Guerrilla Christianity

Lectionary Readings for Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19), Year B

September 12, 2021

Old Testament: Proverbs 1:20-33

Psalter: Psalm 19

Epistle Lesson: James 3:1-12

Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:27-38

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.

S3E12: The BIG Question (Deep Questions pt. 11)

Sermon #130

As we continue our Deep Questions series, the question this week deals with a topic that has been on the forefront of the media and in the minds of the church quite a bit in the past year, but it's also something that the church has dealt with for all two thousand years of its existence.  Homosexuality has become such a hot-button topic that many loving Christians will shy away from it, to the point where they will affirm the sin rather than condemn the practice.  But is there somewhere in the middle where Christ meets us, where we can acknowledge the sin and still be compassionate toward those caught in its grip?  It's a difficult question, and one that demands an answer.  So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 8, and prepare your heart and mind as we address the BIG question.

John 8:2-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 6, 2015 (Originally published October 26, 2015)

S.D.G.

S6E19: Pure Love (Purity of the Body pt. 2)

Sermon #299

Throughout the history of the Christian church there has been this tension between works and faith.  Martin Luther struggled with the notion of works of salvation because he had found no joy in doing these works when he was a Catholic monk.  Where Luther found his joy was in the simple proclamation that "the just shall live by faith."  He called the book of James "an epistle of straw," and said that its emphasis on works contradicted Paul's emphasis on salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  But as we see in today's lesson, James' epistle doesn't contradict, but rather complements Paul's writings.  We are saved through faith, true, but we are saved FOR good works, and our faith is demonstrated BY our works.  "Will you faithfully participate in the ministries of the local church by your service?"  This is our focus today in James' epistle.

Text: James 2:1-17

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on September 9, 2018 (Originally published October 24, 2018)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18), Year B

September 5, 2021

Old Testament: Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23

Psalter: Psalm 125

Epistle Lesson: James 2:1-17

Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:24-37

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.

S3E11: The Question of Creation (Deep Questions pt. 10)

Sermon #130

The question of creation often stalls at the very first chapter of Genesis: Did God create the universe and everything in it in six literal days, or is the creation account in Genesis chapter 1 merely allegorical?  And how does modern scientific understanding of the so-called Big Bang theory play into it?  Even for those of us who believe that God created the universe, there is still disagreement as to how, and what the timeline was.  But in the end, we find that the primary point is not when, or how, but that God created everything from nothing.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Genesis chapter 1, and prepare your heart and mind as we examine the question of creation.

Genesis 1,2:4-9

Recorded at Hudson UMC on August 30, 2015 (originally published October 15, 2015)

S.D.G.

S3E10: The Symbols of Easter (Deep Questions pt. 9)

Sermon #128

It has often been said, especially of late, that the Christian holidays of Easter and Christmas are polluted with pagan imagery and lore.  Today we continue our Deep Questions series by looking at the symbols of Easter, their origins, and their traditional and contemporary meaning.  We will also ask the question, if it means one thing to us today, then why does it matter what they meant thousands of years ago?  So grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 20, and prepare your heart and mind as we look at the symbols of Easter.

John 20:11-18

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 23, 2015 (Originally published October 23, 2015)

S.D.G.

S6E18: Pure Religion (Purity of the Body pt. 1)

Sermon #298

We are beginning a new series based on the general epistle of James, and we will be looking at the five promises that we make when we join the United Methodist Church... That we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the local church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.  This week we begin by asking the question, where does generosity come from?  As we are made in the image of a giving and generous God, it stands to reason that, at the heart of everyone, there is a giving and generous spirit.  That explains why even those who do not believe in God still feel a tug to give when there is need in the world.  As James points out, every good and perfect gift is from above, and so when we give, we are acting as image-bearers of God to the world.  Pure religion, then, is when we express the heart of God in all things, and give generously of the things that God has entrusted to us.

Text: James 1:17-27

Recorded at Hudson UMC on September 2, 2018 (Originally published October 10, 2018)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17), Year B

August 29, 2021

Old Testament: Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Psalter: Psalm 45:1-2,6-9

Epistle Lesson: James 1:17-27

Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

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.

S6E17: Resurrection and Eternal Life (We Believe... Pt. 13)

Sermon #296

When we affirm our faith in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, we often don't think of the fact that we as Christians are promised resurrection in THIS body.  For some of us that might give us pause, especially those of us who are older and live with the aches and pains of life.  Yet God promises us eternal life through Jesus Christ, and that means that the few years we live here on earth are eclipsed by the magnitude of the eternity that stretches out before us.  Even so, many who call themselves Christian still live for this life, and do not consider the life to come.  We wrap up our series on the Apostles' Creed with "We believe... in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:12-28

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on August 26, 2018 (Originally published October 8, 2018)

S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16), Year B

August 22, 2021

Old Testament: 1 Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43

Psalter: Psalm 84

Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 6:10-20

Gospel Lesson: John 6:56-69

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.