Sermons on Christian Living

Sermons on Christian Living

TOUGH QUESTIONS: How can you say there is only one true faith?

Ephesians 4:1-6 — A variety of influences have converged in our nation over the past century, fundamentally altering how people perceive truth. We live in a culture that now believes individuals must be allowed to interpret truth against the shifting and unique circumstances of their lives. Today, truth often comes prefixed with possessive pronouns – “my truth,” “your truth,” “their truth,” etc. Against that backdrop, Christianity’s claim that “Jesus rightly demands the allegiance of every human being – regardless of…

Followers of God

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 A key to a great game is clear rules all players commit to following. But for there to be enjoyment, there needs to be a commitment to the one enforcing the rules. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses recaps God’s rules and laws for Israel. Moses calls Israel to remember God the Law-giver who is a fearful presence and consuming power. He is to be taken seriously. Yet, this fearful and consuming God can be followed. Those who seek to…

Tough Questions: Ancient Answers for Modern Questions

Paul makes a bold assertion about the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – the Bible offers instruction in “righteousness” for all people, places, and times. However, his claim raises a crucial question – how does an ancient book offer relevant guidance for people living in a time and culture far removed from the one that birthed the Bible? This lesson introduces a series examining some of the challenges confronting Christians that raise tough questions about things like the reality of suffering, the complexity of sexuality,…

Lest We Forget

Deuteronomy 8:11-18 We learn very little by hearing something only once. How many times do you need to hear a name before that name sticks? In Deuteronomy, Moses does a very simple yet profound thing: He repeats what God has already said while urging listeners to remember and walk faithfully. Do what you’ve already learned! An entire generation of Israelites knew the right way to the Promised Land but chose to not act on that knowledge. As a result, their…

A Covenant of Salt: The Grain Offering

Leviticus opens with three chapters detailing instructions for three offerings central to the problem driving the book’s content – how will God manage His covenant with rebellious Israel? While the placement (and idea of sacrifices and offerings) might seem dull and antiquated to us, the first-place position of the offerings in the book and the amount of space dedicated to them indicates their importance in understanding God’s relationship with Israel. The purposes God gave to those offerings not only offered Israel…

God’s Deacon

Romans 13:1-7 Christians think differently from the world. Their different thinking requires respect for and submission to legitimate authority. God knows we need order, not chaos. Living with God’s eternal hope means thinking Biblically and wisely about the authorities and governments God has instituted. A Christian’s response to earthly kings reflects how we submit to the King of kings. Whether authority is in the form of a parent, church elder, or civil ruler, all authority is from God. Everyone submits…

Kingdom Emotions: Joy and Anger

James 1:2-3, 19-20 — We live in a consumerist culture in which joy has become bound to the products and services promoted by marketers and influencers. At the same time, we live in a culture where outrage has become the expected response to a growing list of offenses. No matter how we feel about our culture’s values, its influence shapes us. That shaping complicates the already challenging balance between joy and anger. This lesson, which considers the place of joy…

Kingdom Emotions: Peace and Worry

Matthew 6:19-33 — God designed the world to be a place of abundance and blessing. However, we encounter scarcity, pain, and death in the world. Those shared experiences remind us that the world contains dangers that can tempt us to foreground those risks over God. Against that backdrop, Paul instructed the Philippians to “not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6). Yet, in the same letter, he also wrote about his “anxiety for all the churches” (Philippians 2:20). How then do we…

Good at Being a Woman

Reading: Genesis 2:23 In Genesis 2:23, Adam praises God’s creation of woman. He sees in her the ability to take the good he gives and make it grow and flourish. When she is good at being what God made her to be, this brings glory to God the Creator. If men build a house by their strength, women in their beauty and care make it a home. “A wise woman builds up her house, but with her own hands the…

Kingdom Emotions: Lament and Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 — My phone gives me accurate, simple, and constantly updated directions to whatever destination I enter into its maps app. Its accuracy, simplicity, and adaptability to the conditions around me have made the app an essential part of my daily life. Even though I claim the Bible occupies an even more important place in my life, it does not have the features I prize in my map app – it instead possesses a sprawling complexity that, while…

Gifted to Serve God’s Mission

Romans 12:3-8 — A gift freely given must still be used according to a purpose. If you give someone a chainsaw, you expect them to build with it and not destroy. God’s free gift of grace can never be earned. Yet grace is more than a ticket to heaven. Paul says, “we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:6a). Grace is also a tool we grow in by serving His purpose. We don’t…

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Paul’s letter to the Philippians includes what might seem to us a contradictory instruction. Consider what he wrote in Philippians 2:12-13: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. While his comment ‘you work/its God working in you’ might…

Deep Waters-How Christians Relate to the Law

Romans 7:4-6 — The apostle Peter admits Paul’s writings sometimes contain things that are hard to understand. Knowing why we follow some parts of the Old Testament law and not others is one of those times.Peter warns Christians to not ignore the deep end of God’s Word. There are always those eager to distort what Scripture says.In Romans 7, Paul explains that the law points to a Law-Maker. The law serves the Maker’s purpose. Understanding this relationship helps Christians use…

WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE?

Micah 6:6-8–I have many Bibles. I buy different translations with different layouts, different size fonts, and different thicknesses of paper. Various purposes drive my purchases; I use some for reading, some for writing in, some for studying, and some for teaching. Despite those differences, all my Bibles have a common feature – they all have A LOT of pages filled with A LOT of words. English translations have, on average, 750,000 words, not including references, footnotes, and other added features (by comparison,…

Buried with Christ

Buried with Christ Romans 6:4-5 If you read the letter of Romans in one sitting, what does it teach about how the first Christians became Christian? In Romans 10:13, Paul writes to those who are already Christian. He says, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” What do you think Paul meant? Is that what these Christians had done? In Romans 6, Paul ties conversion and sanctification together as he writes about being “buried with…

Love One Another

In the book of 1 John, John wrote to Christians facing challenges from a group who separated themselves from him and the other church leaders and who denied Jesus’ identity (1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-3). Motivated by the turmoil they were creating (1 John 3:4-10), John wrote to address those Jesus-denying “antichrists” (1 John 2:18-19). His response revolves around two central messages:  “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no…

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Even though he composed them in intentionally challenging ways (cf. Matthew 13:10-17), Jesus’ parables provide insight and direction to the life of those who meditate on them. We have been considering some of his parables this month to see what insights they offer us that will guide us as we navigate the hopes, heartbreaks, successes, and failures we will encounter in the coming year. We have considered the following parables this month: ¨ The parable of the weeds – even though we…

Parable of the Friend at Midnight

Storytelling holds an essential place in speaking and writing. Good communicators draw their audience into a narrative that resonates with them, giving identity and meaning to their message and those receiving it. Even though he composed them in intentionally challenging ways (cf. Matthew 13:10-17), Jesus’ parables offer stories that can provide insight and direction to the life of those who meditate on them. We have been considering some of Jesus’ parables this month to see what insights they provide us…

Parable of the Weeds

Even though only a date in our calendars, the New Year carries weight for many people. It signals the beginning of something new that brings opportunities for change, renewal, and the potential for countless (good) things. However, our culture has married a cynicism to its anticipation of the New Year. How often do you hear people joking about New Year resolutions, making light of peoples’ intentions and their failure to accomplish them?  We are beginning a New Year, and I…