Guerrilla Christianity

Today I wanted to give you, the listener of Guerrilla Christianity, an update on where we are as a podcast and on what's been going on behind the scenes.  Last week we only published one episode, and I feel like I owe you an explanation.  I don't like making excuses or lamenting outside circumstances that prohibit me from providing new content.  However, I do feel like any lapse in programming deserves being addressed.  So let's talk about what it means to be a part-time licensed local pastor in the UMC; what it means to be bi-vocational; what it means to have to attend Course of Study; and of course, what it takes to be an Eagles fan during football season along with everything else.  So strap in.

Recorded on October 9, 2022

S.D.G.

October 9, 2022

Old Testament: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Psalter: Psalm 66:1-12

Epistle Lesson: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Gospel Lesson: Luke 17:11-19

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.

October 2, 2022

Old Testament: Lamentations 1:1-6

Psalter: Psalm 137

Epistle Lesson: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Gospel Lesson: Luke 17:5-10

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 #356

(This series from 2019 has previously not been published)

In the week before this sermon was delivered, on Wedenesday, September 18, 2019, my sister Susan died.  She was my only sibling, and she was very young, only 44 years old.  Many people suggested that I take the week off from preaching to allow myself time to grieve.  And yet, this message is a perfect message for expressing my grief over my sister, because the text in Jeremiah is a lament over Jerusalem, over the loss of a major touchstone of life.  We as Christians often think we are not to grieve, but Paul tells us we are not to grieve as those with no hope.  We have a hope, a hope of eternal life given in Jesus Christ.  And so, while I miss my sister, I know that I will see her again in eternity.  She loved the Lord and had faith in Him for forgiveness.  But in this season of loss, there is grief.  There is lament.   

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 22, 2019 (Previously unpublished)

In memory of Susan Jane Walker

S.D.G.

Sermon #132

When we become Christians, one of the first things we learn is that Christ is the only way to God.  So it's natural that one of the first questions we ask is, what happened to people who died before Jesus was crucified?  After all, if Jesus is the only way to God, then in our minds that leaves out those who were, as Paul puts it, untimely born.  Today we will hear a story of two men, told by Jesus, and find clues that lead us to better understanding of the afterlife, and how Christ truly is the only way, and has always been.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Luke chapter 16, and prepare your heart and mind as we discover God's eternal grace.

Luke 16:19-31

Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 20, 2015 (Originally published November 5, 2015)

S.D.G.

Sermon #517

As we wrap up our short series on discipleship, we look at the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  Jesus uses this story to illustrate the danger of relying upon riches instead of the providence of God.  The entirety of the 16th chapter of Luke seems to be focused on this truth, that one's reliance upon riches - and that to the detriment of those in need - is a sin that separates us from God.  The story also illustrates the plain fact that our final destination is determined by what we do in life.  And in death, our attitude does not change.  There is no repentance in the afterlife.  

Luke 16:19-31

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 25, 2022

S.D.G.

September 25, 2022

Old Testament: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Psalter: Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

Epistle Lesson: 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Gospel Lesson: Luke 16:19-31

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.

Sermon #516

As we continue to look at what it means to be a disciple of Christ, we come to a particularly difficult passage, one of the so-called "hard sayings" of Jesus.  On the surface, it seems that Jesus may be suggesting that the disciples act dishonestly when dealing with worldly issues.  Yet when we probe deeper and look at the passage in its proper context, we see that what is in view here is to use the resources that God gives to us - which can often be colored in dishonest gain - to bring others to repentance and faith in Christ, that we may build an eternal kingdom, rather than a temporal one that we will leave behind when we die.  It is a difficult passage and a challenging message.

Luke 16:1-13

Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 19, 2022 (original September 18 recording unusable)

S.D.G.

September 18, 2022

Old Testament: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

Psalter: Psalm 79:1-9

Epistle Lesson: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Gospel Lesson: Luke 16:1-13

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 #355

(This series from 2019 has previously not been published)

When we are in a time of chaos - a natural disaster, some financial crisis - it's hard to imagine anything good coming from it.  Yet time and time again we see that destruction is not the final word for God.  Where some may see an end, God sees a beginning.  It was that way in Jeremiah's time, when the Babylonian armies were about to sweep in and destroy Jerusalem and Judah, taking the Israelites away to exile.  Yet God promised through Jeremiah that out of the chaos would come a new creation.  We see this happening in our own lives as well, and God will continue to bring creation out of chaos again.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 15, 2019 (Previously unpublished)

S.D.G.