Sermons from 2020 (Page 2)
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…
It’s Time To Get Real | Matthew 7:1-5; James 4:1-3
Hurricane Sally just hit the southeast—Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. It toppled trees, flooded streets, and damaged houses. One news station reports, “More than 500,000 people have lost power.” Another estimates it will cause $2-$3 billion in damage. But did you know that termites do approximately $5 billion in damage to U.S. homes each year. Stephen Mansfield says, “Statistically termites do more damage in America than massive storms.” He adds, “Storms get the media. Termites quietly work away.” Apparently,…
Church Body | 1 Corinthians 12:21-27
Last week I introduced our new sermon series, Accountability & Discipline, and talked about why we hold each other accountable, even up to the point of church discipline. Sin is real. God is holy. And we need to take that seriously. Today I want to talk about another, very serious, part of church discipline—and that’s the church body. To kick this very important discussion off I thought we should all stand up and participate in theologically rich song. Go ahead…
But… Why? | Galatians 6:1-2
This summer my son started doing something that’s really cute. We’ll ask him to pick up his toys, or take a few more bites, or get his shoes on, and before he does any of those things he’ll ask us a question. Do you know what it is? “But… why?!” He throws his arms open wide and with the deepest look of sincerity a two-year old can muster he asks, “But… why?!” That’s probably the first question we are asking…
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…
Cultural Preferences | Acts 10:1-23 (Peter’s vision)
Today I want to start with a Scripture passage that promises how things are going to be one day. This promise comes from the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. It shows us what the final day will look like when Jesus returns. It shows us a great multitude of different kinds of people from all over the earth singing and praising God. Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV) 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no…
Life Disrupted | Acts 9:32-43
Do you all remember January 1st? It had so much promise, didn’t it? A brand new year. A brand new decade! We had New Year’s Resolutions! We had hopes and dreams for our families, our careers, and our church. And then what happened? Covid-19 happened! Covid happened and everything stopped. Life was completely disrupted. Most of the time when we think about disruption, it’s a bad thing, like the DOW dropping a thousand points or wildfires destroying half of Australia.…
The Two-Handed Gospel Mission | Luke 4:16-20
Gordon Chinamasa’s biography: I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and accepted God’s free gift of salvation in my early teens. Married to Bronwyn for 14 years and we have two daughters, Charis (10 years) and Channa (6 years). I hold a Bachelor of Theology degree from Cape Town Baptist Seminary and was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 2007. I have also received graduate seminary training at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.…
Three Life-Lessons For New Believers | Acts 9:19b-31
For me one of the most exciting things in life is to see someone new come to faith in Christ, or someone who has been kind of surface-level about Jesus, really commit and dive deep. I love the passion, the excitement, the willingness to share about Christ. It’s a special time. If you’re a new Christian, this sermon is for you. How can we keep a good thing going? I want to talk about how we can plug you in…
The Least Likely Disciple | Acts 9:1-19a
Who is the least likely person you know who would ever become a Christian? Take a moment and think of them. Is it a family member, a friend, a coworker? Is it because they’re apathetic to Christianity? Or is it because they’re totally against Christianity? Maybe they identify as an atheist, or Buddhist, Muslim, or even Jewish. All you know, is they’ll never follow Jesus… Nabeel fit the description of someone who would never follow Jesus. His parents were from…