Tag: Sermons

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This week we kicked off a brand-new teaching series called, Love Like Jesus. All this month we are talking about why love matters for followers of Jesus and just what it looks like when we get it right. You won’t want to miss a single part of this journey. In this first part we start off by clarifying why loving one another is such a big deal for Jesus followers. The truth is that it’s far more foundational even than we often understand it to be. Keep reading to understand why.

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Think for a minute about the last time you did something you knew you should be doing, but it really just felt like a chore. What kinds of things have fit into this category for you? Perhaps doing the dishes? Maybe fixing a meal for your family? If you have an exercise routine, I suspect it’s felt like more of a chore than a benefit on more than one occasion (although that does not mean you’re better off not having one so you can avoid the guilt of doing it inconsistently). Do you know what else can sometimes fall on that list? I know this is something you’re probably not expecting the preacher to say, but I’m just being real with you this morning. Sometimes being a Christian can go on that list.

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Invest in Tomorrow

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All this month we have been talking about what it looks like to have a fresh start that means something more than it usually does. We’ve been talking about how to make our fresh starts something more than accomplishing the same old things with the same old efforts. The secret here when it comes to our relationship with Jesus is the spiritual disciplines. Each week in this journey we have talked about a different practice that will create space in our lives for the Holy Spirit to do His good work in us. This last part will be no exception. All of these efforts have been aimed in the direction of our living more fully the abundant life Jesus came to bring us. How do we live this abundant life? This last discipline is the key. Read on to find out what it is.

Invest in Tomorrow

One of my favorite cartoons growing up was Duck Tails. It was just one of those genre-defining shows that was beloved by a whole generation of kids. And that’s not just me speaking as a fan. The show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award four different times including Best Children’s Animated Program twice. It was popular enough that it got a modern remake a few years ago. Of course, this wasn’t anywhere as good as the original—but not many things ever are.

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Pausing to Take It All In

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Have you ever tried being quiet? How about this: Have you ever tried creating quiet around you? In our busy, noisy world, that can be a pretty tall order. Not only is our world filled with noise almost constantly, but we like the noise. We’re not comfortable in the quiet. And yet, when our world gets noisy, it becomes hard to hear the quiet voice of our God. The next spiritual discipline worth our time and attention is the discipline of silence. And for this one I’m adding something just a bit different than the norm. This message included both taped and live components and really only makes sense if you can experience both of them. With that in mind, I’m including the video of the sermon in addition to the audio. Enjoy.

Pausing to Take It All In

Hi.

It’s time for the sermon…but you probably guessed that since I walked up to the stand.

Hey! Did you know this thing is technically just a music or book stand and not actually a pulpit? We often call it a pulpit, but originally the word “pulpit” referred to a whole raised platform from which the preacher delivered his sermon. The pulpit often included a book stand like this, but it was the whole shebang. What most preachers use today are just book stands, but the terminology stuck.

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How to Get More of a Good Thing

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We’ve all been warned about having too much of a good thing, but getting more of a good thing is something worth trying to do. As followers of Jesus, we know that the best things are the ones that move us in His direction. Getting more of those is always good. In this third part of our new series, A Fresh Start, we talk about how to do exactly that. Thanks for reading!

How to Get More of a Good Thing

Have you ever had something really good—or even just really cool—happen that you wanted to have happen again? What did you do in order to try and bring that about? When I was in high school my youth group went to Branson, MO for a special church weekend event at Silver Dollar City—the Ozark’s equivalent to Dollywood. One morning when we were still in the hotel getting ready for the day, the power suddenly went out in the whole place. I think everyone in my room was pretty much ready, so it was nothing more than mildly inconvenient. Being kids and being silly, though, I stood up on a chair in the room and proclaimed, “And God said, ‘Let there be light!’” And would you believe the power came back on right then. It was instantaneous. I couldn’t have planned it better if I had someone hiding in the next room manning the power switch for the hotel. It was awesome.

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Taking a Pause

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As we continue in our new teaching series, A Fresh Start, we are examining yet another of the basic spiritual disciplines that all followers of Jesus need to be incorporating into their lives. This time it’s prayer. Like engaging with the Scriptures, prayer is basic. It is a foundation stone. It is one of those things we must get in place before we can do just about anything else. Let’s spend a few minutes thinking about why and how.

Taking a Pause

Have you ever been busy? Heh. How about, when was the last time you weren’t busy? Maybe the 13th of last Neveruary? We live in a busy world, don’t we? There’s always something to do. Even when there’s nothing to do, there’s still something to do. That’s the story of our household. Even when we don’t have any work to do, there’s still laundry to wash and laundry to fold and laundry to put away and bathrooms to clean and clothes to pick up and clutter to disperse and floors to vacuum and Nerf bullets…so…many…Nerf bullets to collect and Legos to build and the list goes on. Then there’s the list of things we actually want to do. It never stops. I don’t know about you, but some days I feel like the only real time I get to stop and breathe while I’m awake is when I’m in the shower. I’ll just about drain our hot water heater some days because that’s protected space. I can’t do anything for anybody else and I’m digitally disconnected which, for me, is even more important.

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