Mercy Fellowship Sermons

A people have gone from slavery, to promised land, to a great kingdom only to be led by a series of imperfect rulers. Some are secretly corrupt, others openly wicked, while few are faithful but insufficient to keep Israel from descending into division, decay, destruction, and ultimately exile. Hope in God’s promised victory over evil and joy for His people is waning, sin appears to be winning.

A wandering horde of former slaves becomes a conquering army expelling wicked idolatrous nations and establishing God’s rule and worship in the place He had promised them. God is faithful to consistently give His nation victory in battle. Faithlessly, Israel (sometimes individually, sometimes collectively) seems to stop short of full obedience and even ignores God’s clear instructions to purify th...

Once favored refugees, God’s family (Israel) now finds itself an oppressed minority. While powerless in slavery, the Egyptian regime systematically increases Israel’s suffering by placing heavier burdens and even killing their male children. Through Egyptian civil disobedience and divine providence, a young Israelite boy (Moses) finds himself in Pharaoh’s care.

As people multiply and spread so does sin and darkness. God’s judgment and wrath is displayed in a cataclysmic flood. His mercy is shown in preserving a remnant. While dramatic, the story is reset but not resolved. Rebellion continues and the question from chapter 3 remains: Who will be the one to crush the head of the serpent? 

Beauty, joy, and life are part of what we experience. Yet we know The Story also has pain, bitterness, sin, evil and death. If God is good and made everything good how can this be? What went wrong? We did. In the midst of a garden paradise with unfathomable liberty God gave humanity a single “you shall not”. There is a tree with the knowledge of Good and Evil that God declared if they disobey His...

Once upon a time….. is not how The Story begins, because it is not a myth, legend, or fairy tale. The Story only matters because it is true! It begins with God not us. Before you, me, or any other person enters the scene of The Story there is God. Eternal, God had no beginning, rather God began all beginning. Three key attributes characterize God and help us understand the author of The Story. God...

Our telling of The Story begins in the middle. Two travelers walk down a lonely road towards a small village. A city, days earlier sent into an uproar over a crucifixion, lies behind them. They knew the executed. They followed Him as their leader, listened to Him as a prophet who brought God closer to them, and hoped He would deliver their people from oppression. Disorientated and trying to make s...

We do not always know what our path of healing and restoration will look like. We also do not always know how our steps of faith and risks taken will pay off. We see so little of God’s plan played out even in the span of our own lifetimes it is nearly impossible to know how our lives will be used for His glory and our joy. Sometimes the impact of our faithfulness will not be seen in our day but in...

We cannot force growth, but we can foster it. This means at times we will take bold next steps requiring faith and courage. When we feel stuck, we need to be reminded real change is possible. Contentment is healthy, but compliancy is not. Where do you need to move from daily provision to a more enduring security or even lasting legacy? On the path to flourishing, sometimes we are called to take ca...

Desolations happen and we can fall into a pit bitterness with no way out. Pain should not be minimized, and grief cannot be ignored. Grief needs to be “visited”, but we cannot “live/dwell” there if we are going to experience healing. The road to healing and wholeness can have many steps, but for the journey to begin the first step of faith must be taken.

When tragedy strikes, or we are under trauma’s long shadow, we are unsettled is ways which keep us paralyzed with grief, stuck in despair, and unable to move toward anything that looks like healing let alone flourishing. Suffering can cause to questions God’s goodness and leave us hopeless. When we are blind to a path forward, we need the illumination that only divine hope can provide.

The opening notes of this song ring out with satisfying sound of Hope realized. God is to be praised because He has come to His people with a purpose, their redemption. Where sin has separated people from God, He remembers His promises to redeem His people from the slavery of sin. Many prophets for generations have sung in anticipation of God intervention in history to provide there salvation. Joh...

The Creator moving in the life of a person is a powerful creative inspiration. Mary’s response to all God has said and done is a poetic song praising three characteristics of God. 

The church in Thessalonica was given clear and robust teaching, prayers, encouragement, admonishment, and instructions from Paul, an early church leader who knew and cared for them, in his first letter to them. The hearing of good teaching is only beneficial if it leads to doing. After this first letter Paul is given reports of how the congregation heard, received, and responded to what they had r...

Much of our correspondence closes with little more than an empty “sincerely,” or careless emoji. As Paul ends this letter to the Thessalonians, by closing with a robust and carefully constructed benediction. These final verses ring out the notes of Hope and Holiness sung throughout the entire letter. It also includes big themes of God’s character, His continuing work in the lives of His people, cl...

Paul has spent significant time calling the church in Thessalonica to remain committed to individual holiness. He has reminded them of their great hope in the risen Jesus who will one day return. In all of this, he has sought the church to intentionally grow in health. As he begins to close his letter, we see some key ingredients to the recipe for a healthy church.

What are you most afraid of? What is the thing you fear will happen and what are the consequence if what you fear actually came into reality? How does that fear influence actions? Are those actions healthy? Because of uncertainty and brokenness in our world we are easily driven by our fears. How do we flourish in fear?  

Paul ended the last chapter with a prayer for the growth of God’s people. Because life in our world is hostile, he wants this church to even Flourish in Death. If we are going to flourish in hostility, we need to be able to have hope in all situations. What could be more hostile than death itself?

Disciples who have been called by God are also changed by God. God’s call of salvation is also a call to sanctification. God has given the Holy Spirit to empower people to grow both in the Gospel and grow together because of the Gospel. You were a spiritual orphan, but you are now part of His forever family. This an essential relationship for our thriving.

There is so much to affirm and celebrate in the life of the Thessalonian church, much hope seen, yet there are issues to address. Paul’s pastoral love of God’s people leads him to practical teaching to encourage and exhort Godly living. He ended last chapter with a prayer for the growth of God’s people. A key of thriving discipleship is faithful sexuality. 

Words Matter - Cultures have identities described with language and words. Words can build us up or tear us down. They can bring comfort or condemnation. Because there is great power in words, specifically the Word of God, Paul writes about how essential preaching is to flourishing. 

In Chapter 2, the tone and topic of the letter shifts to Paul describing how this church was planted with a pastor who was Faithful in Leading. 

In these verses, Paul expressing his thankfulness for this church. He is both celebrating what God has done in them and through them AND encourage them to continue in faithfulness. His desire is they would grow in both the depth of their hope and pursuit of holiness. 

This letter is from Paul a pastor/church planter, to one of the churches he was involved in planting. Before we look at what Paul is teaching this church, we’re going to look at who they are, how they were planted, their church history and how that specific history and context of their unique church applies to our church 2,000 years later and half a world away.