Guerrilla Christianity

Lectionary Readings for Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B

March 10, 2024

Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9

Psalter: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 2:1-10

Gospel Lesson: John 3:14-21

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.

S2E45: What's Wrong Here? (Lent 2015)

Sermon #104

This week as we continue our Lenten journey we encounter a Jesus that we don't often see or even want to think about.  Jesus' righteous indignation at the Temple moneychangers and merchants was justified, but what was he really angry about?  We take a deeper look into the practice of sacrifice and why the moneychangers were necessary, and perhaps uncover some of the reason Jesus drove them out of the temple.  It's a powerful image that can help us understand our relationship with God today.  So Grab your Bible, turn it to John chapter 2, and prepare your heart and mind as we ask the question, "What's wrong here?"

John 2:13-22

Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 8, 2015 (Originally published April 13, 2015)

S.D.G.

S11E35: His Glory Revealed (Draw Near to God pt. 4)

Sermon #595

Psalm 19 is a gorgeous song that declares the glory of God in two ways.  First, it informs us that God's glory is revealed in his creation.  When we look at creation we can see the hand of God at work and we can know that he is greater than his creation.  Second, the psalmist informs us that God's glory is revealed more completely in his holy word - in the Law of the Lord.  Though we sinful creatures may imagine that God's law is somehow imposed upon us by a controling and unloving deity, the truth is that the law is there for our benefit, and ultimately for his glory.

Psalm 19

Recorded at Hudson UMC on March 3, 2024

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S.D.G.

S8E46: The Message of the Cross (Journey to the Cross pt. 4)

Sermon #434

We can sometimes find ourselves frustrated when sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors.  We wonder to ourselves, why don't they get it?  After all, we get it!  But Paul reminds us in his letter to the church in Corinth that those who are unsaved simply cannot understand the gospel, because it is foolishness to them.  In fact, it takes a move of the Spirit for us to finally understand what it means that we were sinners and deserving of God's wrath, but God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die the death we deserve, so that we may live forever in His name.  To the world it's nonsense.  To those of us who are saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 7, 2021 (Originally published March 8, 2021)

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S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Third Sunday in Lent, Year B

March 3, 2024

Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-17

Psalter: Psalm 19

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Gospel Lesson: John 2:13-22

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.

S2E44: Our Misdirected Hearts (Lent 2015)

Sermon #103

Jesus told us that we are to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him.  In this day and age, however, we are so far removed from crucifixion as a means of execution that we don't fully understand the weight of his words.  Today we take an in-depth look at what it means to deny ourselves, and why we need to take up our cross - our instrument of execution - daily.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Mark chapter 8, and prepare your heart and mind as we examine our misdirected hearts.

Mark 8:31-38

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 1, 2015 (Originally published March 9, 2015)

S.D.G.

S11E34: A Cry for Help (Draw Near to God pt. 3)

Sermon #594

In today's lectionary we find Psalm 22, verses 23 to 31.  But if that is all we read of this psalm we might be tempted to think that it is merely a song of praise.  Yet it is so much greater than that.  Reading through the entirety of the psalm reveals that it is a prophetic psalm that David wrote looking forward to the crucifixion of Christ.  But more than that, despite its overtures of utter desperation and complete hopelessness, it is a song of ultimate deliverance, and it makes the verses of praise at the end of the psalm that much sweeter.  God hears us when we cry out to him for help.  He may not answer in the timing that we want, but it is God's perfect timing.  And his deliverance invokes in us a sweet cry of praise and adoration.

Psalm 22

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 25, 2024

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S.D.G.

S8E45: Take Up Your Cross (Journey to the Cross pt. 3)

Sermon #433

Take up your cross.  Easy to say, hard to do.  We use phrases like "This is my cross to bear" to speak of some hardship or difficulty in our lives, something we must do.  But Jesus told his disciples that he must suffer, that he must be rejected, that he must die, and that he must rise again.  On the heels of this difficult declaration (for which Peter rebuked him), Jesus invites us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him.  What we see in today's teaching as we journey to the cross is that this is no mere thing we say we do, but Jesus offers us a choice, and it is the entirety of our lives that we choose to follow Jesus or not.

Mark 8:31-38

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 28, 2021 (Originally published March 1, 2021)

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S.D.G.

Lectionary Readings for Second Sunday in Lent, Year B

February 25, 2024

Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Psalter: Psalm 22:23-31

Epistle Lesson: Romans 4:13-25

Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:31-38

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.

S2E43: The Time is Fulfilled (Lent 2015)

Sermon #102

On this first Sunday of the Lenten season, we ask the question, why does God make us wait for things he is going to give to us?  After all, he promised the coming messiah through his prophets and then made the people of Israel wait over seven hundred years.  In today's lesson, we get a better understanding of what it means to be in the fullness of time, and how God's timing, while seemingly long to us, is perfect for God's purpose.  So grab your Bible, turn it to Mark chapter 1, and prepare your heart and mind as we hear the good news, The Time is Fulfilled.

Mark 1:9-15

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 22, 2015 (Originally published February 23, 2015)

S.D.G.