19.5K
Downloads
895
Episodes
An Unconventional, No-Apologies Exposition of God’s Grace from an Evangelical-Methodist Point of View
Episodes
Sunday May 19, 2024
Sunday May 19, 2024
May 19, 2024
First Lesson: Acts 2:1-21
Psalter: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Epistle Lesson: Romans 8:22-27
Gospel Lesson: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
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.
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sermon #445
Since Easter Sunday we have been looking at what it means to live life in light of the resurrection of Christ. Today in a summary message, delivered on Ascension Sunday, in looking at Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, we are examining several different markers of the Christian life. What is it that distinguishes us from the rest of the world? Paul mentions six different markers of the Christian life, given to us through the Holy Spirit, and made available for us because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, God offers to us the power he showed in the raising of Christ from the dead. When we repent of our sin and trust in Christ alone for our salvation, God offers to us eternal life in Jesus' name.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 16, 2021 (Originally published on June 23, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
May 12, 2024
First Lesson: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalter: Psalm 1
Epistle Lesson: 1 John 5:9-13
Gospel Lesson: John 17:6-19
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.
Monday May 06, 2024
Monday May 06, 2024
Sermon #604
We've been learning about agape which is a transcendent and perfect Godly love. While 1 Corinthians 13 may be known as the "Love Chapter" of the Bible, this chapter before us uses the word "agape" in some form 29 times. That's over 1/5 of all the uses in the entire New Testament. And if John is using the word so frequently, we ought to look to see what John is saying. In this 15-verse passage, John shows us how agape comes from God, how we can know God through agape, and how we can know we are saved because of God's agape love in us.
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 28, 2024
Watch on YouTube
S.D.G.
Sunday May 05, 2024
Sunday May 05, 2024
Sermon #444
When we claim victory over something or someone, we are establishing complete dominance over that thing or person. Just as the allied forces claimed victory over Germany and Italy on May 8, 1945, so Jesus also claimed victory over sin and death in the resurrection. And we who confess that Jesus Christ is the very Son of God can also claim that victory. By allying ourselves with the victor, we also become with Jesus the sons and daughters of God, reborn as it were in the Spirit of God.
1 John 5:1-6
Recorded at Hudson UMC on May 9, 2021 (Originally published May 21, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday May 05, 2024
Sunday May 05, 2024
May 5, 2024
First Lesson: Acts 10:44-48
Psalter: Psalm 98
Epistle Lesson: 1 John 5:1-6
Gospel Lesson: John 15:9-17
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.
Thursday May 02, 2024
Thursday May 02, 2024
Sermon #603
I saw a meme on Facebook this week that put forth the notion that religion is defined by what we hate. Yet if we learn anything from John's first epistle, it is that the central theme of Christianity is love, and not just any kind of love, but agape love. The word "agape" means a higher form of love, a godly love, a transcendent love that is sacrificial and puts others before us. And so Jesus commands us to love God, to love one another, to love our neighbor, even to love our enemies. But do we see that in the world? Is the aforementioned meme that far off from what is portrayed in the media concerning Christianity? If we are to truly be followers of Christ we need to let our love be on full display both by what we do and by what we say - in other words, in our deeds and in the truth.
Recorded at Hudson UMC on April 21, 2024
S.D.G.
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Sermon #602
It's often been said that we are all children of God, every one of us in humanity's fold. But this simply isn't true. John's gospel tells us that to those who receive Jesus, who believe on his name, God gave the right to become sons and daughters. So how can we know if we are truly regenerated, reborn into the family of God, adopted as sons and daughters of God? It is through our association with God's attributes, especially his righteousness. Apart from Christ we cannot practice righteousness, but only practice sin. But once we are adopted, we practice righteousness, though we may still fall to sin. We wonder if we have lost our salvation because we dip our toes into the pool of unrighteousness, but God's word assures us that it's those who practice lawlessness as a general rule that are lost.
1 John 2:28-3:10
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 14, 2024
S.D.G.
Sunday Apr 28, 2024
Sunday Apr 28, 2024
Sermon #443
The Greek word "agape" describes a higher form of love. It is a love that is completely selfless and giving, expecting nothing in return, and it is the kind of love that God shows to us in Jesus Christ. Since agape is a Godly form of love, it stands to reason that the world at large does not and cannot conceptualize this kind of love. Homer used the word only ten times in his writings; Euripides only thrice. Yet the word "agape" appears in the New Testament 320 times, and 27 times it appears in this short passage from John's letter. It seems important to the apostles and to Jesus, and so agape ought to be important to contemporary followers of Christ as well.
1 John 4:7-21
Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on May 2, 2021 (Originally published May 17, 2021)
S.D.G.
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
Sunday Apr 21, 2024
Sermon #442
Those who experienced the resurrection first-hand (the apostles, and the many eyewitnesses to Jesus' resurrection as reported by Paul) had a certain boldness to their evangelism. After all, they had seen the resurrected Jesus in the flesh. We who have received their eyewitness accounts can also experience this boldness when it comes to conviction of sin. While the Spirit within us convicts us of sin when we give into temptation, God's Spirit never condemns us - that condemnation was poured out on Jesus at the cross in our place. So we have boldness before God because our hearts do not condemn us. This is what John teaches us in his letter today.
1 John 3:16-24
Recorded at Hudson UMC on April 25, 2021 (Originally published on May 4, 2021)
S.D.G.