Jordan Rimmer Sermons

 How are we saved?  Is it faith without works as Paul says?  But James says that faith without works is dead?  In this sermon I look at these kinds of questions and try to look at how faith and works relate to each other.

 We continue in James talking about the need to be doers of the word and not hearers only.  James calls us to not show partiality and favoritism in the community, because our faith is one for the lost and the broken.    

 In this sermon I look at the second half of James 1.  What do you see when you look in the mirror?  Are you ready to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer?

I am preaching through the book of James from the perspective of images and metaphors. Here we start the book with 7 images.  I even brought a live Alligator Snapping Turtle to church with me.  Listen to find out why.

Westminster Church is in the middle of a transition in worship.  Our 37+ year organist is retiring and we are thinking about what kind of worship we want moving forward.  In order to set the stage for those discussions, I decided to preach a sermon about what worship is and how it developed into what it is today.      

What happens when all the bows are put away?  When Christmas is over?  We cannot possibly keep up the pace and the emotions of Christmas, but what part of the holiday can and should we keep going?

In this sermon I talk about 3 things you have to keep in balance as a Christian.  When you get these in balance they can become great lever to help you grow.

   This sermon looks at the Magnificat--the song that Mary sings with Elizabeth.  What does Mary understand about this miracle in her womb?  What should we recognize about the same miracle happening in our lives?  

   In this sermon I take a look at all the pressure of the holidays.  How do we find the real meaning of Christmas in all of the chaos?

   In this sermon I look at the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the birth of John the Baptist.  Luke splices this story in with the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus.  What we find out is that since it began Christmas has been difficult for families.  What does that mean for how we relate to our families during the holidays? 

 In the sermon I talk about Advent.  I talk about what it is, the spiritual posture that we should take in it, and why I think it is a bad thing that we have lost it.  You can also read the sermon on my blog at http://www.jordanrimmer.com/how-the-grinch-stole-advent/.

This is the final of 3 sermons on prayer.  In this prayer I look at what prayer does to us spiritually and special situations and aspects of prayer.

 I am amazed how many people have never been taught in simple terms how to start and develop a prayer life.  In this sermon I try to begin answering that problem by giving practical advice and ideas for praying.  How to set the space and your attitude?  How to use Scripture to guide your prayer?  What to say when you pray?   

In this sermon I begin a 3 week series on prayer.  I look at the power and diversity of prayers in the Bible and compare it to the prayer that we use today.  What might our lives and our churches look life if we deepened our prayer lives?

Jesus helps the disciples to catch a lot of fish at the beginning and the end of His earthly ministry.  In this sermon I compare these 2 stories.  The first gives us the metaphor of "fishers of men" to represent what has historically been called evangelism.  I propose, however, that fishing was different back then and perhaps we should look at evangelism differently today.  I borrow the word Nudge from the book of that name by my teacher Leonard Sweet.  I believe it is  a great model for evangelism in the future and really does fit first century fishing.

This year for Reformation Sunday I looked at the key beliefs of the reformation by looking at the 5 Solas of the Reformation-“Sola Scriptura” (Scripture Alone); “Sola Gratia” (Grace Alone); “Sola Fide” (Faith Alone); “Solus Christus” (Christ Alone); and “Soli Deo Gloria” (To God Alone Be Glory).

This is the sermon from the celebration of Westminster's 50th anniversary in its current location.  In it I tell the history of the church since well before we moved to Oak Hill in New Brighton.  It is amazing to me how much of this history shapes the spiritual DNA of our church to this day even with members who were not connected personally or in their family with the church until recently.  I also at the end of my sermon turn the attention to the future of the church in anticipation of the collection of commitment cards for a capital campaign that began this Sunday.

What happens when an idea, movement, or organization get's off of its original vision and purpose?  How does it find its way back? This is the question the prophets ask in the Old Testament as Israel goes into exile.  Where did we go wrong?  And as Ezekiel dreams of a new temple and Ezra rebuilds the temple, they wonder how to do it differently now.  What can our church today learn from this time in history?

   This week I continue building toward our anniversary celebration and capital campaign by looking at the building of the temple by Solomon.  Why is it built?  Why doesn't David build it?  What problems are there once it is built?  What does this tell us about being a church today?  

As I build up to a capital campaign in the next few weeks, I am looking at the building of the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament.  What were their purposes?  Why was it important that the people give to help them be built? For this sermon, I built a replica of the Ark of the Covenant and rearranged furniture in the sanctuary to be more accurate to the set up of the tabernacle.  I walk around a lot, so I had to have my phone set on the first pew to record.