Guerrilla Christianity

S10E56: Bringing the Dead to Life (According to Matthew pt. 2)

Sermon #556

Today from Matthew's gospel we read how the gospel writer himself is called by Jesus right out of the tax collector's booth.  We see how Jesus associates with tax collectors and sinners, much to the chagrin of the ultra-religious Pharisees.  And we see how Jesus heals a woman afflicted for 12 years without even touching her, and how he raises a dead girl to life.  How are all these things connected?  Just like Matthew, the woman, and the little girl, we are dead in our sins until we encounter Jesus, who raises us to life as well.  Jesus is still in the business of healing the sick and he is raising the dead to life every day.  We can witness these miracles if we just take the time to open our eyes and see them. 

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 11, 2023

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S.D.G.

S5E04: The Armor of God Pt. 2 (Camp Meeting 2017)

Sermon #232

When it comes to spiritual warfare, few things are more effective than the use of prayer. Considering how often the people of the Bible prayed and God responded, it is surprising that we do not pray more often, even though we are called to pray at all times in every situation. Continuing the examination of the whole Armor of God in Ephesians 6, this is part 2 of a two-part message delivered on July 2, 2017 at Pitman Grove Camp Meeting.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Recorded at Pitman Grove Camp Meeting, July 2, 2017 (First published July 7, 2017)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5), Year A

June 11, 2023

Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-9

Psalter: Psalm 33:1-12

Epistle Lesson: Romans 4:13-25

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

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.

S5E03: The Armor of God Pt. 1 (Camp Meeting 2017)

Sermon #232

Many Christians don't like to admit it or even think about it, but we are in a spiritual battle for our very souls. Spiritual warfare is not physical and doesn't call for physical protection but spiritual armor. In today's reading from Ephesians, Paul describes how the believer is to put on the full armor of God, and we break down what each piece does in the life of the believer. This is part one of a two-part message recorded at Pitman Grove Camp Meeting on July 2, 2017.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Recorded at Pitman Grove Camp Meeting, July 2, 2017 (Originally published July 5, 2017)

S.D.G.

S7E72: Three in One (Trinity Sunday 2014)

Sermon #60

Who is God in three persons? In this message from 2014 I attempt for the first time in my ministry to tackle this deep and difficult question. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is difficult to grasp for many, but it helps us to understand it better if we think about our relationship with a three-personal God, and the three types of Grace that John Wesley spoke of. God the Father loves us before we know who He is; that is His "prevenient" grace. God the Son reconciles us to the Father and pays the debt for our sin; that is His "justifying" grace. God the Holy Spirit dwells in and with us to make us more like Jesus day by day; that is His "sanctifying" grace. On this Father's Day in 2014, we look at the first Person of the Godhead, God the Father, and how He invites us into relationship with Him so that we may cry out "Abba, Father." And by looking at our own relationship with God the Father as our example, we who are fathers can learn from Him how to be better fathers to our children here on earth.

Matthew 28:16-20

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 15, 2014 (Originally published June 2, 2020)

S.D.G.

S10E55: Go, Make Disciples (According to Matthew pt. 1)

Sermon #555

We're beginning a new series for the Summer months called "According to Matthew" that will keep us in Matthew's Gospel at least until the end of August.  Looking back on 10 summers of preaching series, I have never stayed in the Gospel track of the Lectionary and so this Summer we are doing just that.  Today we begin at the end of Matthew's Gospel on this Trinity Sunday, and we look at the Great Commission.  This is the mission of the church, and yet today very few Christians live it out as their own personal mission.  How can we live out the Great Commission today?  Making disciples through baptism and teaching.  And if that seems too daunting a task, we are promised by Christ that he will be with us in our obedience.

Matthew 28:16-20

Recorded at Hudson UMC on June 4, 2023

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S.D.G.

S7E71: Creation’s Song (Trinity Sunday 2020)

Sermon #397

On this Trinity Sunday (2020) we hear the witness of Scripture as it testifies to the complexity and the fullness of the Godhead, three in one (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We hear from the creation account in Genesis and in John's gospel how that all three persons of the Trinity were present and active in the act of creation. We hear the witness of Jesus in the Great Commission and in the Farewell Discourse in John's Gospel his own relationship with God the Father and God the Spirit, and his unique position within the Godhead as God the Son. We hear the witness of early Christian fathers as they toil and wrestle with the theology of the tri-unity of God in His fullness. it is a complex and difficult doctrine but one that points to the uniqueness of the Christian understanding of God.

Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm 8
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Matthew 28:16-20

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 7, 2020 (Originally published June 8, 2020)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Trinity Sunday, Year A

June 4, 2023

Old Testament: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalter: Psalm 8

Epistle Lesson: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 28:16-20

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.

S10E54: Justification by Faith (Wesley’s Standard Sermons #5)

John Wesley's sermon, Justification by Faith, was first preached at the Long Acre Chapel in London on May 28, 1738.  It was later preached again on top of Samuel Wesley's tomb at Epworth on June 8, 1742.  It first appeared in print in 1746.

This sermon provides the foundation for Wesley's doctrine of salvation, that God justifies not the righteous, but the ungodly, and that by faith alone in Christ alone.  Indeed, it is only by God's grace that we can be saved.  In this, Wesley's doctrine of salvation did not differ with the reformers who preached salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, or Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus.  This same doctrine of justification by faith alone, Wesley considered to be in kind with the teachings of John Calvin, and in fact stated "In this respect, I do not differ from him a hair's breadth."

Romans 4:5

Recorded on May 20, 2023

Justification by Faith - full sermon text

S.D.G.

S7E74: Tell Someone (Pentecost 2014)

Sermon #59

We often talk about the church needing revival, but what does that mean? To revive something is to bring it back to life from the dead. That is what the Holy Spirit did on that first Day of Pentecost, using the disciples of Jesus to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to Jews from all over the world, so that they would take that news back with them to their villages and cities, wherever they were from. God is asking us today to tell someone the good news, and He sends His Spirit to dwell in us so that we may speak the words of life, in whatever way they need to be heard. I talk about a couple of witness encounters I had just the week prior, and encourage my congregation at Hudson UMC to go out and tell someone, don't keep it to yourself. Revival comes in the church, and the Holy Spirit equips the church to take the good news to the world for an Awakening.

{I love listening to these old sermons, because it takes me back to what was going on in my life at the time. It also helps me to see how far I have come in organizing my sermon messages and developing the ability to END them. This sermon from 2014 tends to meander but the message I preached then is the message I preach today: The gospel saves souls, and we need to share the good news to everyone for the transformation of the world.}

Acts 2:1-21

Recorded at Hudson UMC on June 8, 2014 (Originally published June 17, 2020)

S.D.G.