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An Unconventional, No-Apologies Exposition of God’s Grace from an Evangelical-Methodist Point of View
Episodes
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Sermon #581
As we continue our Advent series, we take a look at what Mark's gospel has to say on his coming. Mark spends no time on the Nativity narrative, but instead starts at the beginning of Jesus' ministry with an eight-verse introduction via John the Baptist. John's entire existence was set from the beginning of his life - indeed, even before he was conceived - to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord." His whole life is centered around pointing others to God and to Christ, and his baptism is one of repentance, calling people to turn away from sin and turn back to God. In this short introduction we can learn two applications: first, that we are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ; and second, that Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy gives us evidence that the promises of the New Testament will also come to fruition.
Mark 1:1-8
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 10, 2023
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Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sermon #419
As we begin to clean up the mess around us as we prepare for company coming, we realize that this is too massive a project for any one person to take on themselves. We need a crew to help clean up this mess. In the time of Jesus, John the Baptist was part of the crew helping prepare hearts and minds to receive Jesus the Messiah, and he was a fulfillment of prophecy pointing to the messenger whom God would send before His anointed. In our day, the church is our clean-up crew, working together to help each other stay prepared for the coming of our King.
Mark 1:1-8
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 6, 2020 (Originally published December 7, 2020)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
December 10, 2023
Old Testament: Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalter: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
Epistle Lesson: 2 Peter 3:8-15A
Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:1-8
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 Dec 08, 2023
Friday Dec 08, 2023
Sermon #254
In his prophetic look at end-times, Mark records for us the words of Jesus to his disciples regarding what is to come at the end of all things. In the middle of what we call the Olivet Discourse, Jesus is telling his disciples then, and us today, that because we do not know the day and hour of his return, we are to be alert, and to wait with great patience. Some translations use the phrase "keep awake," as servants of a master who has gone on a long journey. In the 21st century we have no patience for waiting. Yet Jesus calls on us today to keep awake, to wait, and to look for his coming.
Mark 13:24-37
Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 3, 2017 (Originally published on December 2, 2020)
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Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Wednesday Dec 06, 2023
Sermon #88
Advent. So often we think of Advent as the Christmas season but in reality it is a time when we look forward to the return of Christ. This week we begin to look at Old Testament prophecies with Isaiah 64 in which the prophet calls upon God to tear open the heavens and come down to earth. It is a prophecy which was fulfilled in Christ's coming, and it will be fulfilled again when Christ returns. So grab your Bible, open it to Isaiah chapter 64, and join us as we too ask God to tear open the heavens.
Isaiah 64:1-9
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on November 30, 2014 (Originally published December 15, 2014)
S.D.G.
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Sermon #580
Advent is the season of anticipation for the coming of Christ. The world seems to be enamored of the Christian holiday of Christmas but in reality it has become a secular holiday in which we try to outdo each other in gift giving. The true meaning of Christmas is the gift of the incarnation of Christ, when God stepped off his throne to be born in Bethlehem, to live a perfect life and to die the death that we deserve. The season of Advent looks forward to when Jesus will return in the clouds in power and glory, to take his elect home to heaven and to set all things right. Until then, we as Christians are called to stay vigilant and to await his return with great anticipation.
Mark 13:24-37
Recorded at Hudson UM on December 3, 2023
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Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sermon #418
Advent (the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day) is the season of preparation for Christ's return. In the same way, the secular season of Christmas (between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) is a time when we prepare to receive guests into our homes. For the season of Advent 2020, we are looking at "Company's Coming," and we begin with the declaration: "This Place Is a Mess!" We have been so long waiting for Christ's return that many of us live as if he is not coming at all. Yet throughout the Olivet discourse we have been reading parables of the coming Kingdom that hint that he will return at a time when we least expect it. Jesus said that no one knows the hour or the day, and that is good, because if we knew when Christ would return we would live however we like and then clean up at the last moment, and that is not how God calls us to live.
Mark 13:24-37
Recorded at Hudson UMC on November 29, 2020 (Originally published on November 30, 2020)
S.D.G.
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
December 3, 2023
Old Testament: Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalter: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel Lesson: Mark 13:24-37
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.
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Sermon #576
Throughout this series we have been looking at how we participate in the ministries of the local church, by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service. Today we look at what it means to support the church by our witness. So often we as Christians hesitate to testify to our faith because we fear the backlash, or perhaps we are afraid that we will be challenged and not have all the answers. These fears are ungrounded, however, when we consider the testimony of scripture. When those touched by the presence of Christ, such as this Samaritan woman at the well, give witness to what Christ has done for them, even those who are outcasts have a powerful impact on their community. And what we see in this final lesson in our Five Things series is that all these things - our prayers, presence, gifts, and service - are a witness to the impact Christ has had on us.
John 4:3-42
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on October 29, 2023
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Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sermon #417
On this final Sunday of the church calendar, which we call Christ the King Sunday, we observe the reign of Christ in all of his glory. And we conclude our short series in Matthew 25 with what is often called "The Parable of the Sheep and Goats." However, as we will see in today's teaching, it is neither a parable, nor is it really about sheep and goats at all. It is about two different states in the human condition. We are either in Christ or we are not. And when we are in Christ, we naturally act as Christ does without giving it much thought; yet when we are in the world, we only think of ourselves. In which group do you belong?
Matthew 25:31-46
Recorded at Hudson UMC on November 22, 2020 (Originally published November 23, 2020)
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