Priests in Exile: Representing God in a Foreign Land
1 Peter 2:9-12 – As we enter the final movement of our 2025 theme, we are turning our attention to connecting to the community. This journey began by rooting ourselves in Jesus, then growing together in fellowship, and now leads us outward into the world around us. But this is more than outreach or programs; it’s about living as a nation of priests, embodying God’s mission of reconciliation and restoration in our everyday lives. From Abraham to Israel, from Jesus…
The Big Story: Jesus the Royal Priest
(Zechariah 6:9-13) – Although familiar, our nation’s embrace of democracy and Protestantism makes the roles of kings and priests an abstraction rather than a lived reality. Additionally, the veneers of contemporary politics and religious traditions have shifted those roles so that our experience of such leaders today does not quite align with the Bible’s portrait of kings and priests. While we might consider the positions necessary to administer a population, the Bible reveals they originated for different reasons – God…
The Big Story
Exodus 19:5-6 – Mediation/arbitration offers individuals and businesses experiencing conflict a government-regulated path to resolution that hopefully avoids the costs, delays, and publicity associated with the courts. Professional standards and clear expectations, incentivized by the benefits of mediation and arbitration, contribute to the industry’s reported success rate of 70-80%. But we are not the first society to recognize the value of mediation/arbitration. For example, Job lamented that he had “no arbiter between” himself and God, someone who could “lay his…
A Promise to Bless
Genesis 18:17-19 – This lesson marks the beginning of a series exploring the third part of the year’s theme – connecting the 151st church family to Jesus, to one another, and its community. This month, we will introduce the theme by considering the Bible’s overarching story of God’s plan to reconcile with rebellious humans, a plan introduced through God’s promise to Abraham. God’s promise revealed His intention to bless the world through a human who acts righteously and justly, a…
The Walk of Unity
Ephesians 5:15-16-Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians by describing God’s plan to unite all things, “things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:1-10). God accomplishes His unity-focused plan through Jesus, to whom He entrusts rule and to whom He gives the church as a body through which Jesus can exercise his authority (Ephesians 1:11-23). However, the church is more than a vehicle for Jesus to implement his rule on earth; the transformed and united people operating in the world…
A Unity Way of Life
God created a world characterized by harmony and life and entrusted it to humans, who perverted it into a place filled with division and death (Genesis 1-11). God responded to humanity’s dereliction with “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). Paul writes about that plan in his letter to the Ephesian Christians. In a dense and compact message, Paul explains the church’s place in God’s Jesus-centered…
God, Fathers, and Us
EPHESIANS 6:4 — A 2022-23 Pew Research Center Poll noted that only 34% of Americans trust one another. While we might lament declining levels of trust in our society, we understand it – we assume people operate out of self-interest that motivates them to devalue others. That spreading assumption stands in contrast to God’s intentions for human relationships. God created humans to be relational beings who live in committed relationships with one another and with Him (Genesis 2:18-25; Deuteronomy 10:12-16). However, living…
A NEW, UNITED HUMANITY
Ephesians 2:11-22 — A crisis drives all good stories. It incites action that moves its characters forward to the resolution of the plot it creates. A crisis also drives the Bible’s story – the humans God created to rule His creation through unity with Him and one another rebelled against His plan, filling His world with division and death instead of harmony and life (Genesis 1-11). God responded to that dilemma with a promise to resolve it through a faithful human,…
God’s Plan for Unity
Ephesians 1:3-10 — From the very beginning, God’s plan has always been about unity: between humanity and Himself, among people, and even with creation. In Eden, everything was whole and connected. But once sin entered the story, that unity was broken. Last month, we studied how deeply Jesus longed for His followers to be one, just as He and the Father are one. But that kind of unity doesn’t happen by accident. It begins with abiding in Jesus, staying connected…
Abiding in Jesus Looks Like Forgiveness
Matthew 18:21-35–We have been using a theme selected by our deacons as the framework for our sermon series this year – connecting the 151st church family to Jesus, one another, and its community. Last month, we began exploring the “to one another” part of the theme. We noted God’s relationship-centered plan for humanity and humanity’s rejection of God’s plan in favor of its self-centered will. Humanity’s rejection of God’s plan fractured the relationship He intended humans to enjoy, resulting in spreading division. However,…
Abiding in Jesus Looks Like Selflessness
Philippians 2:3-8 — Last week, we talked about one of the most recognizable fruits of abiding in Jesus: love. This week, we turn our focus to another essential fruit: selflessness. In a world that often praises self-promotion, independence, and personal gain, Jesus calls us to something radically different. Through His words, His actions, and ultimately His sacrifice, Jesus demonstrates that a life rooted in Him is a life marked by humility and service. To abide in Jesus means to become…
Abiding in Jesus Looks Like a Mother’s Love
Each year, we celebrate Mother’s Day, a holiday created to honor mothers and their influence in our society. Good reason motivates the holiday – mothers, generally, possess a deep and sacrificial love for their families. The strength of the responses to a mother’s love evidences its power. For example, a mother’s love solicits the love and devotion of their family, while its absence can engender equally deep animosities toward mothers who fail to possess the characteristics we instinctively expect. Given…
That They May Be One
John 17:20-26 — We have been using a theme selected by our deacons as the framework for our sermon series this year – connecting the 151st church family to Jesus, one another, and its community. Last month, we began exploring the “to one another” part of the theme. We noted God’s relationship-centered plan for humanity and humanity’s rejection of God’s plan in favor of its self-centered will. Humanity’s rejection of God’s plan fractured the relationship He intended humans to enjoy,…
Division at Babel
Genesis 11:1-9 — We have been using a theme selected by our deacons as the framework for our sermon series this year – connecting the 151st church family to Jesus, one another, and its community. Two weeks ago, we began exploring the “to one another” part of the theme. We started by noting God’s relationship-oriented plan for humanity. However, humanity rejected God’s plan to pursue its own self-centered will. Last week, we explored the story of Cain and Abel to consider the problems…
A Tale of Two Brothers
Genesis 4:8-16 — Have you ever experienced conflict in one of your relationships, maybe tension with a close friend, a falling out with a loved one, or even a rivalry with a sibling? If so, you’re not alone. Conflict, especially within families, runs deep in the human experience. In fact, the Bible is filled with stories of broken relationships, and one of the most recurring themes is Brotherly Conflict. From the earliest pages of Scripture, we see brothers in conflict;…
Two Wisdoms
James 3:13-4:3 — For many people, Genesis’ story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has become a kind of Aesop’s fable, a moralizing story cautioning people against selfishness. Like Aesop’s fables, they admire its quaint imagery of a talking snake and an apple. They acknowledge the truthfulness of the message they think it contains but do not integrate its meaning into their lives. Rather than a simple moral story, Genesis’ account of the tree of the…
Created for Relationships
Genesis 2:18 — In 1964, the Broadway musical “Funny Girl” opened and featured actress and singer Barbara Streisand in the lead role. Streisand sang the song “People” early in the play, an original piece written for the show that begins with these lines: PeoplePeople who need peopleAre the luckiest people in the world Even though the song has taken on a kitschy status in decades since its release, it still voices a truth about humanity – humans are social beings…
Rejoicing over Jesus’ Suffering
Luke 24:36-53 — Luke’s gospel carefully narrates a slowly building story showcasing Jesus’ identity as God’s promised king who will establish and rule over an unending kingdom of peace. His account reaches an unexpected climax in chapter twenty-three – the Jewish religious leaders conspire against Jesus, resulting in his brutal crucifixion by the local Roman government. However, Luke’s story does not end with Jesus’ death; he includes one more chapter that features a short account of Jesus’ resurrection, followed by…
Triumphant Tragedy
Scripture Reading: Luke 22:32-38–This morning, we continue our study through the Gospel of Luke, focusing on Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. Last week, we examined His final meal with His disciples, and now we witness the devastating turn of events—His followers believed it was the end. Jesus, whom they expected to overthrow Rome and establish His kingdom, was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Yet, what appeared to be a tragic defeat was actually the fulfillment of His mission. Luke…
Two Passover Lambs
Luke 22:7-20–Luke opens his gospel by claiming that Jesus is God’s promised Davidic king who will establish and rule over an unending kingdom. He supported his claim about Jesus by narrating a selected account of Jesus’s dramatic actions during his public ministry in Galilee. Luke’s gospel reveals that Jesus’ miraculous activity created a growing excitement about his identity and mission that reached a feverish pitch near the end of his ministry when the crowds watched his ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem…