Jubilee Sermons

Feel free to join in on our Family Meeting. We're talking about steps we're taking toward being our own grown-up church now that the term "Church-Plant" doesn't seem to fit. We're talking about membership and what it means in the Jubilee context. This is Part 2 to the January 19, 2020 podcast on Membership. 

Passage: Ruth chapter 4. We're a lot like these Bible people. Ordinary. Needy. And like them we'll need a redeemer. Someone willing to pay what's needed. These are the lessons Ruth holds for us. And a reminder we can't always see what He's doing. This faithful God, always at work, through the generations. 

Passage: Ruth 1:6-22. Life can be hard. Especially right now. It's hard to see in the moment what God is doing. Our hope is in His faithfulness to be working out His plans and purposes all the time. We apologize that part 1 in the sermon series was not recorded due to a technical error. 

Passage: John 17:3. "You deserve to be happy" they all say. Everyone. All over. Somehow we've bought into the story that we all deserve to be happy. But what if this belief is driving us to despair and unhappiness? What if there's more to our lives? What does Jesus say about our life purpose? 

Passage: Ephesians 4:15-21. Think you can isolate and still grow as a Christian? Think again. We hear the case for why decapitated and amputated things die. Trust me, it's compelling! 

Passage: Luke 9:23. People often come to faith because they heard God is here to help make everything better. Many of us believe (or at least secretly hope) that this includes a long life of health and wealth. But what about when things are hard? What about in the challenge? What does Jesus say about all this? 

Passage: James 5:7-11. Maybe you were told things move quickly for Christians. Maybe things even did for awhile... but what about when things slow down? What happens in the waiting? Maybe waiting is more Christian than we'd like to admit. It would help to know what to expect. 

Passage: Philippians 2:3-7. Real people just like us. That's who's in the nativity story. People who doubted and struggled... and were willing. There's joy in obedience! Warning: This podcast contains video segments that may seem really weird without the video! 

Passage: John 3:16-17. It's hard to understand why shepherds would be the first to be invited to the manger scene. Until maybe, we begin to grasp just how much God loves us just as we are. This invitation changes everything! A God who loves! A God who gave! Warning: This podcast contains video segments that may seem really weird without the video!

Passage: Ephesians 2:18-20. Maybe you've ever felt like an outside, or a stranger. Maybe your current reality makes you feel alone and separated. During our second Sunday of advent we hear about foreigners in the nativity story. Grace welcomes them and us! Warning: this podcast contains audio sections of video that will not be as exciting without the video. 

Philippians 4:10-20. Whaaaaat? Seriously? Someone is claiming to know the secret to being content in every circumstance. Get out! Impossible... but... what if it were true? You're really, really going to want to hear this!

Passage: Philippians 4:4-9. New restrictions. Mounting cases. More isolation. How do we experience joy? Paul's letter has a formula... not quite, but pretty close. If you're desperate enough, you might find the answers you seek. 

Passage: Philippians 3:15-16. Maturity isn't perfection. In fact, it's willing to admit you don't know everything. But maturity is a goal for every Christian. To get to completeness. What does that look like? 

Philippians 3:12-14. Is the Christian life really just about going as hard as we can? Is it about striving to the breaking point? Or possibly an invitation to live the resurrection life. A journey to being whole. 

Passage: Philippians 3:7-11. In economics, something can happen to change everything. And for Paul, this is what happened. His profit-loss sheet radically transformed. His challenge is for us to reorient our lives around this new economy: knowing Jesus. 

Passage: Philippians 3:1-7. If you were giving Christians a warning about who to watch out for, what would you say? Who should we watch out for? How do we recognize "true" Christians? You'd be surprised. 

Passage: 1 Peter 1:17-23. So we have the foundation but what do we do now. Peter challenges us to live as foreigners in reverent fear and to love. But of course, this is impossible to do well, isn't it? 

Passage: 1 Peter 1:8-9. What is this Christianity thing all about? What do we do? What are we like? Peter paints a beautiful picture of a people who love, believe in and are inexpressibly and gloriously filled with joy, in Jesus. 

Passage: 1 Peter 1:4-8. In this strange time of fear, isn't it good to know we're protected! The protection isn't a talisman but a life of faith - we live it out through the trials and griefs. Of course, the good news is that these are only temporary, and for a purpose: glory! 

Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-4. Things are changing. We get upended. Then what? What does it mean to be the Church. Who are we and what is our hope and security? Our building? Our worship leader? We were born into a Living Hope and an Eternal Inheritance.