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An Unconventional, No-Apologies Exposition of God’s Grace from an Evangelical-Methodist Point of View
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Sermon #344
In today's lesson from Jude, we are shown how we can determine if modern interpretive "revelation" is from God, and whether we should believe it or not. We are also shown, in the contrary behavior of the "dreamers" of Jude's time, what we are not to do, and given practical application as to what sort of behavior that we, as Christians, ought to engage in instead. Though written nearly 2,000 years ago, Jude's letter still holds true and offers us wisdom we can apply in our own lives, and this is true of the entirety of the Bible itself.
Jude 8-11
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 7, 2019 (Originally published July 10, 2019)
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
Sermon #508
Today in our series "Prophet Margins" we begin by looking at the life of Hosea, who was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel just prior to the Assyrian exile. God used the life of Hosea as an illustration of God's relationship with His bride, Israel. Hosea was to marry a prostitute and to name his children prophetic names that would point to the exile. Ultimately, Hosea's wife Gomer would be unfaithful to him and leave him, just as Israel has done to God. But Hosea would do something remarkable, in that he would purchase his wife's life back from the man to whom she owed a debt. Despite her infidelity he would continue to show her love, and that is what God did for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Hosea 1:1-11
Recorded at Hudson UMC on July 24, 2022
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
August 14, 2022
Old Testament: Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalter: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:49-56
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 Aug 12, 2022
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Sermon #353
Welcome to Season 7 of Guerrilla Christianity! By God's grace we will continue to proclaim the good news to a world in desperate need of it. As we begin our seventh season, we also continue our series based on the book of Jude. We look at the modern objection to the concept of hell that the sins we commit are not so great that they deserve eternal punishment. In verses 5 through 7 Jude gives us Old Testament examples of rebellion against God. The Israelites sinned in setting up idols in place of God. The angels sinned seeking unnatural relations with human women. Then men sinned seeking unnatural relations with angels. Is there no end to rebellion against the God that made us? We'll see how obedience to God is in fact freedom - freedom from bondage to sin and death.
Jude 5-7
Recorded at Hudson UMC on June 30, 2019 (Originally published July 4, 2019)
S.D.G.
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Sermon #342
The greatest attacks on the church of Jesus Christ come not from outside of it, but from inside. It is not the world and its pagan, Godless ways that we as Christians must battle, but false teaching from within. And so Jude, wanting to write a letter celebrating the common salvation he shares with other Christians, instead felt the urgency to fire off a letter inciting the church to "contend for the faith." In today's message we see that what Jude's audience was contending against is not so unlike the things facing modern Christians, and we look at the difference between legalism and license, and where the true Gospel of Christ falls between them.
Jude 3-4
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 23, 2019 (Originally published June 25, 2019)
S.D.G.
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Monday Aug 08, 2022
Sermon #507
As we continue our exposition of Amos' prophecy, we come to the fourth of his visions - a basket of Summer fruit. The word for Summer fruit in the Hebrew sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "the end," and so God through Amos is using a pun to declare that the end is here. The judgment of God will fall upon Israel, and yet, through it all God is using his judgment to draw the faithful to himself. What we see in God's judgment is that there is no loss of control in his emotions. God is not overtly angry or seeking revenge against his people. Instead, he uses the judgment as a way to turn the hearts of the people back to himself - and we see that God desires repentance rather than atonement.
Amos 8:1-12
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 17, 2022
S.D.G.
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
August 7, 2022
Old Testament: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Psalter: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:32-40
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.
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Sermon #341
We talk about being a Bible-believing church and that means we believe ALL the Bible is God-breathed, or inspired to be the very word of God for the church in every age. So even though the short (25-verse) letter of Jude is excluded from the Revised Common Lectionary, we are endeavoring to unpack its wisdom verse-by-verse in a Summer series titled "Practical Wisdom from Jude." Today we begin with an introduction and overview of Jude's letter and answer the questions: Who was Jude? Why do we have his letter in the Bible? and To whom was the letter written, and why? And over the course of the next several weeks we will go verse-by-verse through this letter to glean its wisdom for us today.
Jude 1-2
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 16, 2019 (Originally published June 19, 2019)
S.D.G.
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Thursday Aug 04, 2022
Sermon #506
In this Summer series we will be looking at the words of many Old Testament prophets, and today we see the words of Amos, who was not a professional prophet but a shepherd whom God called to prophecy to the northern kingdom of Israel in the time of Jeroboam II. Jeroboam was on the throne for many years and the time saw much prosperity in the kingdom, which made the call to repentance that much harder to hear. But Amos was faithful to God's calling and delivered the message as was told to him. What we see is that in times when life is easy and things are going well, we must not forget the God who has prospered us, which the people of Israel had done. And so in our current time and situation we must ask ourselves if we are giving proper due to the God who created us and gave us all things to live and prosper, or are we relying upon ourselves and worshiping the things we have made by our own hands?
Amos 7:(1-6),7-17
Recorded at Hudson UMC on July 10, 2022
S.D.G.
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Interview #14
Rev. Beth Caulfield has been on a stellar track in ministry. She had been appointed to the Bishop's cabinet on his "Dream Team," overseeing Small Groups Formation in Greater New Jersey (UMC). It seemed as though she was on a trajectory that would carry her higher to proclaim God's word to a multitude. Then suddenly, everything began to change. She received less-than-favorable appointments, even to churches where women were not accepted as clergy. She was turned down for ordination twice. In all of this her faith was tested, and ultimately prevailed. She has written a book about her journey, called "People Throw Rocks at Things That Shine: A Clergy Whistleblower's Journey." I sat down with Beth via Zoom Meetings on July 27 and we discussed her book, the problems with the UMC ordination process, and what she's been doing since - serving in the Wesley Covenant Association and recently ordained in the Global Methodist Church.
Recorded via Zoom Meetings on July 27, 2022
S.D.G.