Sermon
But Can You Heal me? - Mark 5:1-20
July 3, 2022
They came to Jesus and saw the man
previously possessed by demons sitting there,
clothed and in his right mind
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Are you ready to change?
The Gospels of the New Testament are filled with accounts of Jesus healing people. In every case it radically changed the healed person's life. For the man who had been an invalid for 38 years, who had waited at the pool for healing for a long time, without anybody to help him, Jesus said, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." He no longer required help from others, he could help himself. In today's passage, Jesus casts demons out of a man. Rather than returning to what he had done before, the man is called to tell others about Jesus.
Somebody Wake Up Jesus! - Mark 4:35-41
June 26, 2022
“Who then is this, that even the wind
and the sea obey him?”
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There will be storms in our lives. We live amid chaos and forces that are bigger and stronger than us.
The good news isn't that God holds an umbrella to keep us from getting wet, but rather that God can grant us peace in the midst of the strongest storm.
Someone once wrote, “I'd rather be in a rocking boat with a calm Jesus than to be in a calm boat with a shaky captain.
It's Unfair - Romans 5:6-11
June 19, 2022
God proves his love for us in that
while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
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God's love and grace isn't fair.
They are incredible gifts to people like you and me who do not deserve them. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, not once we got it right.
Let us live this good news, both in our own hearts and lives, but also for the sake of others. For it is God's grace that saves a wretch like me.
Leap of Faith - Romans 5:1-5
June 5, 2022
Since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Faith is taking the first steps of a journey not knowing how you will get there. Faith isn’t about what we can do.
Faith is about what God has already done.
Faith is about who God is.
Faith is about what God is yet to do.
Filled with the Power - from Acts 2:1-36
June 5, 2022
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages,
as the Spirit gave them ability.
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How often do we make excuses to God?
We say, "I can't do that? I've never done that? Please find someone else? There are lots of people more qualified than me."
God's response is usually, "You're right. You can't do that. But I can. The Holy Spirit within you will get it done through you."
Who? Me? - Acts 1:1-11
May 29, 2022
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
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We often pray, "God, when will you __________?"
Jesus' disciples were no different when they asked him, "Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus' response continues to often be the response to our questions. He tells them that there is more at work than they can imagine, but they have a part in it. He tells them, don't worry about all that. Instead, get ready, the Holy Spirit will empower you to do far more than you ever imagined.
God continues to enable us to be witnesses to Jesus, whether it is right where we are, or to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Lip Service or Life Service - John 21:9-17
May 22, 2022
Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John,
do you love me more than these?”
Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
Jesus responded, “Feed my lambs.”
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Saying we love someone is different than living it. Jesus asked Simon Peter if he loved him. Peter replied that he did love Jesus. This cycle of question and response took place three times, with Jesus calling for Peter to feed his sheep each time.
To say we love Jesus cannot be separated from living that love in ways that reveal God's love in Jesus.
God Doesn't Fit in Your Box - Isaiah 55:8-9
May 15, 2022
The Lord says:
My thoughts and my ways are not yours.
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.
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Isaiah 55:8-9
Pastor Ivan Castro of Refugio de Dios Preaching
"God, listen to my great idea. You are really going to love it!" a friend in seminary summarized one of her recent times of prayer - while laughing uproariously at herself.
While her prayer reveals a wonderful intimacy and nearness with God, she realized that at that moment she was monumentally under-appreciating the God to whom she was praying. Like a loving parent, God longs for us to share our deepest pain and our greatest joys, the smallest and largest parts of our hearts. But, like a parent with a child, loving these moments together, God is the one who knows immeasurably more, has a perspective far beyond our own, knows what is of greatest value, and is lovingly committed to our ultimate welfare.
Note: Technical problems interrupted today's service and a portion of the sermon was lost.
Most of the sermon is available as these two parts:
A Mother's Love - Passages from Isaiah
April 24, 2022
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
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Isaiah 46:3-4, 49:14-15, 66:12-13
We often think of God in terms of, "O Father, who art in heaven," but scripture also reveals God in motherly terms.
In the passage above, from Isaiah 49, a taste of God's unimaginable love and faithfulness is revealed in a mother's love for their child.
Simple Steps of Faith
April 24, 2022
Jesus said to them, “Cast the net to the right side
of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
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John 21:1-14
God often uses simple steps of faith to reveal himself, and to fulfill our greatest needs.
The disciples saw Jesus arrested, beaten, and crucified. They heard from the women that he was raised from the dead, as he said he would. They followed Jesus' instructions and returned to Galilee where they were to wait for Jesus.
Once there, they returned to their old way of life - fishing. They weren't telling people about Jesus; they weren't continuing Jesus' ministry of healing and compassion; they returned to their old ways of life, and failed to catch fish.
They followed Jesus' first instruction, to return to the Galilee, and now a voice from the shore told them how to do their job, to cast their net to the other side of the boat.
As they obeyed Jesus in small steps they encountered their resurrected Lord.
