Message Outlines

Second Sunday of Advent 2018

There is a gap between what we were meant to be in the Garden and who we are now after the fall.

First Sunday of Advent 2018

Christmas is not about having the perfect family, but inviting the perfect guest.

God's love takes mercy farther than we hope and truth farther than we dare.

I am no Eugene Peterson; the paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13 that follows is my clumsy attempt to expose the heart of this sacred text and allow it’s thump-thump-thump to change the rhythm of your own heart.

“God so loved the world...” (John 3.16) The very important thing I notice about that verse is that there is no “because.” And if you can wrap your mind around this, it will knock you to the ground. When it comes to God “so loving” you and me, there is no because. You are simply beloved.

“I Pledge Partial Allegiance”

Three life-changing trajectories are revealed in today’s story: first, the disciples’ continued trajectory of selfish ambition; second, the opposite trajectory of the Lord’s compassion; and third, the trajectory of Jesus as He sets His face to make the journey to Jerusalem to lay His life down for you and me.

Let’s take a closer look at these three trajectories:

In today’s story, the disciples could only see the short game -- they, along with the crowd, were throwing a party because of the miracle Jesus had just done, but they didn’t see the long game.  They did not realize that there was a bigger miracle in store -- the resurrection; and that the only path to the resurrection was the cross of suffering and shame. Jesus tried to tell them, but they were too blind and afraid to see.

When Jesus comes down from the mountain, He immediately gets hit with trouble. And so it is with us most of the time. You get blessed in your morning time of Bible study and prayer only to get walloped at work half an hour later. Or you come back from a retreat only to get slapped with strife at home. We must remember that the God we meet on the mountain will also give us victory in the valley.

Who Indeed?