Sermons: Recent Episodes
Sermons
When you think about sharing the message of Jesus with someone else, what emotions come to the surface? Why do you think they arise? What has been your experience with sharing the Gospel in the past? What responses do you expect to get when you share Jesus’ message? What reasons does Jesus give for teaching […]
Have you ever encountered someone who said they would believe if only God would prove he existed in some way? Have you ever wanted Jesus to “prove” himself to you or someone you love by doing something supernatural or extraordinary? Did he comply with your request? How do you react to the scribes’ and pharisees’ […]
Have you ever wound up in a difficult place (in a relationship, in your job, in parenting, etc) because your expectations did not line up at all with actual reality? What happens when our expectations clash with reality? How do you respond emotionally at those times? The majority of Jews in Jesus’ time were expecting […]
“Religion has a way of turning God given blessings into burdens!” How had the Sabbath (a day originally given to humans for communion with God, rest and refreshment) become a burdensome, guilt inducing religious ritual by the time of Jesus? Are there any Christian practices in your life that have morphed from being a blessing […]
Does God use everyday Christians or only the ones who have great speaking, organizational, or fundraising skills? God used everyday folks in Scripture who we see as great because God called them and equipped them. God intends to accomplish His purposes in and through His people! As we read Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we see God calling […]
How do you typically respond when you are wanting to share the message of Jesus and the other person makes it clear that they are not at all interested? How does that impact your desire to share the good news with others? Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed the same message: “Repent, for the […]
Have you ever had a season, after your initial salvation, where you were struggling with doubts? What do you think brought on those doubts? If you are no longer in that season, what enabled you to move beyond your doubts? What do you think was causing John the Baptist to wonder if Jesus really was […]
Given the challenges and opposition Jesus tells his disciples they will face, why do you think they willingly responded to Jesus mission for them? If you are a follower of Jesus, what keeps you going when others ridicule or oppose your faith? In Mark 3:13&14, Jesus first calls his disciples to be with him and […]
If some part of your future was going to be very difficult, would you prefer to know in advance or remain blissfully uninformed? What are the benefits and dangers of both approaches? Jesus pulls no punches when he informs the twelve disciples of what they will encounter as they are sent out to represent him […]
As you look at this passage and others, what would you say motivated Jesus’ mission to “seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10)? As you observe the “crowds” of our culture, what is your typical emotional response? How can we increase our compassion for those who don’t yet know Jesus? Are Christians viewed as […]
Matthew marks off chapters 5 -9 as a unit by almost verbatim repeating himself (cf. 4:23 and 9:35). He concisely lets us know what Jesus taught (chapters 5-7) and how Jesus brought healing to the people (chapters 8&9). The “crowds” were amazed by his teaching (7:28) and by his healing (9:33). What aspects of his […]
How do you typically respond to the brokenness and evil that seems to be ubiquitous in our world? How has that brokenness personally impacted you or the ones you love? How does it impact your relationship with Jesus? Each of the situations in this section were “hopeless” from a human perspective, yet Jesus brought healing […]
Why were the Pharisees upset that Jesus was dining with Matthew and his friends? What criteria were they using to determine who was acceptable to God and belonged in his kingdom? How does Jesus calling Matthew the tax collector challenge their thinking of who was “in” and who was “out” of God’s kingdom? What criteria […]
What obstacles and challenges do you imagine a paralytic in the first century faced on a daily basis? How do you think a chronic disability or illness impacts a person’s relationship with God? How can we be like this paralytic’s friends to those who suffer from ongoing sicknesses or physical limitations today? Why do you […]
What makes you afraid? What fears tend to keep you up or wake you up at night? How have you attempted to handle your fears? How does your relationship with Jesus influence how you manage fear? “Your level of fear and anxiety is inversely proportional to your understanding of who Jesus truly is and where […]
In this chapter, Matthew seems to go out of his way to show Jesus’ Kingdom reaching to those the religious establishment had written off -the unclean (the leper), the pagan (the Centurion), and a woman (Peter’s mother-in-law). Do you think there are any groups in our society that have been marginalized by the “religious” yet […]
People who view themselves as “good” people often have a tendency to feel superior to those who are outside their group. Are there any people or groups of people that you tend to look down on spiritually? How do you think Jesus’ astounding praise of this pagan centurion would have sounded to the “good” Jews […]
What do you think are some of the reasons that cause people to feel spiritually excluded and distant from God in our culture? How do you typically respond when you’ve messed up and your behavior has made you “unclean” before God? Imagine for a moment how it would feel to be a leper in first […]
How does our relationship as fathers (or with our fathers) reflect our relationship with God?
The truth comes to us on the long road we travel with God. By what authority do we speak about God? How did Jesus’ disciples live out the authority given to them?
We are shaped (consciously or unconsciously) by the information that enters our minds. Are you regularly allowing the Scriptures to impact your thinking? If so, what does that practically look like in your life? How do you go about trying to understand the Scriptures? What resources, teachers, podcasts, apps and software do you rely on […]
How do you respond to passages in the Old Testament where God commands the Israelites to “totally destroy” the nations that were occupying the promised land prior to their engaging in battle? Is this type of judgment ever justified? See Deut 9:4&5; Lev. 18:24-28 According to Exodus 34:6, the Lord is “merciful and gracious, slow […]
How do you understand the relationship between science and the Scriptures? When there appears to be a contradiction, how do you attempt to resolve it? How has modern science impacted your trust in the Scriptures? Given the reality that the biblical authors lived in a pre-scientific world with a less than accurate understanding (according to […]
If you regularly study and meditate on the Scriptures, how do you respond when the passage you are reading is part of the OT law? What are some of the unique challenges that come when we seek to meditate on these portions of the Scriptures? How can we respond when someone ridicules the Bible by […]
How would you describe your relationship with the Scriptures? What role do they play in your life? What obstacles/challenges do you face when trying to understand and apply God’s Word to your life? Are there any parts you find frustrating? If you have a regular time set aside to read the Word, what do you […]
Guest sermon by Mark Sanborn. Mark is a professional speaker who’s given presentations around the country. “Nobody wants to be told how to run their business,” but that’s exactly what God does and needs to do.
Guest sermon by Jason Grizzard discusses being in sync with the Holy Spirit in our lives.
What are the differences between a gift and a wage? Do most religions view “getting right with God” as something you need to work for or something that you simply receive as a gift? If eternal life is truly a free gift (Rom. 6:23), what would motivate a follower of Jesus to obey Jesus’s challenging […]
Why does Jesus tell those who are orthodox in their confession and engaged in Christian ministry to “depart from me”? Is it possible for someone to be used by God to bless others spiritually without actually having a relationship with Jesus? How were these false followers of Jesus attempting to justify themselves on the day […]
How does Jesus’ call to watch out for false prophets challenge our culture’s notion that all “truth” is relative and individual– especially religious “truth”? Have you ever been duped by a spiritual charlatan who claimed that he/she was delivering God’s truth? What do you think motivates false prophets/teachers? Why do you think so many people […]
In our increasingly complex world, choosing among a myriad of options can be daunting! How comfortable and confident are you in making choices? Why do you think so many in our culture are hesitant to make commitments? Is it easier to be agnostic or committed? What is it about the “wide/broad/spacious” way that makes it […]
What saying(s) tend to guide how you live your life? If an outsider were to examine how you were actually living your life, what saying(s) would she conclude were guiding your life? The Silver Rule of Confucius and the Stoics (“Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you!”) […]
What has been your experience with prayer? How do unanswered prayers impact your relationship with God? How do you put together Jesus’ very optimistic sayings about prayer in Matthew (7:7, 18:19, 21:22) and your actual experience with prayer? The tense of each of these verbs (ask, seek, knock) indicates that Jesus is looking for a […]
Has someone ever unjustly accused you without really knowing your motives or the actual circumstances that led to your action? How did that make you feel? What did it do to your relationship with that person? When Jesus commands us not to “judge” he is certainly not prohibiting the use of our critical faculties in […]
What things tend to wind you up? Cause you to lose sleep? Produce worry and fear in your heart as you ponder the future? When you hear Jesus’ command, “Do not be anxious about your life,” how does that impact you? Is that even possible? As you look over this section, what reasons does Jesus […]
What would you say you value most highly in your life? Is your answer that question congruent with how you actually use your money, what consumes your attention, and what you give the majority of your energy to? Why does Jesus indicate it is foolish to lay up for ourselves treasure on earth? Do you […]
When you think about the practice of fasting, what thoughts, objections, and questions come to mind? Have you ever attempted to fast? What was that like for you? How did it impact you spiritually? Regular spiritual fasting is very rarely practiced in the modern church in the West, even by mature believers. Why do you […]
When you think about the practice of fasting, what thoughts, objections, and questions come to mind? Have you ever attempted to fast? What was that like for you? How did it impact you spiritually? Regular spiritual fasting is very rarely practiced in the modern church in the West, even by mature believers. Why do you […]
Have you ever experienced a season of spiritual dryness or darkness when God felt very distant and uninvolved? As you look back, do you have any idea of what caused that season? If you are not still in it, what enabled you to move through it and out of it? What picture of the Christian […]
In our increasingly frenetic world, how have you attempted to include time alone with God in your everyday life? What obstacles and challenges have you encountered when you have sought to spend time in solitude with Jesus? If you have a regular time set aside to spend alone with the Lord, what do you actually […]
In our world of extreme busyness and endless distractions, what place do silence and solitude have in your life? What does it say about our souls that we seem to crave distraction and noise and often find silence and solitude extremely uncomfortable? What do you think motivated Jesus to “often withdraw to lonely places”? (Luke […]
As you look forward into 2022, what changes would you like to see in your life? What steps are you going to need to take in order for those changes to become a reality? How much effort do you think will be required? How hopeful are you of seeing these changes actualized? What changes would […]
Today’s sermon is presented by elder Chris Kelly. The bible is not silent about money! Today, we talk about how we use our money for God’s kingdom and use the miracle of the feeding of the loaves and fish to illustrate the point of giving.
According to Jesus, what was wrong with a lot of Jewish prayers? What, in his assessment, were the problems with how the Gentiles approached prayer? How do you think Jesus would evaluate some of the typical prayers of Christians in our culture today? Does Jesus statement, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask […]
As you think about your spiritual activities and the “good works” you are attempting to do, what would you say is the motivating force (or forces) behind those practices and activities (be as honest as possible)? Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reason? What motivation is Jesus wanting to instill in […]
If you were unfamiliar with the Christmas story and heard that the God who created the 93 billion light-years wide universe was suddenly “with” us in human form, what expectations would you have of this being? How does God’s actual entrance into space and time through the birth of Jesus compare to those expectations? What […]
What is your first reaction to reading over these instructions of Jesus? Impossible? Impractical and unworkable in our world? Way too hard for me to even begin to try to live out? Hopelessly unrealistic? A radically wonderful way to think about living? Our culture is very much focused on making sure our “rights” are not […]
Jason teaches anger management at Waterfront Rescue Mission and makes the distinction between anger that comes from sin and anger that is righteous.