Witness and Suffering

Christians changed the meaning of the word "martyr." Originally in Greek this word simply meant witness and had not connotations of suffering. Over time, however, this word meant to suffer because those Christians who gave their witness did suffer. The connection between witnessing to Christ and suffering is as old as the church...

Good Shepherd

Psalm 23 and the metaphor of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is perhaps one of the most comforting images in the Bible. Might there be a little "edge" to this metaphor though?

Road to Emmaus

This Easter season the sermons are focusing on meeting Jesus in our lives. The Road to Emmaus is perhaps the greatest story in the Bible of how and when we encounter Jesus on the road of life.

What kind of Community?

This Easter, we've been looking at how we can experience the Risen Christ in our lives. This week we learn that Jesus shows up when Christians are gathered. So we got the where...but is there anything else we should know about this community?

Easter -- He is not here!

Jesus is not in the tomb. This is a great thing. This means he is risen. But what about in our lives, when we get that sinking sense that he is not here, namely, in our lives? This sermon kicks off the Easter season, when we will focus on experiencing the presence of the Risen Christ in our lives.

Children, Palm Sunday and a Donkey

Each Palm Sunday, our children and whole congregation have a wonderful celebration, cheering Jesus on with shouts of "Hosanna!"

This year though, I wondered if we were called, as a congregation, to get the donkey...

Holy and Humans (Lent V)

We humans are called to be Holy. Yet we are human. The Bible is Holy. Yet clearly human. What gives? How can be both holy and human? What does Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth have to do with all of this?

Prophetic Challenge

To help us understand the prophetic section of the Bible, we are looking at the call of Isaiah, found in chapter 6. It begins with the death of King Uzziah. Who cares? What does this mean? Beginning with this intro, we discover the three challenges to reading the prophets: The challenge of the mind, of the heart and finally of the spirit.

David and Nathan

We continue "opening the word" by looking at a story in the "History" section of the Bible. In this part of the Bible people do lots of dumb things. This is a problem for God, who has promised to be faithful. How do we deal with stories of human sin and God's anger? Can we find mercy in them? To help us, we look at the story of David and Nathan...

10 Commandments (Lent I)

This Lent, we are spending each week looking at a different section of the Bible. This week we are looking at the Torah (sometimes called "Pentateuch"), the first five books of the Old Testament. Lots of Sunday stories come from this section of the Bible, but adults readers don't often go here for a variety of reasons. One of the most important stories in this part of the Bible is the giving of the 10 commandments. So what do these old -- very old -- laws say about God and humanity? Three key words: Relationship, relevance and repentance.

The Other Nine

Jesus invites three disciples up to a mountain, where he is “transfigured” or “transformed.” He becomes dazzling white, while he speaks with Moses and Elijah. God’s voice bellows through the clouds, “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.” Yet, what about the other nine disciples? Weren’t they faithful disciples too? Why does God chose these three to reveal his glory?

Based on Matthew 17.

Sermon on the Mount V: Don't Worry

Today we conclude our series on the Sermon on the Mount. He does so with a surprising ending: "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

We hear in these words some good and simple advice: Live in the present. More deeply, Jesus is doing what he has done the entire Sermon on the Mount: Inviting into the Kingdom of God.

Sermon on the Mount IV: Love Your Enemies

We continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount. This week Jesus says perhaps the hardest words of all: Love your enemies! No exceptions, ifs or buts! Hmm...but there is an "and," namely, pray for those who persecute you. Here in lies the key!

Sermon on the Mount III: Love and Marriage

After some very gracious words in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives some very hard words about love and marriage (Matthew 5:21-37). More then simply about marriage, they are about relationships. How can we be in right relationship with one another given the amount of conflict in our lives?

Sermon on the Mount II: Light of the World

In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls us to be "The Light of the World." I would much prefer for Jesus to be the Light of the World. How can we, as individuals, given the darkness that often pervades the world, act like the Light of the World??

Sermon on the Mount I: Beatitudes

We begin our sermon series on the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5-7) with "the Beatitudes" or "blessings." Jesus begins his teaching with nine blessings, many of which are suprising: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" in fact, is how he begins. Following a great Biblical pattern, Pastor Rob suggests that the Beatitudes are the job description of God and not a formula for our lives.

Follow Me

Jesus' invites his disciples to "Follow Me." More than this, he invites them to get out of their boats, leave their families and (gasp) give up control of their future. Wow! Sounds like a lot to ask! Listen to the sermon to discover how Jesus does more than simply make demands...Based on Matthew 4:12-23

Come and See

We hear Jesus invite his disciples to "Come and See." What kind of invitation is this? How might we be called to invite others to "Come and See." Based on John 1:29-42

Knuckleheads!

Well, Saint Paul is upset! The church in Corinth that he founded has broken down into factions. And so, he tells it like it is, calling them knuckleheads! (1 Cor 1:10-17). 2,000 years later, we continue with all sorts of divisions in our church; multiple denominations and factions within denominations exist. What do we do with all of these differences?

New Road in 2011

As the wisemen (Matthew 2:1-12) leave the first Christmas, they are told by an angel to head on a different road. Many of us want to head into 2011 on a different road than the one we’ve been on. What can we learn from the wisemen about heading on the road God intends for us this year?

Jesus Family Tree

We might expect for only heroes of faith to be found in Jesus family tree. But instead we find notorious sinners, great sufferers and definitive outsiders. What does this mean? In the often unread first sentences of Matthew’s Gospel, we see Jesus laying out his whole ministry. Based on Matthew 1:1-18