Sermons on Faith (Page 7)
A Lost City | Acts 17:16-33
I want us to take some time this morning and think about our communities, the places where we live. I especially want us to think about Westford, the community God has placed us in. As we think about our towns, think of some of the things you really like about your community. What do you appreciate? I love Westford. It’s a beautiful town, with lots of winding roadways, big beautiful houses, land, and yet there’s also a nice modern part…
How to Listen to a Sermon | Acts 17:10-15
Sermons are boring!… Let me rephrase. Sermons can be boring. I grew up in a Baptist church in Estes Park, Colorado. The pews were, and still are, a lovely shade of orange. For a long time, I got out of having to listen to sermons regularly by helping my dad with children’s church. It was like a “get out of jail free” card. It was fantastic. At children’s church, there were plenty of club crackers, and the Gatorade was flowing.…
Strangely Comforting | Acts 15:36-16:15
In today’s text, I want to tell you about three things. I want to tell you about something I find strangely comforting, something I find oh so convicting, and something I find incredibly hopeful. In that way, it kind of reminds me of 495. I find the sound of I-495 strangely comforting. When I wake up in the morning, if I listen carefully, I can hear the white-noise buzz of 495. When I hear the cars whizzing by, the truck…
A Gracious Counterculture | Acts 15:22-35
I wrote this sermon last week on Thursday, the day after the clash at the capitol. You probably watched the news and saw the pictures of journalists and politicians taking cover. I think the image I was most startled by was of the barricaded door into the House Chamber with the five agents with their guns drawn. The glass was broken and in another picture you could see another’s man’s face on the other side of the doorway. These images…
The Battle of the Believers | Acts 15:1-21 (Jerusalem Council)
We’re going back to Acts! We actually started our series in Acts, Outward Church, a year ago. I want to take a moment to look back, because it helps us look forward. When Jesus left his disciples and ascended into heaven he gave believers a special mission, which becomes a roadmap for Acts. Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all…
A Service of Confession, Lament, Thanksgiving & Praise | Psalms 80, 12, 111, 145
Login Info Our last Sunday worship service of 2020 is at 10:30am on Zoom. Please join us online at 10:15am for a time of fellowship before the service. ID: 890 5472 7430 P: JesusGrace Introduction Welcome (pastor) Welcome to our worship service. On the last Sunday of the year, we take the opportunity to have a more interactive and participatory service at Cornerstone Congregational Church. This year we are expanding it from a time of thanksgiving and praise to also…
The Light of Christmas | Isaiah 9:2
I love Christmas lights. After Thanksgiving my wife and I decorated our front yard with Christmas lights. We actually got into a bit of a contest. She decorated the bushes on one side of the house, and I decorated the other side. Which side you think is better? That’s right. The right side! My side. Now which house do you think is better? Our house? Or this house in Wilmington that won $50,000 for their Christmas lights display? They won…
Open or Closed Heart? | Acts 13:4-12
I used to work the opening shift at Indian Village in Estes Park, Colorado. I’d get down to the store by 9am, unlock the front doors, turn on the lights, uncover the register and jewelry cabinets, and turn on the neon red and blue “open” sign. We used to just have a cardboard sign that we would flip from closed to open, but we upgraded to an LED sign. That sign stayed bright all day and it was one of…
5 Steps | Matthew 18:15-18 (Accountability & Church Discipline Sermon)
What do you do when someone you love has a runny nose? You shove a Q-tip up their nose! But before-covid, what would you do? You’d hand them a tissue. That’s it. Maybe you’d say, “Your nose is running. Here’s a tissue.” But what if they don’t want to wipe their nose? What if they don’t realize they’re sick? You could forcefully wipe their nose with a tissue, like I do with my son, who by the way, is getting…
Thank You God | Psalm 100:1-5
Do you ever just want to say “thank you”? Or as my son likes to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Today I want us to direct our hearts to the heavens and say, “Thank you! Thank you Father for what you have done for us! Thank you for what you have done for us and our families and our church!” On a Monday morning in late May 2012, Monica and I walked into a class at Gordon-Conwell Theological…
Bridges to Multiethnic Reconciliation | Acts 10:34-11:18
Last week I talked about Barriers to Multiethnic Reconciliation (i.e., personal & systemic racism, group pressure and personal vulnerability). This week I want to talk about how we can overcome those barriers by building bridges, so my sermon title this week is Bridges to Multiethnic Reconciliation. My big idea is this… Be bridge builders in a world of walls. In March 1965 several of Martin Luther King Junior’s associates, one of them Representative John Lewis who died this past summer,…
Barriers to Multiethnic Reconciliation | Acts 10:23b-43
Last week we talked about the Bible’s vision of churches working towards becoming diverse multiethnic congregations that reflects his church family in Revelation 7:9-10. Today I want to talk about the things that hinder us from doing that, barriers to unity in diversity. When we look at the New Testament, we find one of the most commonly reoccurring themes is racial tensions between Jew and Gentile. The church had to call a council in Acts 15 to deal with the…