Messages with tag - jesus

Miracles are hard to believe in our secular age. We are trained to be skeptics, to view the world as a closed and often cold system. If God ever existed, he left us long ago, thinks the skeptic. But Jesus gives us a glimpse of "God with us" and engaged in powerful acts of healing, restoring, and welcome. He has authority over nature, demons, sin, and death. These are evidences he is Messiah, Son of God. And we should let the evidence address our inner skeptic, so we see the world buzzing with divine life.

I love America, but out political discourse has become deplorable. Negative polarization has pushed us to extremes. Rather than listen to others and seek for common ground, we villainize those on the opposite aisle. This is sad. Worse yet, in many ways the church has traded her public witness for political power. This sermon looks at the politics of Jesus and the apostle Paul, a history of evangelical missteps, and ways we can recover our public witness as God's people.

Do not be deceived: Civil rights gains did not erase racial tensions. They have been simmering for decades, and the spotlight on police shootings has amplified tensions. Nearly one year from the anniversary of George Floyd's death, cries for equality and the end of racism persist. Meanwhile, a swell of "fragile" and "privileged" white people have begun to wonder if they are bigots or victims of reverse bigotry. In other words, our world is a mess. Fortunately, the Bible teaches that we share a common ancestry and our God loves the nations impartially. The gospel is public news for all peoples, and racial reconciliation is one evidence of the gospel at work. Indeed, we have work -- tough, messy, emotional, just work -- to do.

The topic of gender identity has taken our world by storm. It especially affects the younger generation, who has seen a meteoric rise in trans-labels. State laws and recent executive moves have helped cement transgender identity into everyday life. So how should Christians respond? Well, simply put, with compassion and conviction. This sermon defines terms, outlines social implications, and looks at Genesis and Jesus to reaffirm the good, orderly, essential creation of male and female. It also accounts for gender identities that don't fit. Four biblical insights and Christians postures conclude the message.

Several Psalms point toward the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Psalm 118 plays a pivotal role in Jesus's Passion Week. The crowd sings it when he enters Jerusalem. He quotes when he tells a story. The disciples sing it after the Passover meal. This Psalm provides three dominant metaphors for God's people. We are exiles, pilgrims, and rejects. This describes the experience of many Christians in our secular age. Fortunately, these images do not get the last word. We are also redeemed by the rejected Savior. In this we rejoice.