Guerrilla Christianity

S7E51: Awakening to Ministry (Awakening/Becoming pt. 1, Easter 2017)

Sermon #222

This lectionary series from the Great 50 Days of Easter 2017 highlights how we are awakening into our faith and becoming more like Christ. We begin with the story of the first Sunday when Christ endowed His disciples with the Holy Spirit and commissioned them to go preach repentance for forgiveness of sins. The endowment of the Holy Spirit and this commission is for us as well. It is the Holy Spirit that enables our ministry to unbelievers so that God can work in their hearts as He has worked in ours. This understanding of the Holy Spirit and the commission of ministry is the basis for the Protestant Reformation doctrine of the Ministry of All Believers.

John 20:19-31

Recorded at Hudson UMC on April 23, 2017 (Originally published April 24, 2020)

S.D.G.

S7E50: When Doubts Creep In (Easter 2014)

Sermon #54

We all know the story of "Doubting Thomas," but I wonder if we don't give him enough credit. After all, how many of us, having witnessed the horrific death of a friend, having laid him to rest, would have believed if our friends came to us three days later and said "We have seen him, and he is alive!" It's hard to believe without seeing. We as Christians have the benefit of eyewitness accounts and yet we still have our doubts. It's not a lack of faith, but human nature to second-guess that which we do not see with our own eyes. Sometimes we doubt even what we see and experience first-hand. So let's consider how we can respond when doubts creep in, and remember that Jesus responded to Thomas by giving him the evidence he needed to believe.

As an aside, right after Easter 2014 I came down with a wicked cold that laid me up for nearly a week. I recovered just enough to deliver this message on the week after Easter, but you can hear in my voice and my pacing that I was still not 100%.

John 20:19-31

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 27, 2014 (Originally published April 22, 2020)

S.D.G.

S10E46: Into the Outcome (A Living Hope pt. 1)

Sermon #548

Throughout the Easter season we will be looking at the First Epistle of Peter the Apostle (try to say that ten times fast!) in a series called "A Living Hope."  As Christians, ours is a living hope because we serve a risen Lord, one who is seated at the right hand of God the Father even now.  In his letter to a persecuted church, Peter reminds the Christians in Asia Minor of this, and gives them a reminder that though we suffer trials in this life, there is waiting for us an eternal inheritance that cannot be touched in this world.  And so the theme of the letter, as we will see in the upcoming weeks, is twofold: that our faith brings suffering trials, and that we are growing in holiness as a witness to the goodness of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC  on April 16, 2023

S.D.G.

S10E45: Risen with Christ (Reconciled to God pt. 8)

Sermon #547

It's Easter Sunday!  We celebrate the resurrection of our risen Lord!  In this final message of the "Reconciled to God" series, we are looking at the letter Paul wrote to the church in Colossae.  As we observe how the women came to the tomb early on the first day of the week to find it empty, we see how we are reconciled to God through His resurrection from the dead.  Paul tells us that we are risen with Christ, and so we ought to set our minds on the things above, not things of earth.  The resurrection power of Christ is the power of sanctification, of renewing a righteous spirit within us.  

Colossians 3:1-4

Recorded at Hudson UMC on April 9, 2023

S.D.G.

S7E49: Did You Miss Something? (What Are You Doing pt. 1)

Sermon #390

During the Easter season (2020) we will be in a five-part series called "What Are You Doing?" In it we will be looking at the five promises that we make to the local church when we join as members. "As members of the local congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?" In today's message we are looking at what it means to faithfully participate by our presence. In the story of Thomas after the resurrection, we see that his lack of presence that first week led to him missing out on receiving the Holy Spirit and the commissioning from Jesus. What are you missing out on when you neglect to be present in the ministries of the local church?

John 20:19-31

Recorded at Hudson UMC on April 19, 2020 (Originally published April 20, 2020)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Second Sunday of Easter, Year A

April 16, 2023

First Lesson: Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Psalter: Psalm 16

Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Gospel Lesson: John 20:19-31

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.

S7E43 Dead or Alive (Easter 2020)

Sermon #389

The uncertainty we face in the time of the coronavirus outbreak is nothing like the uncertainty that Jesus' disciples faced after his death on the cross. Even though Jesus told them numerous times that he would be raised from the dead, they didn't get it. And so the Sabbath after the crucifixion, when the disciples were shut in for fear of the Jews, and before they could go and properly grieve their Master's death, must have been a quiet time of pain, sorrow, and grief. So imagine the mixture of emotions when the women arose early on the first day of the week only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. It is this, the promise of the empty tomb, that allows us today to weather the storms of Covid-19, that tell us that the empty sanctuary is but for a season, but the emtpy tomb is forever.

Matthew 28:1-10

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 12, 2020 (Originally published April 13, 2020)

S.D.G.

S10E44: It’s Dark, But the Son Is Rising (Easter Sunrise 2023)

Sermon #546

I love the Easter Sunrise service!  I love getting up before dawn on the first day of the week, when it's still dark, to greet the sunrise with "He is risen!  He is risen indeed!"  When things seem at their darkest, it's comforting to know that there is still an eternal hope in Jesus Christ.  The first disciples learned that for themselves as they rose early to anoint the body of Jesus for burial, only to find the empty tomb.  Mary learned that for herself when, through blurred eyes, she beheld her risen Savior and heard Him speak her name: "Mary."  What joy is to be found on this glorious Easter morn!  Rejoice with us, Christian, and know that the Son is risen!  He is risen indeed!

John 20:1-18

Recorded at Hudson UMC Cemetery on April 9, 2023

S.D.G.

S10E43: The Heart of Christ (Good Friday 2023)

Sermon #545

The community Good Friday service is one of my favorite services of the year.  Through seven preachers we examine the seven last words of Jesus on the cross.  During the Covid pandemic, since 2020 we have not held the service in person.  This year, 2023, is the first year we brought it back, and it was wonderful to be a part of this service once again.  This year we held the service at Second Baptist Church of Pedricktown, and I preached on the third word, "Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother." (John 19:25-27).  I've preached on this word previously, but I find new things to explore - the mandate of God to care for widows and orphans because that is the heart of God, to care for those who cannot care for themselves, is more evidence that Jesus is who he said he was, God in the flesh.

John 19:25-27

Recorded at Second Baptist Church of Pedricktown on April 7, 2023

S.D.G.

S7E47: Prayer for Security (A Journey Through Lent pt. 8)

Sermon #221

Our journey through Lent and the Psalms concludes with this Easter message based on Psalm 16, the very same text that Peter preached from (pointing to the divinity of Christ) on Pentecost. In these uncertain times we need a steady and secure refuge, and God (according to the Psalmist) is that refuge. He is where we can find our security. We try to place our trust in human-made things, but God establishes a foundation that is eternal, where human fortresses are destined to crumble and decay. In this Psalm we find three things that we can learn about the world. We find that the world has no physical foundations; the world has no intellectual foundations; and the word has no emotional foundations. For those we must turn our eyes to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who established our foundations in God when He emerged from the tomb.

Psalm 16

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 16, 2017 (Originally published April 17, 2020)

S.D.G.