Luke 13: 22 - 35
I "Must" #3-- How Long Must I Be With You?
This is the Sermon preached by Pastor Graham on May 21st
Life WITH God, not just FOR God - Emmanuel - God WITH Us#2
Summary - One way we choose to live that misses life with God is living life for God. The older son in Jesus' parable of the lost son is the poster child for living life this way. Obedience, performance, fulfilling your responsibilities as the foundation for relationship with God, instead of living in the presence of and with our Father who loves us... no matter what. When we receive that love, we will be motivated and empowered to then live for God, but not as the foundation of our lives.
Life WITH God, not just FROM God - Emmanuel, God WITH Us Series #1
One of the names\titles associated with Jesus and Christmas is Emmanuel, which means God with us. Jesus came to bring us life with God, not just a life from God. An example of life from God is the younger son in Jesus' parable of the lost or prodigal son. This son didn't want relationship with his father, but just wanted what he could receive from his father. God wants more for us than this.
Upside Down Entrance: Upside Down Messiah #1 Series
Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem was planned. Jesus intended for people to see Him as a King who came in peace, as a fulfillment of the covenant promises of God. Yet, Jesus was not exactly the kind of king the people expected. He claimed creation would cry out with injustice if the people didn't celebrate Him as the King, yet He wasn't coming to destroy the Roman occupiers. He came and wept over Jerusalem knowing how many were going to reject Him as their true King and the cost they would pay because of it. Not the kind of Messiah they expected at all.
To Whom Are You Apprenticing Yourself? - Basic Practices #1
The early church devoted themselves to a set of basic practices that helped them fulfill Jesus' Great Commission and Great Commandment. While we live in a different culture and can't do things exactly as the early church did, we can still engage in the same practices, the first in our series being devotion to the teaching of the apostles. To apprentice ourselves to Jesus requires we know His teaching.
Direction, not intention, is what matters
Knowing our identity in Christ and personal vision from God isn’t enough to see these made manifest in our lives. It also requires our taking steps to live these out. Good intentions will not get us to the positive destinations we want in our life. Following Jesus requires effort on our part to turn our intentions into steps that will lead us in the direction of His Kingdom.
Know Your Identity
O Holy Night
O Holy Night was a favourite Christmas song by the abolitionist movement because of it’s 3rd verse speaking of God’s command to love and God’s heart to break the chains of the oppressed. This theme resonates with Mary’s song found in Luke 1. Mary saw God was at work on not only her behalf, but for all people oppressed by others. With the announcement of the Messiah being born, Mary saw God as faithful Saviour.
Grace Hunts Us Down, Grace series #6
God’s grace shows clearly when we see it given to those who no one else would choose to love or invite into relationship. No one would have expected God to choose a pagan woman to be great-grandmother to Israel’s greatest king, nor that king be a murderer and adulterer and still called a man after God’s own heart. Both Ruth and David had the quality of humility and so accepted God’s invitation to relationship. We see in these two individuals that God’s love looks to hunt us down so we will see and invite Him to be the hero of our story too.