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: The Temptation of Jesus | Luke 4:1-13
Please listen to or watch Terry Iles‘s sermon on the temptation of Jesus. You can download his sermon notes by clicking “Save” then “PDF.” Full Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or the sermon on YouTube. Sermon Slides
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.…
The Certain Gospel: Is Jesus Fake News? | Luke 1:1-4
Fake news… What’s the difference between news that is real and news that is fake? And if you were put to the test to determine what news actually happened, would you get it right? Today, I’d like to put you to that test. I want to show you some headlines and for you to guess if they’re real or fake. “Gatorade banned and fined $300k for bad-mouthing water.” Do you think this is true or fake? This is actually true…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for Us | John 17:20-26
Do any of you have friends who have an in-home camera? You can buy some of them that connect to an app on your phone. I want you to imagine for a moment that on Black Friday you purchased the SpaceTime 2000 NestCam with a crystal clear picture and audio feed. You install it in the ceiling-corner of your dining room. It works great, but one day when you tune to check in on Fido, you see a different scene.…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for His Disciples | John 17:6-19
One of the things Monica and I encourage engaged couples to do when we’re going through pre-marital counseling with them is to make a last will and testament after they get married. Now that’s kind of morbid, right? You’re about to get married! But you also may die… We’re not saying they should see a lawyer on their Honeymoon, but for sure in the first 2-3 years of marriage. Please click “Save” then “PDF” to download a copy of the…
How He Prayed: He Prayed for Glory | John 17:1-5
Tonight we’re starting a three-week sermon series called How He Prayed. We’re looking at how Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 as a model for how we can pray. John 17 is known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. A priest is someone who acts as an intermediary between God and people. So as Jesus prays this passage, we can also learn how to go before God on behalf of ourselves and others. Please click “Save” then “PDF” to…