Rockbridge Sermon Podcast: Recent Episodes
Rockbridge Church
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There are three types of people in the world. First, there are those who are blind. They do not know God and are blind to His nature and His ways. Second, there are those that see God and acknowledge his nature and his ways. However, they do not actively pursue a life in Christ that leads to transformation. And finally, There are those that see and know God and actively seek the transformation that knowledge of God can bring into their lives. Which one are you?
In our scripture this week Jesus heals a leper. In one aspect Jesus violates the Mosaic law by touching an unclean person. Then on the other hand, Jesus affirms Mosaic law by sending the man to the priest for certification that he had been cleansed and could reenter society. What seemingly is a contradiction, is not.
Many of us, even has Christians, struggle with aspects of ourselves and our lives. We take care of daily task, tend to our families, and go to work. But, because of our spiritual conditions, we survive from day to day, it can be a struggle. Jesus came not just so we could survive but so we can thrive. There might be something that you have struggle with for years, yet it still lingers. Jesus stands before each of us and ask, “Do you want to be healed?”
What is Paul’s thorn? We do not know what Paul’s thorn was. Over the years there has been all sorts of speculation by theologians and Bible scholars about what Paul’s thorn might be. I tend to think it was intentionally left vague by God, for two reasons. First, it is not the point of the scripture. Second, so we could fill in the blank for ourselves with our own thorn. But, in the end it doesn't matter what the ‘thorn’ the point of the text is that “God’s Grace is sufficient”, and that “God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.” If this is the truth, why do we go to such great links to mask our weakness?
This week we talk about what it takes to be a good neighbor. It is an extensive list. The only problem is we can’t do it on our own. This presents a dilemma. Listen and find out the solution.
In this life God gives us 'mountain top' experiences. From which we experience God in richer and deeper perspectives. But, we are not meant to stay on the mountain top. We are meant to take all that we received and witnessed back down to the valleys. Our 'mountain top' experiences were not meant for us alone.
Being a neighbor is also letting others be neighbors to you. We try to do everything on our own but that only builds one way streets. Jesus says to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor. That includes accepting that love from your neighbor.
In the story of the Grinch, the Grinch thought he could stop Christmas from coming. He thought that if he took away the stuff that came with the presentation of Christmas; the who stockings, the presents, the who pudding, the roast beast and even the Christmas tree the Who's would have nothing to celebrate. The mistake the Grinch made was that he mistook the presentation of Christmas for the substance of Christmas.
Christmas brings with it great happiness and light. However, for many the greater the happiness and light the more it highlights the darkness and sadness in their life. Christmas is a time we should celebrate the coming of the light of Christ into the world, but let’s not forget those still struggling in darkness.
Where is God when the other shoe drops . . . and it turns out to be the whole shoe store? How do we find hope and healing in the depths of suffering?
Sometimes, probably most times, our lives do not turn out like we thought they would. Where is God when this happens? God is working on something better.
We have all experienced some form of rejection in our lives and probably many times. We can experience rejection in different areas of life, including romantic rejection, employment rejection, social rejection, and rejection for our faith. The question we look at this week in our series is “Where is God In the Midst of Rejection?”
This Sunday we will look at the story of Jesus healing a man that had been lame for 38 years. Jesus asked him "Do you want to be healed?" Which at first might seem like a strange question. However, the reality is that not everyone wants to be healed. For us to be healed, in only the way Jesus can, we have to want to be healed. What if we do not want to, "Where is God when we do not want to?
One of the primary ways that we stay connected to God is by staying connected to the Body of Christ.
In John 15, Jesus tells his disciples to abide in him. We abide in Christ through the means of grace, such as scripture, prayer and worship. And when we abide in Christ, we remain in his spirit, and his spirit remains in us.
Jesus was asked by a lawyer, who was trying to justify himself, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the parable of the 'good Samaritan', in which he shifted the focus from "Who is my neighbor?" to "Who proved to be a neighbor?" The answer was, and is, the one who showed mercy.
Jesus is 'the light' that has come into the world. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be the light of the world.
There will be times when our humanness will come through and we 'do harm.' When that happens, God has given us a way to fix it, through confession, repentance and forgiveness.
This Sunday we begin our foundational sermon series on Discipleship. We will begin with Do No Harm: Do Not Contribute To The Darkness.
We are reconnected to God through Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit. Once we are connected to God we must maintain a strong flow of God's grace, truth and Spirit in our lives.
Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the entirety of the Bible through the concept of 'Connection'. We have seen how we were created for connection with God and others. We have learned that selfish use of the gift of 'free will' disconnects us from God and others. We saw in the Old Testament that God continually attempted to reconnect to us through covenants, law and the prophets. This week we will discuss God's ultimate planning to reconnect with humanity through Jesus Christ.
After being disconnected from God and others by selfishness, God tried to reconnect with us through covenants, the law and the prophets.
God has given us the gift of free will that allows us to love, but when used selfishly, it disconnects us from God and one another.
God created all things in perfect order and harmony and for a purpose. God’s purpose in creating us was so that we might have a love relationship with God and one another. God created us with free will. This free will is what allows us to love, but if used selfishly, is the root of our sin.
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part is dependent on every other part. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing.
Every believer has been chosen by God to serve Him with abilities given by the Holy Spirit. Nobody has every gift and nobody has no gift. The body of Christ is one body, several parts.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul calls us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. He exhorts us to demonstrate certain Christian values.
The body of Christ is the door through which God's grace comes into the world. Our devotion to God and to one another opens that door.
Sometimes we get tired and rundown. Things of this world may be able to renew us physically and even mentally. But only God can renew us spiritually.
When you are waiting on the fulfillment of the Lord's promises, don't just stand there looking up!
We are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to be his witnesses to all the nations, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins. How are we doing?
When something sounds extremely 'far fetched' wouldn’t we want to see some hard evidence? If we could not see the hard evidence, wouldn't we hope that there would at least be some strong circumstantial evidence?
This week we will be looking at the restoration of Peter on the beach. We see in this interaction between Jesus and Peter all the elements of the Gospel lived out. When we respond in love to Christ, it is in response to the love that Christ has already shown to us upon the cross.
After Jesus' death, the two Marys went to the tomb seeking Jesus who had been crucified. He was not there, and they were powerless.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Many of you are old enough to remember that famous theologian Tina Turner who asked the eternal question "What's love got to do with it?" When we are referring to being a disciple of Jesus Christ the answer is, 'Everything'!
The Christian through faith in Christ has been justified and declared righteous once and for all. And, because of this righteous justification we have received through faith in Christ, which is a gift of Grace, we have a guaranteed Hope.
Going all the way back to the garden, God has set a choice before humanity to obey or disobey. The choice is ours. God's desire is not for us to obey out of fear, but rather out of love. We can only do that when we realize all of God's commandments, rules and statutes are because God loves us and wants the best for us. When we realize God's desire for our obedience is founded in God's love for us, then we, in turn can love God by obeying Him.
In this week's message we will see two individuals. One, a religious man who in his arrogance is relying on his own righteousness. The second, a man who is humbly seeking the mercy of God and God's righteousness. Which one are you?
One Body, one Spirit, many parts. Faith and the Holy Spirit are not just the foundation of our discipleship, they are also what connects us to God and to one another as the Body of Christ.
A sacrament is a Christian rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. Even though the United Methodist Church does not recognize Service as an official sacrament, it has many dynamics that make it a "sacred moment".
The definition of the word WORSHIP, when used as a verb, is "to honor or show reverence as for a divine being or supernatural power". When we worship God, we thank God for what He has done and we praise God for who He is.
This week we will want to follow the scripture closely to help us explore the means of grace we call scripture. Our whole scripture reading this week is 2 Timothy 3:10-17, however for our focus we will concentrate on 3:15-17. In these verses we will examine four fundamental aspects that make scripture so important in the life of a follower of Christ, to those that choose to live The Life.
Prayer is simply listening and talking to God. The deeper the conversation, the stronger the relationship.
Jesus said "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". On this first Sunday of the new year, let's take the time to remember our own baptism.
Christmas is different this year because we are not able to do everything that we want to do, even some of our most cherished traditions. Without all the glitz and glamour, what makes it Christmas? It is that hope has arrived in the form of God Incarnate - the baby Jesus. We need to focus on what it means for us that Jesus came, that Jesus is here, and that Jesus is coming!
Last week we talked about God's hope. This week we will learn from the prophet Isaiah that our hope comes from the truth that God's love is greater than God's judgment.
The book of Isaiah is a book of God's judgment on a wayward people. It is a book of darkness and difficult times. It is also a book about God’s faithfulness to His promises and to His people. Ultimately Isaiah carries a message of redemption and hope which comes with the light that enters the world and overtakes the darkness. This Advent season, we will take a closer look at a couple of key passages from Isaiah that share the messages of Hope, Love, Peace and Joy.
In the midst of a pandemic with all this talk about ‘the virus’, it makes me think about another virus. This virus is devastating. It causes sickness deep within us, it distorts, it disfigures, it causes brokenness, suffering, hurt, fear, chaos, confusion, and ultimately death. However, there is good news! There is a cure. Well not so much a cure, but rather a man. A man that is willing to take our deadly virus from us and into himself, so that we might be healed, and live.
While Jesus hung on the cross He looked at the crowd that put Him there and asked God to "forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." The cross is the epicenter of our faith, and is the ultimate embodiment of Grace. From the looks of the world today, it is evident we still do not know what we are doing. But Jesus did. He went to the cross so that He could forgive the ones that put him there. We all are the reason He hung there. He went there to forgive our sin, our selfishness. We put Him there. As the song says "Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay." And, all those that have received that grace now are to share that grace with others.
In the end, we all need Grace. And, no matter who we are, in the end it all boils down to Jesus. The good news is that both Jesus and His Grace are always closer than we think. We will see that as we take a look at Paul's conversion in Acts 9:1-9.
God uses the inequity of grace to shape and mold us into the person God wants us to be.
In the story of the woman caught in adultery we see how easy it is for us as humans to fall in the trap of condemnation and judgement of others. If we look below the surface of the story a little deeper we see major implications of holding an umbilical view of Theological Anthropology. A 'high anthropology' is arbitrary, leads to condemnation and judgement and promotes self-righteousness. Whereas, a 'low anthropology' is based in reality of the world, leads to humility and grace, and is solely dependent on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The parable of 'The Prodigal Son' or 'The Lost Son' is foundational to the Christian narrative of 'being found.' It references the major elements of our being found; Sin, Revelation, Confession, Repentance. Most of all, the theme that runs through the whole parable is the Father's love. This week we will take a closer look at the parable of the Father's love.
We expect that those who serve in high places in the church would be justified, but Jesus' parable shows us the opposite. It is those who are most humble and don't believe that they belong that God lifts up. How do we stay humble when we are more like the Pharisee than the tax collector?
Chapter 15 of Luke has two central themes in three stories. Each story emphasizes the 'one' that is 'lost' being found. The less obvious theme that is physically lived out by the wayward son is that repentance is always a part of the 'lost' being found.
God does not need any more religious people. What God wants is people who are thankful and faithful.
Jesus calls us not to destroy, but to love our enemies. What Jesus came to destroy are those things that create enemies; hate, anger, division, oppression, envy, jealousy, coveting and more. These things create enemies. Jesus wants us to destroy the very concept of 'enemy'. How do we do this? With love.
Grace is not fair. Justice is getting what you do deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve.
God didn't come to condemn us but to save us. God didn't come to shame us into relationship. God didn't send Jesus to condemn us and make us run and hide. No, Jesus came to free us from shame and fear and sin and darkness.
Taking care of ourselves sustains us for whatever life throws at us, be it mountaintops or valleys. We all have mountaintop experiences, but most of our life is not lived on the mountaintop. We all have valley experiences, and fortunately, life is not lived just in the valleys. Most of life is lived somewhere in between.
The most important thing - our first-base tag - is staying close to Jesus. That's what sustains us for the lives and the works to which we are called.
God is Love. God showed His love to the world by sending His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. If we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, we receive the very Spirit of God, and God lives in us and us in God. If the Spirit of God lives in you; God’s love will drive out fear, and you will love others.
When we love as Christ has loved us, we fulfill the letter of the law with the spirit of the law. But, we cannot love as Christ loves us without the Spirit of Christ in us.
God's Love is everything! Because it is the one thing that can endure all things, and the one thing that will never fail.
Have you ever had the directions right in front of you and still been lost? Worse yet, have you ever been lost and didn't even realize it? We are going to look at the God who gives second...and third and fourth and even more chances and what that might look like in our lives.
Jesus tells us that we need to be salt and light - the people who help save the world, make it better, and spread the light of Christ to all who need it!
According to Jesus, blessed are the poor in spirit! #blessed is a recognition of God moving in our world. But being blessed, God’s favor being on you, is not an exclusive thing. It’s part of God’s grace that is moving, drawing, bringing us all closer to God through Christ. And its part of the incredible new movement that Jesus inaugurated with his life, death and resurrection: the kingdom of God!
In the storm of life we need to choose what foundation will be the base of our lives. We will choose the Rock, Jesus!
Tayevaughn Williams joins the boys to discuss gospel music and the worship bracket. We also learn that Trevor doesn’t have know what people like in music, enjoy!
Pastor Trevor and Pastor David discuss the steps needed to reopen the church and the importance of taking proper precautions before we open. We also add some worship talk, sports talk, and everything in between!
The Holy Spirit resides in us! We need to live our life as if we were in heaven, so that we can bring heaven down to earth.
We have hope of eternal life! Because He lives we can live also. Jesus told the thief that believed in Him, "I promise that today you will be with me in Paradise!" If we believe in Christ, we have the promise of joining him in Paradise.
Austin, Trevor, and David discuss the top 16 (17?) worship songs from the four categories: Traditional Hymns, Wesleyan Hymns, Gospel, and Contemporary Songs. You won’t want to miss this fun podcast!
Trevor, David, and Austin talk with outdoor expert Oskar Gallardo about fun we can have outdoors during the pandemic.
Pastor David and Austin Taylor return to discuss another favorite hymn: What a Friend We Have in Jesus written by Joseph Scriven. Mr. Scriven faced incredible heartache in his life but his response was to go to the Lord in prayer. This song resonates through generations because of the depth of the sorrow and the hope in shares.
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We have talked about the five practices that create our walk with God: worship, study, serving, giving, and sharing. It is clear from scripture, that Jesus himself followed these five practices and in doing so, it gave him strength to walk to the cross. As we pick up our cross and follow Jesus, the practices will give us strength through the Holy Spirit to endure and struggle and find joy in God's call!
Trevor, David, an Austin talk about a shared passion - board games! Stuck inside and bored? Then check out this podcast on how board games can be a way to have some family fun!
Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations - to be fishers of people. We have the greatest gift - eternal and abundant life in Jesus and we are called to share it, to fish for people. Walking with God means sharing the good news with as many as possible. We can still share our faith while practicing social distancing - maybe even more so! Our world needs the hope of Christ.
Pastor David chats with Austin Taylor from Good News about one of the most iconic hymns of all time: It Is Well. Join in for some good stories, some theology, some beard talk, and more!
Pastor David, Pastor Trevor, and Austin Taylor chat with Licensed Professional Counselor, Kathy Quinn about coping with all of the stress, anxiety, and other emotions during the coronavirus epidemic. Check it out for some fun and for some good suggestions on how to take care of your mental health. Look up Kathy at www.kathyquinncounseling.com
Scripture tells us where we store up our treasure is where our heart is going to be. Do you focus on gaining wealth, fame, and notoriety? God created us to be generous and full of gratitude - sharing the good gifts given to us by God with those around us. In this time of the pandemic, how are you called to be grateful, live with purpose, and to be generous?