Guerrilla Christianity

S11E26: 500th Episode Extravaganza!

It's hard to believe that this is the 500th episode of this little podcast called Guerrilla Christianity.  As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Arlington, TX, on a training trip for Amazon, and I thought it would be a good idea to commemorate this event with a special episode in which I pontificate, ruminate, and reflect upon eleven seasons, ten and a half years of ministry, and five hundred episodes of preaching the gospel.  

Recorded at Residence Inn, Arlington, TX on January 21, 2024

S.D.G.

S8E39: God's Mission (God with Us pt. 2)

Sermon #427

As we continue to look at the ways that God interacted with us through Jesus Christ, we come to the missional calling of four disciples who previously were not learned Biblical scholars but fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.  This calling is different from the calling we saw last week in that last week's calling was to discipleship, and this is a calling that is giving these men a mission and a task to complete - that of fishing for people.  And what we see in this narrative is that, as fishers of people ourselves, we are called to cast our nets often for a catch, and to mend our nets often so that they can be effective at bringing people to Christ.  

Mark 1:14-20

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 24, 2021 (Originally published on January 25, 2021)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

January 21, 2024

Old Testament: Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Psalter: Psalm 62:5-12

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:14-20

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.

S5E29: Are You Listening? (When God Speaks pt. 1)

Sermon #261

We are starting a new series for the season after Epiphany (2018) and looking at the Old Testament texts for insight into When God Speaks.  We begin with the story of a young Samuel who was called upon by God to deliver a message to the High Priest, Eli, in a time when Israel was on the cusp of falling into apostasy.  But sometimes we can hear without listening, and so we ask the question, When God Speaks, Are You Listening?

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 14, 2018 (Originally published January 26, 2018)

S.D.G.

S11E25: The Invitation (Following Christ pt. 1)

Sermon #587

As Christians, we know that we are called to evangelize.  Jesus gives us the Great Commission in Matthew 28, to go make disciples of all nations.  What is so intimidating for Christians in this post-modern world is that we are often afraid that we don't know enough to debate someone into believing in Jesus Christ.  But what we see in today's reading from John is that we don't need to have all the answers to all the objections.  We simply have to say to people, "Come and see for yourself."  And when they encounter Christ for themselves, they find themselves invited into a saving relationship with Jesus, and it's an invitation that is impossible to resist. 

John 1:43-51

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 14, 2024

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S.D.G.

S8E38: God’s Calling (God With Us pt. 1)

Sermon #426

We are starting a new series for the season of Epiphany called "God With Us."  Jesus is God with us.  Isaiah foretold his birth of a virgin and said that he would be called Emmanuel, which means "God With Us."  So for the next five weeks we will be looking at how God interacts with his creation, and specifically with his people who are made in his image.  

This week we ask the question, where were you when God called you?  God calls each of us uniquely and individually, because we are all individually unique.  God meets us right where we are and reveals to us what we need to believe in him.  We see this today in the telling of the calling of Nathanael, who initially does not believe that any good thing can come from Nazareth, but ultimately proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  

John 1:43-51

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 17, 2021 (Originally published on January 21, 2021)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

January 14, 2024

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Psalter: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Gospel Lesson: John 1:43-51

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.

S8E36: Overwhelmed with Joy (Epiphany 2017)

Sermon #260

In Matthew's gospel we read about the coming of the wise men, or magi, from the east, who are following a star that they read as proclaiming the birth of a king.  This familiar story is easy to gloss over; yet on Epiphany (January 6), we celebrate and commemorate this occasion at the end of the Christmas season because it marks the time that Jesus' birth was announced, not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.  And because the story is so familiar, it's hard to see that these outsiders were overwhelmed with joy at beholding our Lord Jesus.  How many of us feel the same when we consider that God did this great thing for us?

This recording has some audio issues, particularly with pops and drop-outs, which is probably why I opted not to publish it in 2017.  

Matthew 2:1-12

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 7, 2017 (Originally published on January 12, 2021)

S.D.G.

S11E24: Sacramental Covenant (Covenant pt. 2)

Sermon #586

When we talk about covenant with God it is important for us to understand that not only is the covenant initiated by God, but it is also completely one-sided in that God has the most to give and the least to gain.  He is eternal and infinite and needs nothing from us to exist and be exalted in himself.  Yet he condescends to make a covenant with us through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Today we are looking at the baptism of Jesus, and what we see is that Jesus identifies with us in his baptism, so that we may identify with him in ours.  In baptism, and in the sacrament of communion, we see the barrier between heaven and earth torn open and in that moment the Spirit of God descends upon us and the presence of Christ is real and actual, not just ephemeral and symbolic.

Mark 1:4-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 7, 2024

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S.D.G.

S8E37: Baptized in the Name (Baptism of the Lord 2021)

Sermon #425

On Baptism of the Lord Sunday we reaffirm our baptismal covenant and remember our baptism.  But what does that mean for Christians, such as myself, who were baptized as infants?  How can we remember our baptism when we don't have any memory of it?  Today we will consider what baptism is, why we in the Methodist tradition baptize infants, and what is the importance of baptism in the life of the Christian.  

Acts 19:1-7

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 10, 2021 (Originally published on January 11, 2021)

S.D.G.