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Episodes
An Unconventional, No-Apologies Exposition of God’s Grace from an Evangelical-Methodist Point of View
Episodes
Sunday Jan 07, 2024
Sunday Jan 07, 2024
January 7, 2024
Old Testament: Genesis 1:1-5
Psalter: Psalm 29
Epistle Lesson: Acts 19:1-7
Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:4-11
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.
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
Saturday Jan 06, 2024
January 6, 2024
Old Testament: Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalter: Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 3:1-12
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 2:1-12
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 Jan 05, 2024
Friday Jan 05, 2024
Sermon #93
When we come to Christ we fulfill our potential as image-bearers of God. But without receiving and using the gift of salvation we are like an unopened present, whose value goes unrealized. God beckons us to him and when we respond and receive the gift, He restores us to the original image in which He created us, and we are then given a new heart with new desires. Isaiah's prophetic vision shows us the heart of God as it pertains to us - not a rigid system of rules but a tender and compassionate heart of love.
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 28, 2014 (Originally published on December 31, 2020)
S.D.G.
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Sermon #585
The Bible speaks of covenants when it comes to our relationship with God, but what does it mean to make or cut a covenant? Over the next two weeks we will be looking at just that question, both as it relates to people in the Bible and how it relates to us. The beginning of the year is when we as Methodists renew the Wesleyan Covenant which states that we are no longer our own but we belong to God to do with as he wills. And so we also look at how Joseph and Mary observed the covenant of circumcision, and the covenant of dedication whereby they declare the baby Jesus to be holy unto the Lord. And we will ask the question, how does our our own covenant with God relate to these?
Luke 2:21-40
Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 31, 2023
S.D.G.
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Monday Jan 01, 2024
January 1, 2024
Old Testament: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
Psalter: Psalm 8
Epistle Lesson: Revelation 21:1-6a
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46
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 Dec 31, 2023
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Sermon #423
Did you know that Christmas is not a day, but a season? Christmas on the church calendar is a season that begins December 25th and ends January 6th with the observance of Epiphany - yes, there are really twelve days of Christmas! In our modern society, however, we've front-loaded the season, meaning that we place more emphasis on the preparation than the observation, and when the 25th comes we just want it to be over. I invite us all to slow down, to enjoy the company for the full season, and live every day with Christmas in our hearts and Christ on our lips.
Luke 2:22-40
Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 27, 2020 (Originally published on December 30, 2020)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
Sunday Dec 31, 2023
December 31, 2023
Old Testament: Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalter: Psalm 148
Epistle Lesson: Galatians 4:4-7
Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:22-40
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 Dec 28, 2023
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Sermon #583
In the fourth Sunday of Advent, we see the angel Gabriel coming to Mary in Nazareth to tell her that she will carry God's child and give birth to the Savior. In the 21st Century we often hear objections stating that we do not need to believe in a virgin birth to be Christian, but I believe it is a bedrock foundational tenet of Christianity, and that to deny the virgin birth is to deny the divinity of Christ and the sovereignty of God. The God of the universe, who created all things out of nothing, could certainly create life in a virgin's womb by his Spirit and enter creation as a human child - fully man and fully God. The virgin birth demonstrates the miraculous nature of this birth and God's own intervention in his creation. And when this announcement is paired with Isaiah's prophecy of the Son to be born, we see that this child will certainly be unlike any child born before or since.
Luke 1:26-38
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 24, 2023
S.D.G.
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Wednesday Dec 27, 2023
Sermon #92
There is nothing at all remarkable about the birth of Jesus. No chronicler stood by to record the exact day and time of his birth. No human herald declared it in the streets of Jerusalem. Certainly very few even noticed that this child was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger with the animals, born of meager means, born to unremarkable parents. And yet we still celebrate this birth two thousand years later, and that is because this unremarkable birth was more remarkable than any other birth in the history of mankind. Of the billions of people who have been born and died in the history of the world, this is the only birth we celebrate year after year for millenia. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful! Counselor! The mighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace!
Isaiah 9:6
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 24, 2014 (Originally published December 28, 2018)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Sermon #422
When company's coming and our guests arrive, what do we do? We throw open the door, we run to them, we hug them and kiss them. We welcome the guest into our homes. In the story of the birth of Jesus, we find that Mary and Joseph were welcome guests in the home of Joseph's relatives, even if there was no room for them in the guest room. This Christmas, let us also get ready to welcome the guest into our homes and into our hearts.
Luke 2:1-20
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 24, 2020 (Originally published on December 28, 2020)
S.D.G.