Episodes
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 16 (Year B)
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Lectionary Readings for Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 15 (Year B)
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
August 18, 2024
Old Testament: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalter: Psalm 111
Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 5:15-20
Gospel Lesson: John 6:51-58
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
S2E26: Words of Eternal Life (Grove Tabernacle 2012)
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Sermon #7
Well this week we have a bonus sermon, one that I gave a couple years ago when I was a layperson. From the Gospel of John, this message centers on Peter's declaration to Jesus, "You have the words of eternal life." We sometimes forget that we can only be satisfied in Christ. We try to fill our lives with things that the world tells us to value. In this message, from the Summer of 2012, we look at what the world has to offer, and how it pales in comparison to God's abundant grace. So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 6, and join us as we look at Christ's words of eternal life.
John 6:53-69
Recorded at Pitman Grove Tabernacle on August 26, 2012 (originally published November 14, 2014)
S.D.G.
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
S6E15: One Church (We Believe... Pt. 11)
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Sermon #294
What we find in the words "I Believe in... the holy catholic church, the communion of saints..." can be troublesome to some. How can we profess belief in one church when there are so many denominations? Often it is used against us as Christians to say that we can't even agree with each other. And yet, there is undeniably something universal about the body of Christ, and what we affirm in this section of the Creed is not antidenominational, but rather that it is the Holy Spirit acting in all believers, no matter what church or denomination they may belong to, that makes us one.
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 12, 2018 (Originally published October 3, 2018)
S.D.G.
Monday Aug 12, 2024
S12E11: Our Great High Priest (Hebrews: In These Last Days, Part 8)
Monday Aug 12, 2024
Monday Aug 12, 2024
Sermon #616
A priest is one who intercedes on behalf of the people to God, to make sacrifices to atone for sin. The high priest is one who makes atonement for the sins of all the people, in this case, the people of Israel. But the high priest is himself a sinful person and so he must first make atonement for his own sins before making atonement for the people. This is not the case for Jesus Christ, who was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin. Having no sin to atone for in himself, he was able to be our sacrifice and atone for the sins of the world. And like the scapegoat described in Leviticus, he was able to take our sin far away from us.
Hebrews 4:14-5:10
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 21, 2024
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
S12E10: The Cost of Sin (Prophets & Kings, Part 10)
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Sermon #457
The episode of David's sin does not simply end with his repentance. As is often the case, the wreckage of this single momentary lapse in judgment follows not only David but also his immediate and extended family for many years, and even affects the nation of Israel as it descends into civil war, led by David's third son Absalom. We often do not think about the consequences of our sin. Forgiveness may be available through Jesus Christ and the grace of God, but ultimately our sin still has real world consequences that can follow us for years, and may even be generational, as we see in this incident. Though the sin may look appealing in that moment of temptation, and though we may think if anything we are only hurting ourselves, it is rarely the case that the consequences of our sin ends with us.
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
Recorded at Hudson UMC on August 8, 2021 (Previously unpublished)
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Lectionary Readings for 12th Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 14 (Year B)
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
August 11, 2024
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
Psalter: Psalm 130
Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Gospel Lesson: John 6:35, 41-51
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
S.D.G.
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
S6E14: The Holy Spirit (We Believe... Pt. 10)
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Sermon #293
We turn our attention in the Apostles' Creed to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. There is much misinformation regarding the Holy Spirit given in the last hundred years or so, and so we take a look at some of the myths about the Holy Spirit and debunk them, then examine how the Holy Spirit works in the life of the baptized christian to bring about the purposes of God here on earth.
Text: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 5, 2018 (Originally published October 1, 2018)
S.D.G.
Monday Aug 05, 2024
S12E09: Enter His Rest (Hebrews: In These Last Days, Part 7)
Monday Aug 05, 2024
Monday Aug 05, 2024
Sermon #615
God promises a rest for those who follow him in faith. To the Israelites, he promised they would enter into his rest in the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet they refused and instead feared the people of the land, and God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years. The rest that he promises to believers today is an eternal Sabbath rest, purchased by the blood of his own son, Jesus Christ. So what is keeping us from entering into that rest? What doubts and disbeliefs do we cling to as we resist the calling of the Holy Spirit to enter into his rest?
Hebrews 4:1-13
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 14, 2024
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
S12E08: Conviction & Repentance (Prophets & Kings, Part 9)
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Sermon #456
This dark chapter in David's life brings in a new person to the story, Nathan the prophet. Although David had hidden his sin from others, he had not hidden the sin from himself, and he certainly did not hide it from God. When Nathan confronts David with the made-up story of a rich man who stole a poor man's lamb, David was enraged. Yet when Nathan confronted David with his own sin, David repented of his sin and confessed all. The statement, "I have sinned against the Lord," seems small compared to the mountain of sin David had mounted up. But we see the fullness of his confession and repentance in Psalm 51. Our sin separates us from God, but God in his mercy forgives our sin and allows us to reconcile to him. Even so, the wreckage that is created by our sin still exists. We still have very real consequences. Though we often see the sin in ourselves as so much more insignificant than the sin of others, God sees our sin for what it is: a rebellion against his promises and sustaining providence.
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 1, 2021 (Previously unpublished)
S.D.G.