Episodes
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
S3E10: The Symbols of Easter (Deep Questions pt. 9)
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Sermon #128
It has often been said, especially of late, that the Christian holidays of Easter and Christmas are polluted with pagan imagery and lore. Today we continue our Deep Questions series by looking at the symbols of Easter, their origins, and their traditional and contemporary meaning. We will also ask the question, if it means one thing to us today, then why does it matter what they meant thousands of years ago? So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 20, and prepare your heart and mind as we look at the symbols of Easter.
John 20:11-18
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 23, 2015 (Originally published October 23, 2015)
S.D.G.
Monday Aug 30, 2021
S6E18: Pure Religion (Purity of the Body pt. 1)
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Sermon #298
We are beginning a new series based on the general epistle of James, and we will be looking at the five promises that we make when we join the United Methodist Church... That we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the local church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. This week we begin by asking the question, where does generosity come from? As we are made in the image of a giving and generous God, it stands to reason that, at the heart of everyone, there is a giving and generous spirit. That explains why even those who do not believe in God still feel a tug to give when there is need in the world. As James points out, every good and perfect gift is from above, and so when we give, we are acting as image-bearers of God to the world. Pure religion, then, is when we express the heart of God in all things, and give generously of the things that God has entrusted to us.
Text: James 1:17-27
Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 2, 2018 (Originally published October 10, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 29, 2021
Sunday Aug 29, 2021
August 29, 2021
Old Testament: Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Psalter: Psalm 45:1-2,6-9
Epistle Lesson: James 1:17-27
Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
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.
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
S2E26: Words of Eternal Life (Grove Tabernacle 2012)
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
Wednesday Aug 25, 2021
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.
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
S6E17: Resurrection and Eternal Life (We Believe... Pt. 13)
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Sermon #296
When we affirm our faith in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, we often don't think of the fact that we as Christians are promised resurrection in THIS body. For some of us that might give us pause, especially those of us who are older and live with the aches and pains of life. Yet God promises us eternal life through Jesus Christ, and that means that the few years we live here on earth are eclipsed by the magnitude of the eternity that stretches out before us. Even so, many who call themselves Christian still live for this life, and do not consider the life to come. We wrap up our series on the Apostles' Creed with "We believe... in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:12-28
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 26, 2018 (Originally published October 8, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
August 22, 2021
Old Testament: 1 Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43
Psalter: Psalm 84
Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 6:10-20
Gospel Lesson: John 6:56-69
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.
Friday Aug 20, 2021
S5E06: Christian Love & Marriage (Camp Meeting 2016)
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Sermon #177
In today's world, it is an unpopular thing to defend the Biblical view of marriage. Yet God's word is unchanging and in today's episode, recorded at the Pitman Grove Camp Meeting, we take a long look at some disputed and controversial scriptures as they pertain to the Christian model of love and marriage.
Ephesians 5:22-28
Recorded at Pitman Grove Camp Meeting on July 3, 2016 (First published July 11, 2017)
S.D.G.
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
S3E09: Jews & Gentiles (Deep Questions pt. 8)
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Sermon #127
You know, in the 21st century we take it for granted that there is a difference between Christians and Jews. But back in the first century the early Christians were Jews. The question before us today is, was the ministry of John the Baptist for a Jewish audience only, or did he minister to non-Jews as well? And how did things change when Jesus came along? We find the answers in the book of Matthew, so grab your Bible, turn it to Matthew chapter 3, and prepare your heart and mind as we take a look today at Jews and Gentiles.
Matthew 3:1-12
Recorded at Hudson UMC on August 16, 2015 (Originally published September 4, 2015)
S.D.G.
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
S6E16: Forgiveness of Sins (We Believe... Pt. 12)
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Sermon #295
Most Christians today are pleased with the modern doctrine of forgiveness. After all, if God is faithful and just to forgive all sins, then we are in the clear, right? Not so fast. Jesus tells a parable about a man forgiven much who refuses to forgive and finds himself on the wrong end of his lord's wrath. Then He says, "So shall my Father do to each one of you, if you do not from your heart forgive your brother's sins." Ouch! This is difficult teaching but critical in our understanding of what it means to believe in the forgiveness of sins.
Text: Matthew 18:21-35
Recorded at Hudson UMC on August 19, 2018 (Originally published October 5, 2018)
S.D.G.
Monday Aug 16, 2021
S9E05: The Battle Is the Lord's (Prophets & Kings pt. 3)
Monday Aug 16, 2021
Monday Aug 16, 2021
Sermon #450
The story of David and Goliath is a very familiar story to anyone who was raised in the church. It is one of the first stories we learn in Sunday school. And because of its familiarity, as adults sometimes we can gloss over the greater meaning of the story. David was a shepherd, not particularly exceptional and decidedly not a battle-hardened warrior like Goliath. Yet David had something that Goliath did not, and that is faith in God. He saw Goliath as a little problem because he knew that his God is a big God who spoke and the worlds were formed. And he also knew that victory would not come because of his ability but rather because of his lack of it, for, as he said, the battle is the Lord's. God uses the weak to confound the strong, and ultimately He gets the glory for it.
1 Samuel 17
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 20, 2021
S.D.G.