Guerrilla Christianity

March 3, 2024

Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-17

Psalter: Psalm 19

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Gospel Lesson: John 2:13-22

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 #103

Jesus told us that we are to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him.  In this day and age, however, we are so far removed from crucifixion as a means of execution that we don't fully understand the weight of his words.  Today we take an in-depth look at what it means to deny ourselves, and why we need to take up our cross - our instrument of execution - daily.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Mark chapter 8, and prepare your heart and mind as we examine our misdirected hearts.

Mark 8:31-38

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 1, 2015 (Originally published March 9, 2015)

S.D.G.

Sermon #594

In today's lectionary we find Psalm 22, verses 23 to 31.  But if that is all we read of this psalm we might be tempted to think that it is merely a song of praise.  Yet it is so much greater than that.  Reading through the entirety of the psalm reveals that it is a prophetic psalm that David wrote looking forward to the crucifixion of Christ.  But more than that, despite its overtures of utter desperation and complete hopelessness, it is a song of ultimate deliverance, and it makes the verses of praise at the end of the psalm that much sweeter.  God hears us when we cry out to him for help.  He may not answer in the timing that we want, but it is God's perfect timing.  And his deliverance invokes in us a sweet cry of praise and adoration.

Psalm 22

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 25, 2024

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S.D.G.

Sermon #433

Take up your cross.  Easy to say, hard to do.  We use phrases like "This is my cross to bear" to speak of some hardship or difficulty in our lives, something we must do.  But Jesus told his disciples that he must suffer, that he must be rejected, that he must die, and that he must rise again.  On the heels of this difficult declaration (for which Peter rebuked him), Jesus invites us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him.  What we see in today's teaching as we journey to the cross is that this is no mere thing we say we do, but Jesus offers us a choice, and it is the entirety of our lives that we choose to follow Jesus or not.

Mark 8:31-38

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 28, 2021 (Originally published March 1, 2021)

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S.D.G.

February 25, 2024

Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Psalter: Psalm 22:23-31

Epistle Lesson: Romans 4:13-25

Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:31-38

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 #102

On this first Sunday of the Lenten season, we ask the question, why does God make us wait for things he is going to give to us?  After all, he promised the coming messiah through his prophets and then made the people of Israel wait over seven hundred years.  In today's lesson, we get a better understanding of what it means to be in the fullness of time, and how God's timing, while seemingly long to us, is perfect for God's purpose.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Mark chapter 1, and prepare your heart and mind as we hear the good news, The Time is Fulfilled.

Mark 1:9-15

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 22, 2015 (Originally published February 23, 2015)

S.D.G.

Sermon #593

As we continue through the book of Psalms during Lent this year, we come to a psalm of David which he wrote at a time of intense persecution.  Though we do not know the context in which it was written, we can see in his prayer that rather than appeal to God on account of his own goodness, he relies instead on the goodness of God - his lovingkindness, or hesed (Hb).  This beautiful prayer for deliverance and guidance teaches us today about the lovingkindness of God and instructs us also to seek God's path so that we, too, may be delivered from our adversity.

Psalm 25:1-10

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 18, 2024

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S.D.G.

Sermon #432

As we begin our journey to the cross we go to the place where Jesus began his journey in Mark's gospel.  Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, before he had performed a single miracle as recorded in the Bible, he first was baptized by John in the Jordan river, and then went into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan.  Only then did he begin his earthly ministry - and he began it at home.  In this, we as Christians can identify with Christ as we, too, are baptized into the faith, are tempted and face adversity in our new-found faith, and begin our proclamation of the gospel at home - among our family, friends and neighbors.

Mark 1:9-15

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 21, 2021 (Originally published on February 22, 2021)

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S.D.G.

February 18, 2024

Old Testament: Genesis 9:8-17

Psalter: Psalm 25:1-10

Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 3:18-22

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:9-15

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 #592

For the season of Lent we will be examining the Psalms, which are songs of praise, lament, supplication, and acknowledgment of the things God has done for his people.  On this Ash Wednesday, as we prepare our hearts for the journey of Jesus to the Cross, we also hear the words of David the King as he repents of his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.  Though he had cleverly hid his sin from people, he had not hidden it from God.  When confronted by Nathan the Prophet, the weight of David's sin is upon him and out pours this beautiful song of repentance, recorded for us in the hymn book of the Jews.  We can learn from this song that because of our sin we need reconciliation and tranformation from God by his Spirit in us.

Psalm 51:1-17

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 14, 2024

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S.D.G.