biblical preaching

Despite Jesus initially showing indifference and making a hurtful remark, the Canaanite woman's steadfast faith and determination ultimately bring about her daughter's healing. From this story we learn that we are called to examine our own biases and preconceptions, and to extend God's grace to everyone we encounter. The gospel's powerful message of inclusivity, challenges us to embrace and welcome others with the same love and acceptance shown by Jesus.

References:

• Map of Tyre & Sidon

• Structure of Matthew 14-15

  • Jesus Feeds the 5,000
  • Jesus Walks on Water
  • Jesus Offends the Pharisees
  • Jesus Offends the Canaanite Woman
  • Jesus Feeds the 4,000

TRANSCRIPT

Jesus warned us against greed when we taught on generosity and the over accumulation of possessions. He challenges us to prioritize being rich toward God and to live selflessly, not allowing money to hinder our spiritual growth. Instead, he prompts us to embrace the tension, constantly questioning, "Could I be more generous?"

Jesus warned us against greed when we taught on generosity and the over accumulation of possessions. He challenges us to prioritize being rich toward God and to live selflessly, not allowing money to hinder our spiritual growth. Instead, he prompts us to embrace the tension, constantly questioning, "Could I be more generous?"

Following Jesus is an open invitation for all. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to follow Jesus, although it comes with a price and is a daily decision to become more like him.

If you have decided to follow Jesus, the question is, do you look more like Jesus today than you did yesterday? Do you look like a person who is more filled with love than you were five years ago? Does your presence resemble the joy of Jesus when you interact with other people? Put maybe a different way, when people encounter you, whether that is your spouse or your friends, or the barista, do they experience the presence of Jesus? Does his presence radiate from your being, his love and joy and kindness and generosity? Is that what people encounter when they come in contact with you? 

Do you feel a gap between these questions and your reality? What would it look like for you to step into faith and not feel the gap, but to experience more deeply the life Jesus has on offer, the life that we are all longing for, but we are somehow missing out on? What would it look like to say today to say, “Jesus, I am yours”?

References:

• "My secret is that I want to be relevant and popular.  I want my desires fulfilled and my pain minimized. I want a manageable relationship with an institution rather than messy relationships with real people. I want to be transformed into the image of Christ by showing up at entertaining events rather than through the hard work of discipline. I want to wear my face on my sleeve and not look at the darkness in my heart, and above all, I want a controllable God. I want a divine commodity to do my will on Earth as well as in heaven.” Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity 
• “I want to be generous, and I want to be rich. I want to follow Jesus and to live like a Hollywood celebrity. I want character, but I don’t want the suffering and perseverance that it takes to produce that character. I want humility, but I definitely don’t want any form of humiliation. I want patience, but I don’t want to actually wait. I want to be a person who is full of kindness, but I don’t want anyone in my life who annoys me or agitates me. I want to hear God’s voice and to experience his presence in my life, but I don’t want to actually get up early in the morning and take the time to focus on prayer. I want the life of Jesus, but I don’t want to take up the cross of Jesus." John Mark Comer

Following Jesus is an open invitation for all. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to follow Jesus, although it comes with a price and is a daily decision to become more like him.

If you have decided to follow Jesus, the question is, do you look more like Jesus today than you did yesterday? Do you look like a person who is more filled with love than you were five years ago? Does your presence resemble the joy of Jesus when you interact with other people? Put maybe a different way, when people encounter you, whether that is your spouse or your friends, or the barista, do they experience the presence of Jesus? Does his presence radiate from your being, his love and joy and kindness and generosity? Is that what people encounter when they come in contact with you? 

Do you feel a gap between these questions and your reality? What would it look like for you to step into faith and not feel the gap, but to experience more deeply the life Jesus has on offer, the life that we are all longing for, but we are somehow missing out on? What would it look like to say today to say, “Jesus, I am yours”?

References:

• "My secret is that I want to be relevant and popular.  I want my desires fulfilled and my pain minimized. I want a manageable relationship with an institution rather than messy relationships with real people. I want to be transformed into the image of Christ by showing up at entertaining events rather than through the hard work of discipline. I want to wear my face on my sleeve and not look at the darkness in my heart, and above all, I want a controllable God. I want a divine commodity to do my will on Earth as well as in heaven.” Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity 
• “I want to be generous, and I want to be rich. I want to follow Jesus and to live like a Hollywood celebrity. I want character, but I don’t want the suffering and perseverance that it takes to produce that character. I want humility, but I definitely don’t want any form of humiliation. I want patience, but I don’t want to actually wait. I want to be a person who is full of kindness, but I don’t want anyone in my life who annoys me or agitates me. I want to hear God’s voice and to experience his presence in my life, but I don’t want to actually get up early in the morning and take the time to focus on prayer. I want the life of Jesus, but I don’t want to take up the cross of Jesus." John Mark Comer

In our lives, we'll face monumental and profound losses, it feel as though we have endured falling towers, but because Jesus bore the weight of the eternal tower, none of the trials will ultimately define us or mark the end of our journey. In addition, these experiences are not a result of our faithfulness or unfaithfulness. The reason hard, tragic and evil things happen is because we live in a broken, fallen world. Jesus calls us to repent, and to realign ourselves with him. In doing this we remember that this world is not our home. Death is not the end, it's a transition point into new life.

References:

• September Twelfth, 2001 – Boston poet X.J. Kennedy
• Christopher Plummer, Sound of Music
• "To feel at home in a place, you have to have some prospect of staying there. Your life is a grain of sand on the eternal beach." Wendell Berry
• "You have nothing in and of yourself. You and I are made of clay and spit. Any holiness of ours is polluted beyond our petty comprehension. I have nothing to offer Him but a bent neck, a neck He has helped me bend. I have nothing to offer Him but filth, and He has taken it and exchanged it for blood, like wine, and his own body, broken like bread. Do you resent this world? Do you hate Him for cancer, for car wrecks and for the sudden shocking sleep of the young? Do you hate Him for those waves that break too high, for those hours when far more than six-thousand die? Do you resent your story, your height, your baldness, your itchy feet, your unstable lower intestine, the forest-fire sunsets, and your own mortality? Buy cream for your wrinkles. Whiten your teeth. Have doctors staple back your scalp until you die and decompose, and only the staples remember you. Go to Him or go to hell. Those are the only two choices, because hell will be wherever He is not." N.D. Wilson, Notes from Tilt-a-Whirl, 178

In our lives, we'll face monumental and profound losses, it feel as though we have endured falling towers, but because Jesus bore the weight of the eternal tower, none of the trials will ultimately define us or mark the end of our journey. In addition, these experiences are not a result of our faithfulness or unfaithfulness. The reason hard, tragic and evil things happen is because we live in a broken, fallen world. Jesus calls us to repent, and to realign ourselves with him. In doing this we remember that this world is not our home. Death is not the end, it's a transition point into new life.

References:

• September Twelfth, 2001 – Boston poet X.J. Kennedy
• Christopher Plummer, Sound of Music
• "To feel at home in a place, you have to have some prospect of staying there. Your life is a grain of sand on the eternal beach." Wendell Berry
• "You have nothing in and of yourself. You and I are made of clay and spit. Any holiness of ours is polluted beyond our petty comprehension. I have nothing to offer Him but a bent neck, a neck He has helped me bend. I have nothing to offer Him but filth, and He has taken it and exchanged it for blood, like wine, and his own body, broken like bread. Do you resent this world? Do you hate Him for cancer, for car wrecks and for the sudden shocking sleep of the young? Do you hate Him for those waves that break too high, for those hours when far more than six-thousand die? Do you resent your story, your height, your baldness, your itchy feet, your unstable lower intestine, the forest-fire sunsets, and your own mortality? Buy cream for your wrinkles. Whiten your teeth. Have doctors staple back your scalp until you die and decompose, and only the staples remember you. Go to Him or go to hell. Those are the only two choices, because hell will be wherever He is not." N.D. Wilson, Notes from Tilt-a-Whirl, 178

Jesus calls us to embrace compassion instead of harsh judgment, urging us to extend empathy and understanding to others. This call doesn't require us to dismiss our principles or beliefs; rather, it encourages us to uphold them with grace and humility. In doing so, we can demonstrate the profound balance of compassion and conviction that Jesus exemplified in his teachings and actions.

References:

• "Alistair Begg Meets the Politically Correct", by Russell Moore, Christianity Today
• "To Judge, or Not To Judge", sermon by Tim Mackie

Jesus calls us to embrace compassion instead of harsh judgment, urging us to extend empathy and understanding to others. This call doesn't require us to dismiss our principles or beliefs; rather, it encourages us to uphold them with grace and humility. In doing so, we can demonstrate the profound balance of compassion and conviction that Jesus exemplified in his teachings and actions.

References:

• "Alistair Begg Meets the Politically Correct", by Russell Moore, Christianity Today
• "To Judge, or Not To Judge", sermon by Tim Mackie

*Note: Due to technical difficulties, the first 3 minutes of this sermon was not recorded.

Anxiety at its core, most often refers to an incessant worry or apprehension about what is coming. It’s a fear that surrounds uncertain possibilities or outcomes and affects the way we think and behave. So, what do we do when we are overwhelmed by anxiety? As followers of Jesus how should we respond so that we can experience healing within ourselves, or alongside others?

References:

• "Stop It" Skit, Bob Newhart, Mad TV
• Waterstone Care Resources
• Passover Illustration by D.A. Carson
• “It’s not the intensity of our faith but the object of our faith that saves.” D.A. Carson, TGC President

Our anger often stems from distorted attachments and misplaced love for things that cannot truly fulfill us. When we prioritize these things above all else, any perceived threat or obstacle becomes a trigger for anger. We react fiercely when they are challenged, threatened, or fail to meet our expectations. This anger is characterized by its intensity, irrationality, and destructive potential. It harms ourselves and others, damaging relationships and hindering personal growth. The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of controlling anger and the benefits of approaching situations with patience and understanding. Anger can be a powerful tool for good and it's crucial to channel it constructively and use it for positive purposes.

References:

• The Deadly Sins/Anger; The Fascination Begins in the Mouth, by Mary Gordon, New York Times, 1993
• "If you have a god who never gets angry, you can’t have a god of love, because if you never get angry about anything, you don’t love anything." Rebecca Pippert
• "The essence of sin is disordered love." St. Augustine
• Sinning Like A Christian by William Willimon

Our anger often stems from distorted attachments and misplaced love for things that cannot truly fulfill us. When we prioritize these things above all else, any perceived threat or obstacle becomes a trigger for anger. We react fiercely when they are challenged, threatened, or fail to meet our expectations. This anger is characterized by its intensity, irrationality, and destructive potential. It harms ourselves and others, damaging relationships and hindering personal growth. The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of controlling anger and the benefits of approaching situations with patience and understanding. Anger can be a powerful tool for good and it's crucial to channel it constructively and use it for positive purposes.

References:

• The Deadly Sins/Anger; The Fascination Begins in the Mouth, by Mary Gordon, New York Times, 1993
• "If you have a god who never gets angry, you can’t have a god of love, because if you never get angry about anything, you don’t love anything." Rebecca Pippert
• "The essence of sin is disordered love." St. Augustine
• Sinning Like A Christian by William Willimon

It takes all of us. It’s not just up to parents. How can we step into the generation gap with the truth of the gospel, until the truth of the gospel becomes undeniable to the next generation?

References:

• Greatest Gen (before 1925), Silents (born 1925–1945), Boomers (1946–1964), Generation X (1965–1979), Millennials (1980–1994), Generation Z (1995–2012)
• Generational Gap Ad - Australian Lamb

• Why parents aren't to blame for the rise in teen depression, by Jean M. Twenge

• “Every Generation has trauma—not every generation has Tik-Tok.”

We've all experienced the impact of hurtful words directed at us, and often, the most harmful can be the negative self-talk we engage in. However, there comes a moment when someone enters our lives with the ability to reverse judgments and mend profound wounds in our hearts. Through Christ, God perceives us as righteous, holy, and beautiful. While the world may highlight our flaws, and we acknowledge them, God's love envelops our shortcomings, and His perspective on us is the only one that truly matters.

References:

• The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
• Air Traffic Controller's Slip of the Tongue..., NBC News article
• The Secret Life of Pronouns, by James Pennebaker

We've all experienced the impact of hurtful words directed at us, and often, the most harmful can be the negative self-talk we engage in. However, there comes a moment when someone enters our lives with the ability to reverse judgments and mend profound wounds in our hearts. Through Christ, God perceives us as righteous, holy, and beautiful. While the world may highlight our flaws, and we acknowledge them, God's love envelops our shortcomings, and His perspective on us is the only one that truly matters.

References:

• The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
• Air Traffic Controller's Slip of the Tongue..., NBC News article
• The Secret Life of Pronouns, by James Pennebaker

The most powerful "yes" often requires an equally powerful "no." So, let us walk this path together, embrace the paradox, and discover the transformative power of saying NO and saying YES to Jesus.

References:

• George Buttrick, Harvard chaplain said students would come into his office, “I don’t believe in God.” He would disarm: “Tell me what kind of God you don’t believe in. I probably don’t believe in that God either.”
• Bible App
• Lectio 365 App
• 4 Things Christians Must Reclaim, by Rebecca McLaughlin, The Gospel Coalition
• James K.A. Smith, “Of Predators and Planks,” Comment Magazine, vol. 35, no. 4, winter 2017, 6-7
• J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel, (1874), 174

• “The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely from this point of view the promise of glory become highly relevant to our deepest desire. For glory means good rapport with God, acceptance by God and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all of our lives will open at last… then our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy but the truest index of our real situation… At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door… but all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get in.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Essays, 36-37

The most powerful "yes" often requires an equally powerful "no." So, let us walk this path together, embrace the paradox, and discover the transformative power of saying NO and saying YES to Jesus.

References:

• George Buttrick, Harvard chaplain said students would come into his office, “I don’t believe in God.” He would disarm: “Tell me what kind of God you don’t believe in. I probably don’t believe in that God either.”
• Bible App
• Lectio 365 App
• 4 Things Christians Must Reclaim, by Rebecca McLaughlin, The Gospel Coalition
• James K.A. Smith, “Of Predators and Planks,” Comment Magazine, vol. 35, no. 4, winter 2017, 6-7
• J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel, (1874), 174

• “The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely from this point of view the promise of glory become highly relevant to our deepest desire. For glory means good rapport with God, acceptance by God and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all of our lives will open at last… then our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy but the truest index of our real situation… At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door… but all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get in.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Essays, 36-37

Christmas is the day that we are reminded that God is with us. It’s the day we remember that God is in the birth of a baby not born in the halls of power or into a life of luxury, but in an old barn to an unwed teen. The good news of Christmas is that God dwelt among us in the most unexpected way - and the world has never been the same.

Christmas is the day that we are reminded that God is with us. It’s the day we remember that God is in the birth of a baby not born in the halls of power or into a life of luxury, but in an old barn to an unwed teen. The good news of Christmas is that God dwelt among us in the most unexpected way - and the world has never been the same.

The invitation of the Messiah in Jesus is that we can experience change and transformation and freedom from those places in our lives, and it happens through simply surrendering ourselves to Him, but this freedom that Jesus offers, it is not just all He has come to do.  

Jesus did not come simply to liberate us from spiritual oppression or from the death and sin that we find ourselves stuck in. He has a grander mission than that. He actually came to overturn the things in this world that are wrong, to set people free within this world, not just liberation someday, but liberation now.

How do we engage in this liberation? We simply need to follow Jesus where He goes, because when you look at Jesus’ life and ministry, He always ends up going to the places where there are these people called the least, the people that most others would overlook, the people who are on the margins of society, the people who have nothing to offer the rest of the world, the people who are most desperately in need of jubilee.

The intentional effort of proximity and connection can be powerful and transformative. When we journey with those we think need us it can become a reciprocal exchange, where they bring the spirit of Jubilee to us, initiating profound changes in our lives. Following Jesus into these spaces unveils glimpses of the freedom He offers, sparking inner transformation in the process.

Sources:

• Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton