Sunday, December 26: The Biblical Metanarrative Approaching the Bible as an outsider can be a pretty confusing process, and the framework that seasoned Christians often take for granted is actually a pretty amazing thing. As we read the Bible, we read through different genres of literature, penned by many different human authors, separated by thousands […]
Sunday, November 21: The Parables Matthew 13:47–50 Here are a few questions that you can introduce around the Thanksgiving table this year that will save you money on Christmas gifts next month: “What do you think of the governor?” “Who do you think is going to hell?” Famously, the two topics that you aren’t supposed […]
Sunday, November 7: The Parables Matthew 18:21–34 How many times do you want to be forgiven? Probably as many times as you mess up, and then once more just so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s easy to empathize with the reasons that we fall short, because we know what we meant, we […]
Sunday, October 31: The Parables The ballerina Isadora Duncan was once asked backstage what a particular dance meant, and she responded, “If I could explain it with words, I wouldn’t have to dance.” Sometimes, the medium is the message. On Sunday, we will continue our series on the parables of Jesus. In many ways, describing […]
Sunday, October 17: The Parables Luke 12:13–21 Among the many vices known to man, Greed is perhaps the most prevalent and the least recognized. That’s not a quote from anybody famous, just an observation. It’s easy to see when someone is under the affect of gluttony, or wrath, or lust, but greed usually flies below […]
Sunday, September 12: Life Entwined Community Phrases like, “Talk is cheap” or “Walk the walk, don’t talk the talk” remind us that what we do often matters a lot more than what we say we do. The clearest indicators of what we believe are often acted out long before they are spoken. If I insist […]
Sunday, September 5: Life Entwined Worship Paul Tripp wrote, “Human beings by their very nature are worshipers. Worship is not something we do; it defines who we are. You cannot divide human beings into those who worship and those who don’t. Everybody worships; it’s just a matter of what, or whom, we serve.” The difference […]
Sunday, August 29: Kingdom Ethics Beauty In my four messages in Kingdom Ethics, I have been making a case for cultural engagement. What should the church’s response be to the changing culture around us? In my first message, we saw that God is reconciling all things to himself and has made us ambassadors of reconciliation. In […]
Sunday, August 22: Kingdom Ethics Stewardship There are any number of words that have a particular meaning in Christian culture, and could even be considered “Christianese.” Guard your heart is very different than bless your heart (ask a southerner). A hedge of protection is not a gardening term, and washed in the blood does not […]
Sunday, August 15: Kingdom Ethics Communities This week we will be continuing our Kingdom Ethics series. This Sunday, we are going to look at our communities and how God has created relationships as a means to bring glory to himself. Our communities matter. The Scriptures teach us that God has built his church up in such […]
Sunday, August 8: Kingdom Ethics Kinship Last week, we talked about life-giving cultures and death-dealing cultures and concluded that the church is called to steward a life-giving culture in all that this means. I also teased that this week we would be talking about parenting. The world is changing. Recent decades have shown the rise […]
Sunday, August 1: Kingdom Ethics Image This week we will be continuing our Kingdom Ethics series. Last week, Jeremiah reminded us that we are created in the image of God. This week, we are going to look at one of the implications of this truth—because we are created in the image of God, we have […]
Sunday, July 25: Kingdom Ethics Sexuality As we continue to consider what a Kingdom Ethic is, what it means to live a life informed by God’s word, empowered by his Holy Spirit, and as ambassadors to his Kingdom, there are many places where we can joyfully recognize similarities with the world around us. This week […]
Sunday, July 18: Kingdom Ethics: Hope 2 Corinthians 5:1–20 This week we are continuing our Kingdom Ethics series! As I was thinking through the suggested topics for Kingdom Ethics, I originally thought I would preach four one-off sermons—four messages related to the kingdom of God, but four sermons unrelated to each other. But as I […]
Sunday, July 11: Kingdom Ethics Rhythms (Sabbath/Rest) This week in our Kingdom Ethics series we will be learning about Shabbat otherwise known as Sabbath. Through this series, we have been learning about the principles that govern the decisions we make as Christ-followers and Jeremiah kicked it off by stating, “We are going to have to […]
Sunday, July 4: Kingdom Ethics Kingdom Practice Through Ministry Let me make a bold statement: “20% of Christians are doing 80% of the work of ministry in the Kingdom of God.” Do you believe this? I bet you do if you are among the 20%. Why does the Church fall into the same old 80/20 […]
Sunday, June 27: Kingdom Ethics Ephesians 4:11–14 We’re starting a new series this week called “Kingdom Ethics”, where we’ll be taking a look at some of the big cultural topics at work in the church and in culture. Before we get into the particulars however, we’ll be taking a week to consider a few important […]
Sunday, June 20: Baptism Matthew 28:18–20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all […]
Sunday, May 30: Free Galatians 5:1–15 Imagine being freed from slavery only to return once again. Hard to believe anyone would do that, right? When you’re a slave, all you dream about is freedom. No one, having tasted that freedom, would voluntarily return to slavery! And yet… In Galatians 5:1–15, Paul warns the Galatians not […]
Sunday, May 23: Free Galatians 4:21–31 When I was younger, one of my friends became a Christian in dramatic fashion. He knew very little about Christianity, but he was excited about his new life in Christ. Because he was not connected to a church, I invited him to join me at mine. That Sunday, my friend […]
Sunday, May 16: Free Galatians 4:8–20 Two steps forward, one step back is a nice way of saying, “You’ll get there eventually.” One step forward, two steps back is sort of a warning that you need to change something if you want to improve, and as you might expect we don’t really have a saying […]
Sunday, February 2: Son of God Mark 4:1–34 Jesus’ teaching ministry in the book of Mark begins with the use of parables. These parables hold deep truths, in seemingly simple stories. Sometimes they’re confusing, and actually, most of the time they’re not easy to understand in the first read-through. So what’s the point of these stories? […]
Sunday, December 22: Christmas Luke 2:1–20 Merry Christmas! This week, we are taking a break from the Book of Acts to look at the Christmas story in Luke 2:1–20. This is fitting, as Acts is actually the second book in a two-part series we could call Luke-Acts. So, before we finish up Bound by the Spirit […]
Sunday, September 22: Generous In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul writes “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” What do these words mean? How do they relate to generosity? In Luke 19, we […]
Sunday, September 15: Generous If you’ve ever been to a fancy hotel, you know that at some point somebody takes your luggage from you. They’re supposed to, in fact, it’s their job. The steward, or bell-hop, or porter, is given the task of taking your bags for you to your room. So you hand over […]
Sunday, September 8: Generous If you don’t mind, I would like you to take a short survey. Below are five statements. Please answer with either, True or False. I have, at least once, spent money unwisely. T or F? I have, at least once, compared myself with someone else financially. T or F? I […]
Sunday, April 14: Moses Exodus 20:1–27 God’s people are parked at the base of Mt. Sinai. After coming through the Red Sea, they have been adjusting to life in the wilderness for three months. It hasn’t been easy. As we observed last week, they’ve had a lot of trouble trusting God. So far there’s been […]
Sunday, December 16: Lord of All Acts 15:1–35 What does God think about you?Is He happy with your life? Is He disappointed? Are there things He wishes you had done differently? How often do you wrestle with questions like those? Many of us wrestle with them on occasion. Some of us wrestle with them a […]
Sunday, April 22: Witness Acts 2:1–47 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to […]
Sunday, March 25: Joseph Genesis 47–50 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Genesis 50:20 (ESV) As we’ve explored the life of Joseph and his family, it’s become increasingly clear that God is […]
Sunday, October 1: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 9:1–14 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) The Bible teaches that there is an inner place in every human life […]
Sunday, September 17: Life Entwined 2 Timothy 1 & 4 Be a Friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, also penned a lesser known work called Youth and Age. Written shortly before his death he reflects on his past and laments the passing of years and its physical effects. He wrote, for example:Nought cared […]
Sunday, September 10: Life Entwined Mark 8:27–9:10 Find God In Mark 9, the disciples had an astonishing encounter with God. They had grown accustomed to Jesus doing remarkable things, but none of them were expecting what awaited when Jesus invited them up a mountain (presumably to pray). Peter, James, and John hiked with Jesus, […]
Sunday, July 10: Plowshares & Pruning Hooks Micah People love reality television. There is something about watching other people have problems that make our problems seem a little easier to handle. Or watching people we know as famous do silly things seems to take the tension away from the work deadlines. Think about this: ten years […]
When I was seminary, which was about the same time the earth’s crust hardened, like everyone in my particular program I had to take “baby” Greek. After you nail down some of the basics, one of the first books they have you translate is I John. Why is that? Because the Greek in I John […]
As we enter the final chapter of I John it’s quite possible, perhaps even likely, that this is the last apostolic message written to a church. What about 2nd & 3rd John? They were written to individuals. So this week we come to the last chapter of the last letter to a church, from the […]
The world’s thoughts are on God right now. Between the Christmas season, questions surrounding the recent terror attacks, and social media movements like #PrayforParis, the world is searching for God. But how do we know where to find Him? And given the conflicting messages out there about who God is, how do we know what […]
There are times in life when you come to a crossroads. A major decision lies in front of you, and your choice promises to affect your life for years to come. What do we do in those situations? How do we know that we are following God with our choice? This week we are going […]
“Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 Several years ago a group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds: “What does love mean?” Here’s a sample of some of their answers. “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t […]
Have you ever noticed how fairy tales kind of echo the gospel? Frederick Buechner writes about this. Something inside us believes, or wants to believe, that the world as we know it isn’t the whole story. In fairy tales something usually goes wrong or there’s some injustice or evil introduced. Then there’s a curse and […]
To this point in our Abide series, we have been talking about the importance of believing in Jesus and loving one another. Along with the series, we have been reciting the Nicene Creed every week. It’s been refreshing to me to recite the creed every week—it gives me a sense of solidarity with all of […]
It’s safe to say that actions speak louder than words. We hear these expressions frequently: “Don’t tell me, show me” or “Talk is cheap.” People can say whatever they want, but at the end of the day, how they live their lives speaks volumes more than their words. This Sunday at Believers Fellowship we’ll be […]
Christianity is not rocket science. We believe in the name of Jesus Christ and we love one another. It’s that simple. But sometimes we make it harder than that. We come up with all kinds of rules (written and unwritten) for what it means to know God. Sometimes this can be harmless. But other times, […]
Light: the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. Dark: the absence of light in a place. The Christian Life: to continue to strive to walk in the light, and to leave darkness behind. This Sunday we talk about walking in the light as we continue our fresh journey through the pages of […]
When you get married and have children, you start making your own traditions and forming your own family identity. Often, this means blending the traditions of your families of origin and creating some things anew. Well, the same is true of our faith—you have to make it your own. God is telling a story in […]