Guerrilla Christianity

Sermon #441

What is hope?  The worldly definition is that hope is a desire for something as yet unfulfilled.  The Christian definition of hope is inextricably tied to the promises of God, that he has fulfilled those promises in the past and will fulfill them again in the future.  That is our hope, and it was the hope of the early disciples who continued to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus because they had seen it with their own eyes.  Their hope was in the past fulfillment of Jesus' words, that he must be betrayed, killed, and raised to life again on the third day.  When that promise was fulfilled, their faith was solidified in the hope that his promise to prepare a place for us would likewise be realized.

1 John 3:1-7

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 18, 2021 (Originally published April 23, 2021)

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S.D.G.

April 14, 2024

First Lesson: Acts 3:12-19

Psalter: Psalm 4

Epistle Lesson: 1 John 3:1-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:36b-48

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.

Sermon #438

Easter Sunday is the day when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so it seems fitting to focus on the resurrection of Jesus throughout the Easter Season.  The resurrection is what gives our faith validity.  Without the resurrection, Jesus was merely a good teacher (although how good could he be, since he claimed to be the Son of God?).  The resurrection is the receipt for the debt that Jesus paid for us on the cross.  It puts the final stamp of approval on his ministry, and proves to the world who he is - the second person of the Trinity and seated at the right hand of God the Father.  Jesus' death and resurrection is the good news, and as Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Corinth, we can believe in the resurrection because there were so many eyewitnesses.  Ours is indeed a faith based in evidence.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Recorded at Hudson UMC Cemetery on April 4, 2021 (Originally published on April 6, 2021)

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S.D.G.

Sermon #600

Why were Jesus' followers so willing to die for the truth of the resurrection?  Why was the Christian Sabbath shifted from the seventh day to the first day of the week?  Why did Paul insist that believing in the resurrection was of utmost importance?  On this Easter Sunday (2024) we take a look at a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in 54 AD, and he stresses that the knowledge of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the good news of the gospel, and by it we who are believers are being saved.  It's not some throwaway doctrine that is unnecessary on this side of the Enlightenment, when many religious leaders are embarassed by the miracles of Jesus.  The resurrection is THE paramount miracle of Jesus, that he died and rose again according to the scriptures, and in fact everything we believe about Jesus Christ depends on the truth of the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 31, 2024

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S.D.G.

Each year on Good Friday, the churches of the Ministerium of Penns Grove, Carneys Point, and Pedricktown hold a joint worship service from Noon until 3 PM. The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross are presented, with worship music and sermon messages for each word. Each year for the last six years I have participated in this service, and each year I have preached on a different word. This year (2020) was to be my seventh year, but because of the Coronavirus, the service was cancelled. And so, because I had already written the sermon, I recorded it... But I also decided to compile all seven of the messages into one podcast for Good Friday. And so, in the order below, we present to you the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross.

1. “Father, forgive them…” Sermon #387
Luke 23:34
April 10, 2020 – Ebenezer UMC

2. “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
“The Tale of the Thief” Sermon #51
April 18, 2014 – St. Paul’s UMC

3. “Behold your son…Behold your mother”
John 19:26-27
“The Heart of the Master” Sermon #161
March 25, 2016 – St. Paul’s UMC

4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46
“Forsaken” Sermon #219
April 14, 2017 – St. Paul’s UMC

5. “I Thirst.” Sermon #107
John 19:28
April 13, 2015 – St. Paul’s UMC

6. “It is finished.” Sermon #332
John 19:30
April 19, 2019 – New Hope UMC

7. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” Sermon #273
Luke 23:46
March 30, 2018 – New Hope UMC

Compiled on April 5, 2020 (originally published April 10, 2020)

S.D.G.

View Full Service on YouTube

Tenebrae is a Latin word that means "Darkness." The Tenebrae service is a reading of the Passion account from John's Gospel, broken down into 16 readings, and after each of the first fourteen readings a candle is extinguished until the entire sanctuary is clothed in darkness. This represents the light of Christ being extinguised on the cross, and it also represents the three hours of darkness that the people experienced as He hung on the cross. After the 15th reading, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake that occurred at the death of Jesus. It is a somber and solemn service of contemplation. We have attempted to recreate the service in its entirety here, and hope that you will be blessed in its re-enactment.

Entrance - Gathering

The Call to Worship:
God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all.
Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world,
and we loved darkness rather than light.

Hymn:
Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed (UMH #294)

Opening prayer:
Maundy Thursday (UMH #283)

The Passion of Jesus Christ
Sixteen readings, after each is extinguised one candle until the sanctuary is in "Darkness" (Latin: Tenebrae)

Sending Forth

Hymn:
Were You There (UMH #288)

Dismissal with Blessing
All depart in silence.

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 4, 2020 (Originally published April 9, 2020)

S.D.G.

March 27, 2024

Old Testament: Isaiah 40:4-9a

Psalter: Psalm 70

Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 12:1-3

Gospel Lesson: John 13:21-32

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.

Sermon #598

When we look at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we find a story that we know very well.  After all, we celebrate Palm Sunday every year; ever since we were kids in Sunday School we learned about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people threw their cloaks and palm branches at his feet, crying "Hosanna!"  But it's that word, Hosanna, which always confused me as a child.  I thought it was a cry of praise for Jesus the conquering king.  But it is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words "yosa 'ana" which means "Save now, we beseech you!"  The people were crying out to be saved, and Jesus came to do just that... But not how the people expected.  

Psalm 118

Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 24, 2024

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S.D.G.

March 26, 2024

Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalter: Psalm 71:1-14

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel Lesson: John 12:20-36

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.

March 25, 2024

Old Testament: Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalter: Psalm 36:5-11

Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 9:11-15

Gospel Lesson: John 12:1-11

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.