Celebration Sermons

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Formed in the Furnace of Grace" 1 Peter 4:12-19 Peter makes the case that suffering will be a part of life for any person in this broken world. The Gospel does not change that experience, but it does put our suffering in a new setting and give it a purpose that leads to an otherwise impossible outcome in our lives. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: http...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Changing Power Sources" I Peter 4:1-11 Think about it: because Jesus is Risen, therefore, I am set free from sin. The simple word "therefore" is the bridge between the truth of the resurrection and the results of my freedom. Peter points to a string of behaviors in this passage - some life-giving and some self-destructive. But these behaviors are the results that fo...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Faithful in the Face of Hostility" I Peter 3:13-22 What can harm me if I am eager to do good? Actually, PLENTY of things can go wrong in this broken world, even when we live with the best of intentions. Amazingly though, in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we find a sure hope and power to respond differently to the circumstances and persons that work to wound us...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The More Precious Way" 1 Peter 3:1-12 Whether we talk about the Kingdom of God in grand terms or simple ones, it always shows up somewhere specific. For exiles living under an empire's pressure, Peter says it shows up first at home: in how husbands and wives honor each other, how the overlooked are seen, and how insults are answered. From there, the blessing reaches...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Christ's Example" 1 Peter 2:11-25 We can't offer the world a different direction if we're playing by the world's rules. This week, Peter will talk about how Christ's character shapes how we show up in hard situations, hostile cultures, and powerless moments. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms.com/external/form/6aac393c-8e7c-4...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Cultivating Maturity" I Peter 1:23-2:10 Sometimes this world is a hard place to grow up. If the Gospel of God's Grace is good seed for a flourishing, Christ-like life, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by rocky soil, birds that steal the seed and the dry winds of the season. Using our "Indicative/Imperative" lesson, Peter encourages to take steps towards the goal of ma...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The Grammar of Grace: Understanding the Indicative and the Imperative" I Peter 1:13-25 In his reflection on the passage, John Calvin observed that Peter first establishes the honor of adoption through the Gospel, and second, that believers are adopted for the purpose of being His obedient children. First, a new reality that God does in us by our faith receiving His...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Hope & Heartache Together" I Peter 1:3-12 Through nearly 30 years of journeying with Jesus, Peter has learned that authentic Christian experience is a living hope that includes suffering in this world. The living hope that Jesus gives us is not a ticket OUT OF suffering, but instead is the presence of Jesus with us THROUGH our suffering. Additional Resources For Sec...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Gospel Exiles in a Broken World: Children of a Different King" I Peter 1:1-2 Peter. A man who started as a fisherman and finished as an Apostle of the Risen Jesus. Decades of decisions to take the next step in his journey with Jesus moved him past the influences and experiences of his life into a place of wisdom for living. We - like his audience - may feel like exi...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Songs for the Road: Blessing" Psalm 134 Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms.com/external/form/6aac393c-8e7c-4ae5-b88c-721ae9847679 Give one time without logging in or create an account and have more access to your giving records as well as set up regular giving and fund-specific gifts. Regular contributions can be automaticall...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The Spirit Builds the Church" Psalm 133 It is indeed "good and pleasant" when folks get along. The vision of this psalm though is far more than common interest, shared convictions or similar background. It is a work of the Spirit to overcome the consequences of the Fall and prepare us for the restoration of all things new. Additional Resources For Secure Online Givi...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Promise Made, Promise Delivered" Psalm 132 Can we be honest here? David was often a person of good intentions, but with less than perfect behaviors and outcomes. Where he excels as "a man with a heart after God" is when he trusts the grace of the LORD. We see in this Psalm that his vow to return the Ark of God brought life not because it was his own to fulfill, but...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Content and Growing: No Need to Sweat It" Psalm 131 Because our drawing near to the LORD is empowered and directed by His grace and not our performance, I can rest with contentment, even as the Spirit works to transform (Gk – "metamorphosize") me. This new "me" is as dramatically different – values, behaviors, motivations – than the old "me" as the butterfly is from...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The God Who is BOTH Willing AND Able" Psalm 130 The Good News is that we can reach out to the God who is BOTH a merciful, faithful-love covenant-keeper as well as the Sovereign and Majestic Creator. He is BOTH willing to keep his promise of rescue AND able to deliver on the promise. From even the depths of our despair, we can reach with both hands to receive His gra...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Rescued by a Friend" Psalm 129 The enemies of the LORD offer each of us a choice: be His friend, or be ours. Don't think you can be both or that your choice has no consequences. The Good News is that the LORD is able to rescue His friends and transform the attack of His enemies on us, into His grace for and in us. The LORD is a great friend to have – He is able, He...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Grace Empowers a Cycle of Blessing" Psalm 128 In our world, obedience to the right authorities is supposed to pay off. But in the LORD’s grace, we receive by the obedience of faith, and the blessings that follow are an abundance to bless others. Grace Empowers A Cycle of Blessing. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms....

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The Telos of Work and Family" Psalm 127 Which path will you choose at this life-altering fork in the road? The answer depends on your destination, because the destination always dictates the journey. If you get the destination wrong, you will waste years on a path you hate, only to end up in a place you don't belong. But when you understand your ultimate purpose - y...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The Joy of Home Coming" Psalm 126 Our Journey with Jesus is foreshadowed in this Song of Ascent as it lays out our movement from past Experience of Redemption to our current Practice of Perseverance based on our future Promise of Restoration. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms.com/external/form/6aac393c-8e7c-4ae5-b88c-721ae98...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Songs for the Road: Security" Psalm 125 This Sunday, we continue our summer sermon series titled "Songs for the Road," which is a 15-week journey through the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120-134). These were the songs the people of God recited while making their way up to the city of Jerusalem for the annual pilgrim festivals and they continue to give voice to the pilg...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The LORD Our Helper in the Face of Regrets and Anxieties" Psalm 124 Real life in this real and broken world can be filled with the haunting trauma and anticipated anxieties of all the "what if's" that life challenges us with. This psalm reminds us that we have a Helper for our need. His grace turns our "what if's" into "what didn'ts" and "what won'ts," empowering us...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "A Room Called Remember" Psalm 77 While we all have great memories, sometimes we forget things that truly matter. When we do, we may need some prompts to find our way back to the best selves God meant for us to be. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms.com/external/form/6aac393c-8e7c-4ae5-b88c-721ae9847679 Give one time without l...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "What the LORD is Doing to Us Through Our Worship of Him" Psalm 121 "Standing in your gates, Jerusalem!" It is as if they have made the long climb and now stand face-to-face with the Temple of the Living LORD! Here there is joy, community, justice and flourishing, because this entire journey has been about forming hearts for worship. Additional Resources For Secure O...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Looking For Help in All the Wrong Places" Psalm 121 Our Journey with Jesus may be difficult but we travel with both a promise - The LORD will keep you from all harm - as well as the Promiser. We may take a punch, but He will guard us from the poison of life. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://harderwyk.elexiochms.com/external/form/6aac393c-8e7c-4...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "The Messiah's Meditation" Psalm 120 Our first of fifteen "Psalms of Ascent" begins "in the pits." Trust in the LORD can make us a target of words that make us feel distant from the LORD. The Spirit's work of peace - SHALOM - feels choked out by the weeds of war. From here, our Journey with and TO Jesus begins. Additional Resources For Secure Online Giving: https://h...

Sundays at 9:00 am | Sanctuary "Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue" Acts 2:36-47 This Sunday is Pentecost, our annual remembrance of that pivotal day when God's one plan of redemption entered a new and distinct phase in which we in which we continue to live today. It is the day when Jesus the Bridegroom first adorned His Bride - the Church - with something old, something new, something borrowed a...