Jewel Lake Parish Sermon Podcast

If you point some of your resources to the church, you get two things: what the church does within its walls, and what it does outside them. We've seen what that looks like on the inside. What does it look like on the outside? Pastor Luke looks at Isaiah 1:11-17 in "Pure Religion," the concluding message in his series, "Stewardship."

Stewardship is about how you manage the portfolio God entrusted to you. Being a good steward requires generosity, but does it require supporting the church? Or, to put it another way, if you support the local church, what do you get for it? Pastor Luke teaches from Hebrews 10:19-25 in "Gimme Shelter," part 2 of his 3-part series, "Stewardship."

"Stewardship" is the idea that everything we have really belongs to God and just manage it for him. Jesus taught that playing it safe is the wrong way to do that. So how can we do it well? What does good stewardship look like? Pastor Luke teaches from Ephesians 3:14-21 in "Generous," the first message in a new series, "Stewardship."

When we pray, we have to ask what we really want -- God, or the things that God can give us? Sometimes, especially when we feel distant from God, we may only want what God can offer us. Moses faced the same choice once, after Israel had sinned, and he picked "God." Why? What made it a good choice? Pastor Luke preaches from Exodus 33:12-23 in "Glory," the concluding message in his series, "Prayers."

You are the last thing Jesus prayed about before his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. Was his prayer granted? For that matter, what did he pray? Pastor Luke teaches from John 17:20-26 in "Future Disciples," part 5 of his 6-part series, "Prayers."

The early church prayed for boldness and so should we. Why? Why not pray that God would make us safe? Pastor Luke preaches from Acts 4:23-31 in "Go Bold (Or Go Home)," part 4 of his 6-part series, "Prayers."

Forgiving someone can be hard, but it's the right thing to do. Jesus said so. Increasingly, science agrees with him. How can prayers help us to be more forgiving? Pastor Luke teaches from Acts 7:51-60 in "Forgive," part 3 of his 6-part series, "Prayers."

How can followers of Jesus relate to people of different faiths, or no faith? Many Christians have friends or family members of different faiths, or no faith, and pray for them. Should they? And if so, what should they pray for? What can we learn from the Scriptures about praying for people who don't believe in God? Pastor Luke looks at 2 Chronicles 6:33-34 in "Hear from Heaven," part 2 of his 6-part series, "Prayers."

The book of Genesis records the prayer of an anonymous man who journed to a distant land in search of a wife. What can we learn about prayer from his example? How can we put what we learn into practice? Pastor Luke preaches from Genesis 24:10-21 in "Matchmaker," the first message in a new series, "Prayers."

Σ ("S"), the final letter in Ichthus, stands for the word that means "Savior". We might not feel saved in our hearts, even if we agree in our heads that Jesus is savior. The Apostle Paul teaches us that when we decide to follow Christ, even if it happens far from the point where it is dictated by a crisis, is still the work of a Savior -- and determines how we should respond. Pastor Luke preaches from 2 Corinthians 5:15-6:2 in "Savior," the concluding message in his series, "Ichthus."

Υ ("U"), the fourth letter in Ichthus, stands for the word that means "Son". Why is it important that Jesus is the Son of God? Wouldn't his work have been just as effective if he were the Father's twin brother, or second cousin — or something more esoteric, like the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father? How does it benefit us that Jesus is God's Son? Pastor Luke teaches from Luke 15:11-32 in "Son of God," part 4 of his 5-part series, "Ichthus."

Θ ("th"), the third letter in Ichthus, stands for the word that means "God's". It represents the claim that there are things that belong to God: God has actions and motivations for doing them. What can we understand about God' acts and motivations? Pastor Luke looks at 1 Peter 2:4-10 in "God's Own," part 3 of his 5-part series, "Ichthus."

Χ, the second letter in Ichthus ("Ch"), stands for the word Christ. Chris isn't Jesus' last name; it's a translation of a word that means "king". Do we want Jesus to be our king? Can't he just be our savior? Pastor Luke teaches from Matthew 16:13-23 in "Anointed," part 2 of his 5-part series, "Ichthus."

Ι, the first letter in Ichthus ("I"), stands for the name of Jesus. What does it mean? And does it matter? Shakespeare wondered about the significance of names: "Would not a rose by any other name smell as sweet?" How does Jesus' name matter to us today? Pastor Luke looks at Acts 4:1-12 in "Ichthus," the first message in a new series, "Ichthus."

We had time for two mini-sermons in our occasional series of "extreme preaching". The first was on one of the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, and the other was on the statement in Genesis that the man and the woman were "naked and unafraid." Pastor Luke looks at Genesis 2:25 in "EXTREME Preaching."

Raising children can be incredibly rewarding, but it isn't always easy. People don't always succeed as parents, but most people would like to do a good job. Looking at the Bible, it's clear that even great great men of faith were sometimes really poor fathers. But Scripture actually tells men how to be better dads, and it isn't even hard. Pastor Luke looks at Colossians 3:17-4:1 in "Father's Day."

Why do we celebrate Pentecost? Some holidays are easy to understand: Christmas is when Jesus came to save us and Easter is how we know he succeeded. But what about Pentecost? How does it affect us? Pastor Luke looks at Acts 2:1-42 in "The Gift of the Spirit."

If you attend a church, it's not hard to imagine what sort of problems would crop up if a huge crowd showed up next Sunday. Some of the problems are very practical concerns like parking, musicians, Sunday School teachers. Others go deeper. But Jesus is concerned about something else, that church people can lose sight of. Pastor Luke preaches from Matthew 9:35-38 in "Into His Harvest," the concluding message in his series, "Notorious."

Jesus gave sight to the blind and made the mute speak, and not only as a kindness to the blind and mute people he helped. Part of the reason Jesus performed miracles during his earthly ministry was to teach us about God -- and especially, to show how he continues to miracles today by the power of his Spirit. What kind of miracles are those? How can we see them? Pastor Luke teaches from Matthew 9:27-34 in "Now I See," part 5 of his 6-part series, "Notorious."

Which part of Jesus' earthly ministry is more important: his miracles or his teaching? In chapter 9 of Matthew's gospel, the answer seems to be his teaching...until suddenly, it looks like the miracles. What's going on there? Pastor Luke looks at Matthew 9:18-26 in "Take Heart," part 4 of his 6-part series, "Notorious."