Sermon:           “Chewing the Cud”

Theme:            We create idols that enslave us and separate us from God out of our loss of direction and need for control.

Purpose:          The congregation will begin to be sensitive to the idols we have created.

Scriptures:       1 Corinthians 10:14, 23-24, 31-33      All may be lawful but not all is right.

Exodus 32:1-6,            Moses is with God, and the people form a Golden Calf.

Questions:

What is an idol?  How is it that we make things so important that they get in the way of our relationships?  Why is it we never have time to pray, to worship, or to reach out in love? What has happened so that our priorities have lost the focus on knowing God? How would our lives be different if we focused our time and energy in ways that supported our health and knowledge of God?  In what ways are the sacred cows running our lives?

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Sermon:           “Sent With God’s Spirit”

Theme:            We are given the power of God’s own Holy Spirit so that we may have the power to accomplish what we are created to fulfill.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to see themselves as empowered by God and to use that power.

Scriptures:       John 20:19-23 The Resurrected Jesus shows himself to the disciples and sends them with peace.

Acts 2:1-21      The winds of Pentecost turn fearful disciples into bold people to share the work of God to all of the world.

Questions:

What difference does the Holy Spirit make in our lives today? What difference does having power from God make for those who are moving or going through major changes in their lives?  What difference does it make to us that we are empowered and commissioned by God?  How do we tap into that power from the Holy Spirit?  As our young people graduate, how are they like the disciples, being empowered to go new places and speak new languages?

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Sermon:           “To Know and Be Known by God”

Theme:            Our relationship with Christ is an active relationship that shapes us through love into people who live joyfully as Christ’s disciples.

Purpose:          The congregation will move from an intellectualized relationship with God to a moving relationship which will challenge sacrifice and growth.

Scriptures:       John 14:15-21  Jesus said: “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Jesus will send us the Advocate to guide us.

Acts 7:22-31    Paul’s sermon to Athens – God invites us to a relationship of knowing God rather than worshipping mystery.

Questions:

What does it mean to know Christ? The Apostle Paul spoke to the people in Athens about the mystery of God, but also spoke about knowing God? How do we go about coming to know God? In what ways do we learn to love God by loving one another? In what ways is our ability to know God dependent on our willingness to love the people around us? In what ways does the lack of love in the world cause God’s presence to be invisible to much of the world? In what ways are we involved in a relationship of spiritual life with God rather than focused on our building, structures, or programs?

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Sermon:            “Growing Into Mature Christians”

Theme:             God’s desire is for us to live in grace and faith that comes from abiding in Christ.

Purpose:            We become for us examples of maturity and strength so that we can encourage joyful and meaningful  lives in one another.

Scriptures:        John 14:1-14    Do not be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Jesus – he goes to prepare a place for us.

1 Peter 2:2-10 Through the Love of Christ mature Christians are built into the temple that shares God’s love and presence in the world.

Questions:

What does Jesus mean when he calls us to believe? What is the difference between “believing” in Jesus and accepting a doctrine or teaching?  In what ways do we choose to be shaped by God? How do we take part in the process of being renewed and guided into a life of maturity in Christ? What is the sacrifice that we have to give in order to set aside our ego and self-centeredness in order to joyfully live in the relationships that Christ invites us to know? What does it mean for us to be a “spiritual sacrifice” built into the temple of Christ?

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Sermon:           The Strength of Submission

Theme:            The people of God find strength through submitting their hearts to Christ’s direction.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to learn humility and to practice gratitude for opportunities to serve.

Scriptures:       Acts 2:42-27    The disciples held all in common and were empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 10:1-10    The sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and enter by the gate.

Questions:

What does it mean to submit to God’s will in our lives? When we practice submission do we give up our own personality or uniqueness? Or does submission mean to recognize greater wisdom than our own? What was the relationship like among the early Christians that they did not feel the need to be jealous about sharing their wealth? Why does it frighten us to picture a relationship in the church that drove people to such generosity? What do we really want in terms of our relationship with Christ and with one another?

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Sermon Title: Gone Fishing

First Reading: John 21:1-9

Second: John 21:10-17

When one is betrayed by a close friend it can become personal and cause some to lose faith in humanity. Jesus was betrayed by a close friend yet out of the abundance of God’s love and forgiveness, Peter is restored. How much more can we be forgiven for the times we kept silent or hid our faith and done things displeasing to the Lord?

Theme of sermon: Forgiveness and Restoration.

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Sermon:           “If You Have Been Raised with Christ…”

Theme:            If you will live in the truth and message of the resurrection you will experience freedom from death’s grip on your life.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to know and celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Scriptures:       Colossians 3:1-4          If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.

John 20:1-18   Mary, Peter, and John encounter the empty tomb.

Questions:

What does it mean to receive the resurrection in our lives? In what ways does death dominate our life? What role does gratitude play in “seeking the things that are above?” What happens if our mind is simply set on the things that are problems and anxieties in our lives? Can we have a relationship with Christ that lasts without gratitude? How does the joy of celebrating Christ’s resurrection enable us to be healed of our fears?  How do we share this gift of resurrection with others?

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Sermon:           “Welcome the Humble Reign”

Theme:            Christ comes to us in humility and invites us to live in that same joyful mind of humility and grace.

Purpose:          The congregation will recognize the value and power of the ‘mind of Christ.’

Scriptures:       Matthew 21:1-11        Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey.

Philippians 2:5-11       Have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, that he humbled himself.

Questions:

What does it mean to have the “Same mind as was in Christ” as we humble ourselves? What is the message of Jesus coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey? What difference does it make to us that this event happened in a distant city so many years ago, especially with all of the war and violence in the world today? In what places is a humble servant king needed to bring peace to the world? In what ways does a humble servant king bring peace in our own minds and hearts? How do we embrace the coming of Christ as our Lord?

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Sermon:           “Dry Bones and Hopeless Hearts”

Theme:            We are alive in Jesus Christ as we set our minds and hearts on the Holy Spirit’s love and God’s grace.

Purpose:          The congregation will recognize that our source of strength and renewal comes from our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Scriptures:       Ezekiel 37:1-14            Valley of the dry bones – The Spirit gives life and hope.

Romans 8:6-11            To set the mind on the flesh is death, to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Questions:

In what ways do we feel like “dried up bones?” What parts of our lives are hopeless and without energy or life? How do we set our minds on the Spirit, rather than allow our minds to be set on the flesh? Is this something we do in prayer or meditation or is this something that involves all of our days? What has happened to us so that we do not trust God or feel prepared to depend on the Spirit of God?

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Sermon:           “Choosing to See”

Theme:            We choose to know God and in that way to have vision of what God is doing in the world with us and through us.

Purpose:          The congregation will confess their need to see and choose to allow God to show them a new way to live.

Scriptures:       Ephesians 5:8-14         Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.

John 9:1-41     Jesus heals the man who was born blind by washing in the pool of Siloam.

Questions:

What does it mean for us to be able to see spiritually? What kept the Pharisees and other religious leaders from being able to see Jesus’ ministry as a work that came from God?  What keeps us from recognizing God’s work in our midst? How is it that we become unaware of God’s works happening around us? In what ways does faithfulness to God affect our ability to see what God is doing? In what ways does our own stubbornness blind us to the opportunities to show God’s love and care for others?

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Sermon:           “Living Water that Gives Life”

Theme:            Jesus invites us to be healed through opening our hearts to the water of life rather than our own will and stubbornness.

Purpose:          The congregation will see the importance of worshipping God in Spirit and in truth.

Scriptures:       Exodus 17:1-7 The Hebrew people in the wilderness, complain because they have no water.

John 4:5-42     Jesus and the Samaritan woman by the well.

Questions:

What does “living water welling up with us” mean to us? What is causing us to be dried out and barren in our lives? What causes us to continue to struggle with the same issues and emptiness in our relationships? How does our “quarrelling” and self-absorbed ways affect our relationship with God and with the people around us? How does the process of acknowledging our need and our struggles affect our relationships with God and with others? How do we learn to worship in “Spirit and in truth?”

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