Tag: Sermons

Three-in-One

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Our culture is changing. Quickly. Christianity has not been the dominant worldview for a long time, but a clear alternative is rising fast to take its place in ways we haven’t really seen before. This new alternative is aggressive and intolerant and it increasingly has access to the levers of political power. What this means is a number of things, but perhaps most significant among them is that for followers of Jesus it has never been more important that we have a clear and firm handle on exactly what we believe and why those beliefs are better (that is, more in line with reality) than the available alternatives. This week we kicked off a brand-new teaching series aimed at addressing this very matter called, You Believe What? For the next few weeks we’re going to be talking about some of the most basic beliefs of the Christian worldview and why those matter so much. In this first part we start at the top with God. What is He like and what does that mean for us? Let’s talk about it.

Three-in-One

When I was a senior in college, I had to take biochemistry. Other than advanced courses focusing in on one particular branch of chemistry or another, biochemistry was the hardest chemistry course there was at the school. It took all the hard parts of both chemistry and biology and combined them into one challenging package. And the big project for the course was to write a research paper on some biochemical molecule. I still remember my molecule: cisplatin. It’s one of the earliest-discovered chemo drugs. I worked my tail off for that paper. I spent hours in our library. I took a day and drove down to the University of Missouri to use their much bigger and more equipped library to find some really obscure old journal articles so that I could cite original sources accurately instead of merely referencing them from other articles. I think the final project came in at something like 25-30 pages with a bibliography that ran for 5-6 pages. I did really well on it too. It helped that Dr. Nagan was a great teacher.

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Others First

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As we come to the final part of our conversation about how to love like Jesus, this morning we’re taking a look at one more example of Jesus’ love so we can understand it better. We know that loving like Jesus is important. We know that it requires both grace and truth. But how exactly do we get the one another part right. This story answers that question. Thanks for tuning in this week. Next week we’ll kick off a brand-new series looking at just what exactly followers of Jesus believe called You Believe What?

Others First

I like getting what I want. Don’t you? That’s just a sign things are going like they should be going. You’ve perhaps had those days before when everything was falling into place just like you envisioned it would go. Those are good days. You know what I don’t like? Not getting what I want. Anyone with me? Have you ever not gotten what you wanted? That’s more of the rule for how life goes than the other way, isn’t it? What really creates a conundrum for us, though, is when you getting what you want and me getting what I want are mutually exclusive outcomes. In that kind of a situation, what are we most likely to pursue? Well, if we’re being honest, it’s probably going to be our own interests. Why? Because we want what we want more than we want what somebody else wants. If we wanted what somebody else wanted, it wouldn’t be what somebody else wanted, it would be what we wanted and there would be no problem. But when it’s not? Well, that’s where things can get tricky.

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Two Are Better than One

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This week we pick back up our teaching series, Love Like Jesus. From our conversation a couple of weeks ago we understand a bit better why loving like Jesus is such a big and important deal (especially for followers of Jesus), but we still need to see it in action. We need examples. What does it look like to love like Jesus. Let’s look together at a story that gives us one of the best pictures we can find in the Gospels.

Two Are Better than One

I want today’s message to be sticky, so we’re going to start out here by talking about glue. Literally, not metaphorically. Have you ever used a two-component epoxy glue before? Admittedly I didn’t know that much about them and had to do a bit of research this week. Epoxies are glues that are chemically activated and form bonds at a molecular level. This makes them much, much stronger than your average bottle of Elmer’s best. Some epoxies use just a single substance that does the trick. Some, though, use two different substances. That’s why they call them two-component epoxies. I know, this is complicated stuff today.

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Name Tag

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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.

Name Tag

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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