The Certain Gospel - Luke (Page 3)

The Certain Gospel - Luke (Page 3)

The Certain Gospel: 72 Go! | Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

I want to start by talking about my job. What are pastors for? At Cornerstone, we have “roles of ministry.” We believe elders are called to lead and shepherd, deacons are called to serve the people, and the pastor is called to equip the congregation who are to engage in ministry. Our philosophy of ministry says: “Staff Equipped: We believe that Pastors are called to serve the church by equipping the believers for the work of the ministry.” This is…

The Certain Gospel: Out of Glory into Chaos | Luke 9:28-43a

Why does God take us from mountaintop worship experiences into everyday chaos? You can listen, watch, or read Mark Pender’s sermon from Luke 9:28-43a to find out why. The sermon manuscript is available by clicking “Save” and then “PDF.” Church Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube. This is Mark Pender’s first sermon at Cornerstone. Sermon Slides

The Certain Gospel: Three Life or Death Questions | Luke 9:18-27

Have you ever had to answer a question like your life depended on it? Maybe some of you have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail. King Arthur and his men are on a quest to find the Holy Grail, and they come up to the Bridge of Death, where they “must answer three questions from the bridge-keeper to pass.” The bridge-keeper, an old hermit with a scraggly beard, asks the first knight, “What… is your name?” “Sir Lancelot of…

The Certain Gospel: To Hell with the Devil! | Luke 8:26-39

Last summer we went through a series called What We Believe and Bernie preached on Satan. I’ll admit it. For some reason I was a little jealous. Well today I get to preach on Satan and demons, but now I’m not so sure that’s anything to be happy about. See, demons are dark and scary and not fun to study. One of my very first introductions to the fallen angel Satan and demons was on one of those old church…

The Certain Gospel: Faith on the Outside | Luke 7:1-10

Did you ever play sports as a kid? What’s the worst part of starting a game? Picking sides! Someone appoints team captains and they line everyone up. Then each team captain picks one kid and then another and another. And who do they always end up picking first? They pick the tallest kid or the fastest kid, definitely the most athletic kid. And when they pick them, it’s like, “High five! Yeah! We got you!” But then, all the best…

The Certain Gospel: What is the Sabbath? | Luke 6:1-11

What is the Sabbath? I want to offer you two definitions: “Biblical Sabbath is a twenty-four-hour block of time in which we stop work, enjoy rest, practice delight, and contemplate God.” The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero “Saturday; the holy day when Jewish people were commanded not to work.” Luke 1-12 For You by Mike McKinley Our first definition is more modern and explains how the Sabbath matters for us. Our second definition goes back to the original context…

The Certain Gospel: Eat, Drink, Talk | Luke 5:27-32

The first sermon I can remember on Jesus eating and drinking with sinners was at the first church-planter’s conference I attended. In March 2013, I attended the Nineveh Project, which was the  4C’s (our denomination’s) church planting conference. It was in Revere Massachusetts and I went because Monica and I had taken a class on church planting the previous summer. I met the Conference Minister Ron Hamilton there and he told me he heard Monica and I studied Westford in…

The Certain Gospel: Jesus Cares | Luke 4:14-30

Jesus cares. Jesus cares about the poor. He cares about those who live on welfare, those below the poverty line, those on Medicaid, those who will never live in Westford unless it’s in low-income housing. He cares about the rural white poor and the inner city black poor. Jesus cares about prisoners. He cares for those behind bars, not just the innocent ones, but the guilty ones too. Jesus cares for felons, for violent offenders, for white-collar criminals, for sex…

The Certain Gospel: An Ending & Beginning | Luke 2:22-3:22

Chances are this is the last sermon we’re going to hear in 2017. Next Saturday will be a whole new year, 2018. How do you feel about 2017? Did you love it? Did you like all the crazy news? Will you remember 2017 as a good year for you and your family, or a hard year? How do you feel about 2018? What kind of expectations are you setting? Are you finally going to get in shape, read your Bible,…

The Certain Gospel: A Knock on the Door | Luke 2:1-21

Last year Monica and I traveled to my hometown of Estes Park Colorado for the Holidays. It’s known for being the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. A lot of people visit there in the summer, but only about 10,000 live there year-round. Many who grow up there leave when they graduate high school. Estes doesn’t have corporate jobs. It doesn’t have a great school district. It has lots of elk and lots of tourists, nothing special ever seems to…

The Certain Gospel: Grace for Doubters | Luke 1:5-80

Have you ever noticed how two people can respond differently to the same news? “Look, free puppies!” Great news for kids. Bad news for parents. “Mom and dad, I got into my first choice of college, the expensive private one!” Great news for their child. Bad news for their bank account. “The verdict is… not guilty.” Great news for the defendant. Bad news for the plaintiff. In Luke chapter one, we read how two different people respond to similar news.…