Listen to past Sermons.

November 19, 2023

(Our apologies for the poor sound quality of this sermon due to technical problems we experienced.)

Colossians 3:12-17 — We are God’s chosen, holy, and dearly loved people. As such we must put on the clothes of his holy people. These are the community-concerned, pro-community practices; the practices that result from the virtues of our new selves in Jesus Christ. We practice these in and for the community. To put on and practice these virtues we must let the peace of Christ rule our hearts and His Word dwell richly in and among us. This produces thanksgiving and worship as we offer all of our lives, everything we do, as a living sacrifice to God.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. The following commentaries served as important sources for this sermon: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters; and R. Kent Hughes, Colossians & Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ.

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November 12, 2023

Colossians 3:5-11 — We must put to death sinful sexuality and sensuality, evil and sinful attitudes and speech, and deception (lies). We must do so because we are new creations, living in new relationships in new communities of God’s people. Here, in the new self and in the new community, all traditional and worldly human distinctions are abolished. They do not matter anymore because Christ is all and in all. He is the Lord of all. He is present and active in everyone giving new life to us and our community. We are being transformed into Christ’s image, who is the full image of God, and so God’s image is restored in us.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. The following commentaries served as important sources for this sermon: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters; and R. Kent Hughes, Colossians & Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ.

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November 5, 2023

Mt 4:17-25; 9:9-13,35-10:8; Mt 28:18-20; Lk 7:33-35; 1 Peter 2:11-12 — To be Christ-centered is to be Community-concerned. As Jesus’ apprentices we are with Him, become like Him, and do what He did. Jesus sends us to continue his kingdom mission and work. We proclaim the gospel of God’s kingdom in word and deed. We are the living community of God’s people in this world who know God and make God known. We are the Body of Christ, His hands and feet doing his work. We are the children of the light and through us, the true Light of the world shines his love into the world.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. From here on credit is also given to the following: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren; Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik & Elyse Fitzpatrick; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. Also, Comer’s podcasts on Practicing the Way and the resources from his website, https://www.practicingtheway.org.

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October 29, 2023

John 14:15-15:11 — Jesus calls us, “Come and follow me.” He calls us to be his apprentices to learn from Him how to live his life to the full. As apprentices, our goal is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. How? By abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ we learn to live in a constant state of awareness and connection to the Spirit. How? We practice the practices Jesus did. These are the spiritual disciplines also called the Rule of Life. We must radically rearrange and reorient our lives so that we practice the Sabbath, solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, study, and meditate on God’s Word, serving others, and doing all this in community. With these practices we keep God before our minds and hear his voice; we are being transformed into the image of the Son; and we experience the love and power of God the Spirit. This is the easy yoke, that, when we put it on with Jesus, makes the kingdom life possible here and now.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. From here on credit is also given to the following: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren; Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik & Elyse Fitzpatrick; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. Also, Comer’s podcasts on Practicing the Way and the resources from his website, https://www.practicingtheway.org.

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October 22, 2023

John 14:15-15:11 — Jesus calls us, “Come and follow me.” He calls us to be his apprentices to learn from Him how to live his life to the full. As apprentices, our goal is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. How? By abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ we learn to live in a constant state of awareness and connection to the Spirit. How? We practice the practices Jesus did. These are the spiritual disciplines also called the Rule of Life. We must radically rearrange and reorient our lives so that we practice the Sabbath, solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, study, and meditate on God’s Word, serving others, and doing all this in community. With these practices we keep God before our minds and hear his voice; we are being transformed into the image of the Son; and we experience the love and power of God the Spirit. This is the easy yoke, that, when we put it on with Jesus, makes the kingdom life possible here and now.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines. From here on credit is also given to the following: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren; Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik & Elyse Fitzpatrick; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. Also, Comer’s podcasts on Practicing the Way and the resources from his website, https://www.practicingtheway.org.

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October 15, 2023

Col. 3:1-4,10, then Mt 11:28-30; 28:18-20; Eph 4:12-14 — To live Christ-centered lives we must become Jesus’ disciples, that is, students. We must become His apprentices to learn from Him how to live the kingdom life and how to become perfect like Christ; how to hear and do His Word, and to know and practice his life.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines.

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October 8, 2023

Col. 3:5-11; Luke 9:23-25; 14:26-27; Mt. 10:37-39; Ps. 46:10; Jer. 18:1-10 — Let go of self and the world, and hold on, cling to Jesus. Dying to self and following Jesus is the only way to become his students, the only way to learn from Him to be like Him, and how to live the kingdom life. Dying to self we surrender all and let God be God in our lives. Let God, the Potter, mold and shape us, the clay. Be still and know that I am God.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions? Credit is given to the following sources that informed and were used in this series: Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart & The Spirit of the Disciplines.

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October 1, 2023

Col. 3:1-11; Rom. 1:18-32; 3:10-18 — To be Christ-Centered and become like Christ we must let go and surrender all to God and let God be God in our lives. However, for that to happen we must first recognize and acknowledge the lost and ruined state of our souls; the radical evil and sin in us and the world, that is, self-worship and self-idolatry, wanting to be gods ourselves in the place of God. The first step in letting go and total surrender is do deny self, die to self, take up our crosses and follow Jesus.

This is part of our series, Christ-Centered, Community-Concerned, exploring our church’s mission-vision statement in light of the book of Colossians. What does this mean and what does it look like in our personal daily lives and in our church life and ministries? How does this shape our thoughts, minds, attitudes, words, and actions?

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