Guerrilla Christianity

May 28, 2023

First Lesson: Acts 2:1-21

Psalter: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Gospel Lesson: John 7:37-39

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 #227

We conclude our "Becoming" series with the final prayer, "By your Spirit, make us one... in ministry to all the world." On the heels of the 2017 Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, it occurs to me that even though we are divided in our theology, we can still be united in our ministry - the ministry of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Christ offered up this prayer to God the Father on the night he was betrayed, that we would be one even as he is one with God the Father. And so we ask the question, even with our deep differences, can we as a denomination truly be one in ministry? And how can we live that out?

John 17:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 28, 2017 (Originally published May 29, 2020)

S.D.G.

Sermon #58

When Jesus was taken up into heaven forty days after the resurrection, his disciples were caught flat-footed, staring into the sky. God sent two angels to remind them that there was still work to be done. In other words, don't just stand there, do something. Jesus will come again, but until he does, we are to continue the ministry that he left for us to do - to make disciples of all nations and continue to witness the good news, in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in the places we don't want to go and to people we don't want to save. We are not to simply wait for Jesus' return, we are to do what he commanded us to do.

Acts 1:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 1, 2014 (Originally published May 27, 2020)

S.D.G.

Sermon #553

Often when we are going through adversity it is difficult to see beyond our current circumstances.  Certainly for the Christians in Asia Minor to whom Peter wrote this epistle had a hard time keeping their eyes on Christ as they suffered in his name.  But Peter reminds them and us as well that God is not an uncaring and disconnected God.  He intimately cares about the things that concern us.  Jesus said as much in the Sermon on the Mount.  And so we can look beyond our present situation into eternity and be reminded that ours is a living hope because we have faith in a living Christ.

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Recorded at Hudson UMC on May 21, 2023

S.D.G.

Sermon #305

The Ascension of the Lord is a day on the Church calendar that is every bit as important as Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. Why? Because our belief in the ascension (which we affirm every time we recite the Apostles Creed) is what informs our faith that Jesus Christ is alive today and seated at the right hand of God the Father. We have an advocate who is fully man - identifying with us - and fully God - identifying with and of the same will as the Father. There is great promise in this. And so we look at Luke's two accounts of the Ascension, in his Gospel account and in the book of Acts, and we find that belief in the Ascension is every bit as critical as belief in the Resurrection, the virgin birth, and the substitutionary atonement of Christ.

Luke 24:44-53/Acts 1:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 24, 2020 (Originally published May 25, 2020)

S.D.G.

May 21, 2023

First Lesson: Acts 1:6-14

Psalter: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

Epistle Lesson: 1 Peter 4:2-14, 5:6-11

Gospel Lesson: John 17:1-11

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.

Sermon #226

Continuing with our "Becoming" series, today we look at how we become one with each other. There are many churches, many different denominations, many different interpretations of God's word, and yet we are all one body of Christ. How is that possible? The common thread that links us together is the Holy Spirit, which dwells in each of us when we are born again. And being indwelt by God's Spirit is not a small thing. Without God's Spirit, we do not know Jesus as savior. The world does not see him as such, and in fact cannot because the world does not have the Spirit of God. And so it is the Holy Spirit which draws us together and makes us one with each other.

John 14:15-21

Recorded at Hudson UMC on May 21, 2017 (Originally published May 22, 2020)

S.D.G.

May 18, 2023

First Lesson: Acts 1:1-11

Psalter: Psalm 47

Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 1:15-23

Gospel Lesson: Luke 24:44-53

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 #57

As Methodists, we believe in a triune or trinitarian God - one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But even though we spend a great deal of time dwelling on and studying the nature of God the Father and God the Son in Jesus Christ, we tend to neglect the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost as some know Him. Yet He is the person of God that dwells in us and with us, who Jesus promised to give to us so that we would not have to face our fears and trials alone. The Holy Spirit instructs us and draws us together as one. From today's reading in John chapter 14, we learn from Christ who this Holy Spirit is, that He is not a disembodied force but an advocate and counselor for us all.

John 14:15-21

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 25, 2014 (Originally published May 20, 2020)

S.D.G.

Sermon #552

As Christians, we understand that the Great Commission tells us to go make disciples of all nations, but how do we do that?  We do it by our witness.  Peter, writing to the persecuted church, says that when we are abused for the name of Christ, that is our powerful witness, but only if we do not repay evil for evil.  Ultimately, he points to Christ as our example, for he suffered in silence on our behalf, and so our witness is made more powerful when we suffer for Christ with meekness and humility.  

But more than that, Peter calls upon us to always be ready to give a defense for the hope within us, with gentleness and reverence.  Our witness is more than just our actions, although it is that.  It is also our words, and we as Christians ought to always have a ready answer to the question, "Why are you a Christian?"

1 Peter 3:13-22

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 14, 2023

S.D.G.