Sermon: Why We Need Each Other

In this message I was stressing how biblical Christianity's emphasis on community cuts against the grain of the rugged individualism our culture has brain-washed us into craving and cherishing. In this message I was attempting to highlight why we need each other. God made us not as independent but as interdependent beings. At various points during the message I confess my own tendency toward "do-it-yourselfism." I also try to highlight how having people with me at low points in my life has made a world of difference in how I came through those trials.

Check out the message by clicking on the link below and, as always, share your thoughts, questions, etc.: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=49

Sermon: The Fingerprint of Christ

Whenever Easter rolls around, I try my best to tell the old familiar story in a new and unique kind of way. This year my text was John 20:31-38 (the Doubting Thomas story) and I used some detective props, including a magnifying glass and fingerprinting kit, to go on a search for evidence that Jesus is alive. We looked at some historical evidence that Jesus is alive. I suggested that there is present evidence as well; this present evidence is the fingerprint of Christ that shows up on the lives of those who, like the apostle Thomas, make Jesus "Lord and God."

I concluded by noting that there is really only one way to know for sure that Jesus lives. When we make Him Lord of our lives, the center around which everything revolves, we will dust for fingerprints on our lives and Christ's print will appear all over us. When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, we will know for sure that He lives because His print will begin to show up all over our lives in how we love others, etc.

Check out the sermon and feel free to add your insights and questions to this post. Here is the link to the message: http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=48

Sermon: When God Doesn't Meet Our Expectations

This Palm Sunday message was aimed at revealing how God doesn't meet our expectations but often exceeds them. The same Palm Sunday crowd who was praising Jesus as he entered Jerusalem was pretty much the same crowd who on Good Friday yelled out about Jesus "crucify Him." And why did they have such a change of heart? Because Jesus did not meet their Messianic expectations. They expected Jesus to lead them in a rebellion against Rome so that the Jews would be in power again. But Jesus did not meet their political, military, or economic expectations. On Good Friday he stood before them beaten, bloody and bruised. He looked too weak to be the warrior Messiah they expected. Many abandoned Jesus at this point because he did not meet their expectations.

Although Jesus does not always meet our expectations, if we can hang on to him beyond the Good Friday death of our expectations we may experience him exceeding our expectations on the Easter Sundays of life. Clink on the following link to listen to the sermon. Please feel free to comment, disagree, ask questions, etc. Here is the link:
http://www.stroudsburgwesleyan.org/index.php?page=audio_sermons2&audio_id=47