump over that part.
This week @ Seaside we looked at the ideas of grace & peace. This is only the start of what will be a ongoing digging into these ideas. This week we are primarily dealing with growing in these areas. For some of you, this will not be exceptionally new info (lots of new folks in this recorded service, so our bent was toward getting them caught up - not just just pushing on for pushing on's sake). The primary means of us growing in the knowledge of these things is through the Word. Why do we read the bible? Why do we seek Him in this way? Why is The Word a taproot of Seaside?
It's true - we didn't even make it through 1 verse last week. So we took that on this week. One of the wonders (and there are many) of the Word is that it runs deep. We too often run through it looking to check it off. not here tho - that would be for our loss. Here Peter is continuing to show us the nearness of our relationship with God. "Where??" you say?
Here. Here in the words - "a faith with equal standing as ours". This was a faith based on the righteous, obedient work of Christ. He didn't only forgive us our sins - He makes us Just - declared innocent of all the crimes we have ever loved, lived and bled for - past, present, and future. He has set us not on the same level of the apostles - but instead, in response to our typical need to over or undershoot our value, has put us on the standing of Jesus - something far beyond anything we can imagine or think of. This means something remarkable - because He no longer sees anything but His Sons standing in us. He who knew no sin became all those sins we have held so dear so that we might become righteousness, to have just-ness, in Him.
Can't believe we almost missed that running past the feast for the feast. That's why we do things the way we do at Seaside.
In the 2nd week of our look at Anxiousness, we look into His Sovereign Remedy for our anxious and worried hearts through the lens of Peter's story, Jesus' teaching in John 14 & 15, and a close look at what work He has already done on our behalf to "Prepare" the way for us to come home.
Anxiousness defines so many of our lives that it seems inescapable - a burden that we will always bear. So when Peter takes us again to his story, we are reminded that he too struggled with this. As we look at 1 Peter 5.5-7 through the lens of John 13 & 14 we find a new way to view our cares, worries and anxieties - through Him.
It's far too easy to make these guys one dimensional. The younger has always been rebellious. The older son has always been judgmental. The truth is that we don't know much of the backstory, or much of anything about them at all.
Unless we see that Jesus is talking about us.
It's then that we realize that it's, well, it's complicated.
This is one of the greatest stories ever told - a parable with life, breath and heart crushing love & mercy. It's isn't just a story of one son, but two. Not just a story of broken sons, but of a Father who loves them regardless of their need, rebellion and distance. It's a story of two sons learning what a Father is really like. It's a story of men & women like us, learning to follow and trust Him - no matter where or how we are.
As we are called to live standing in protest to the broken and failing world around us, we face those who may not so much in favor of us calling broken what we call to be broken. This may cause us to be relegated to the outside of social, personal, and family circles. It would be far to easy to stay there - but instead He call us to follow Jesus in the Way of Jesus - back into the fray. We must stand in protest for those who are but a few degrees different than we - wholly created by God, but trying desperately to stay clear of His kingdom. We look at the story of the Prodigal Sons, seeking to see how we too are broken, but at our core He has fixed us, and is maturing us through discipline, maturing and love to make us into instruments to declare abroad His mighty deeds to those still in the darkness.
As we continue to look at Peter's story and his heart to encourage, reprove and spur fellow believers on in their journey to follow Jesus, we are once again faced with suffering. This particular passage deals with suffering in a unique way - as a testimony & confirmation of Who & what they believe in. It is a confirmation that they are following in Jesus' way, that the Holy spirit is in us, and fulfilling the will of the Father for their lives. We look deeper at what it means to follow Jesus - what is the will of God for our lives, and how our view of who He is and the future that He promises affects our view of the world and those who revile us for what we believe.
Walking through one of the toughest passages in the Bible, we look at the context carefully in 1 Peter, asking the question - what is the story to this point? How can we see this in light of what Peter has been telling us about a creative, diverse, & vast God? How does His work in our lives lead us to live dynamically in the midst of seemingly routine and rote life? Awareness of what it means to follow in steps - and constantly seeking after the Great Shepherd as He leads us to God.
As part of our life in Jesus, we are often faced with persecution and suffering because of Who we represent in our lives. Like Peter's story in Acts 5, we must count that suffering as a blessing - a confirmation of the external evidence of the hope that is within us. As we continue through 1 Peter we are looking at how we take advantage of the Kingdom opportunities that He provides via relationships, work, community. Are we setting ourselves up to answer question that they are not asking? Are we living our lives to proclaim the mighty deeds of God?
What does life look like when it is lived zealously for the good things God has called us to? Suffering might come - but what is the end of that suffering? What is the real harm that men might do to us? And what are the obstacles keeping us from living in light of who we are in Christ in the world around us?
What should biblical submission really look like? This has been the question that has been worked and re-worked over the last 2000+ years. It would be difficult to prove that the time has done us much good. In the Kingdom, the purposes of marriage must be covenantal, and in being covenantal, they must have a redemptive thread that runs through each and every corner of those marriages. What does it look like for a woman with an unbelieving husband? A believing one? And what is all this about, gentleness, peacefulness, and watching what you wear? And what about the husband? We tackle these questions this week - historical, culturally and practically.
We've all tried hard to make a go of the Crhistian faith - often fonding ourselves running around the same track over adn over again, hoping that at one magical moment it will all fall together. When it doesn't we either give up and walk away, or hide what is really true about us. But there is another way - the only way, the way of Christ. As we celebrate Easter 2011, we have landed in the center of the 1st Letter of Peter, looking at the example of humility and servant hood found in Jesus. It is not just suffering that He calls us to follow Him - rather it is in trusting God in the midst of every circumstance - including this life we have been born anew to in Him. The question remains - as it has fr many of the weeks we have been in 1st Peter - how will we respond in light of the work He has finished on our behalf?
Part two of a two week look at 1 Peter 2.11-12, we look at how the excellent life, lived by and through the life of Christ, allows us to testify of His great works to the world around us, in spite of suffering, slander and even our own sin.
What is your response to Who He is and who we are in Him? Will it be to work harder, better, smarter, faster, or will it be to run to the God who has chosen and will establish you? Do we understand the nature of the battle - the spiritual nature of an enemy who wants to destroy us? We can only fight the lies in our lives through the Truth.
With Christ as our Cornerstone, we are called to live as living stones - characterized by growth, maturity, refinement and renewal - all parts of the transformational work that He is doing in us to make us into the image of the The Cornerstone. We spend this week looking into Isaiah 28, the passage Peter is quoting in 1 Peter 2.6 and digging into how that message gives us a reason to trust and rest in this Savior.
How do we respond to our adoption as sons & daughters of God through the work of Christ? As obedient children, seeking to live as He lives within the Kingdom of God, because we see who He is and live out our lives in response to that. This is only done through the transforming work of Christ in our own lives through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Based on the previous 12 verses, Peter now transitions us into the next portion of his letter, summarizing the truths about who we are in Him ,and looking at how we move ahead into what He wants us to be.
The story of transformation is built into our lives in many ways. Often the most overlooked is how we are transformed as a means to see transformation in others lives. This week we look at the story of a prophet named Jeremiah, who wrestled with the purposes of God, and how he was shown, through his own experience and a potter, what work the Lord had set before him. And how that lesson is so incredibly important for us all.
As we straddle the Christmas and New Years Holidays, we are constantly faced with new birth and a new life - whether it be by the coming of Jesus or something as simple as New Years Resolutions. What is the life the He wants us to live? What would a transformed life look like? How does He do that work in us - and how do we live within that process?
In the Kingdom of God, we must our in our trust in something we do not always see, or understand. Faith is more than understanding. In fact faith doesn't require understanding at all. It requires that we trust in who He is. This is done through the renewing (via the Word, prayer/meditation, and discipleship/community) of our heart, soul, mind, and body into the sons & daughters of God that we are through our resurrection with Christ from the dead.
We continue to look at the Kingdom of God as part of the story of 1 Peter as we look at what Kingdom Life looks like - rejoicing, suffering, and praise.
Now that we are born again to a living hope through the work of Christ and plan of God, we have an inheritance - a new inheritance. But it isn't one that just exists in heaven, it also is ours here on earth. How are we living in the reality of the Kingdom of God & what does it look like?
Peter continues his letter talking about inheritances - and the new inheritance brought to us through the new birth, and how our new inheritance is based in a new kingdom - the Kingdom of God.
Eric Schuette leads us as we look into 2 Corinthians 5.14-21 and how we are called to live as Ambassadors of Christ - a topic touched on last week in 1 Peter 1.
Peter was a guy that understood what hope, lost hope, and living hope was. This immensely personal introduction to the next section of 1 Peter shows us just what it means, through the story of not only Peter's life, but through the scriptures in the Old & New Testaments, to be born again to a living hope.
A look at the concepts of Grace and Peace and how they are connected to each other and our view of how we define life in and around us.
Focusing on the latter half of 1 Peter 1.2, we take a look at the phrase, "to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood". We are both incredibly damned in our sinfulness, being completely unable to obey the law, but also unfailingly loved in the redemptive work of Christ. Obedience is a worshipful response to the plan of God to save us & the work of the Spirit to empower us to live to Him. How will we live in His Story? By walking with Him as we stumble and fail, knowing that His blood will cover us.
A look at how Redemptive orientated speech is a powerful tool to love others and live in community together.
Looking at 1 Peter 1.1-2, specifically the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, Who is moving us from a sovereign kingdom/story of self to the Kingdom/Story of God
Our look at how God chose us and placed us in His Story. What is our place there? How does this give us hope?