Sermons @ Shepherd

The prophet Joel speaks of both trouble and hope for the people of Israel. When a plague of locusts descends and nothing is left, Joel implores them to rend more than there clothes, but to rend or open their hearts to the ways of God.

"I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." What a beautiful promise. This is the world to which we are all looking. This is the world for which we are all working. Jeremiah 31:27-34

My dad used to always encourage me to "grow where your planted," which meant do not wait for the perfect setting in life to become who God calls you to become. This scripture encourage the people in exile to grow where they have been planted. Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday. God's grace and mercy – on which the sacrament of communion is grounded – are the foundation for our lives – as individuals and as a world-wide community. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Martha was so busy with her social obligations. She was being a good host. But Mary wanted to know and understand Jesus' teachings. Sometimes, we have to slow down and listen. Right relationships can only happen when we have developed our own sense of inner relationship with Christ. Luke 10:38-42

The parable of the Good Samaritan is not just a nice story. It is Jesus answer to an important question, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus prioritizes love of God and love of neighbor as most important. Then he completely redefines neighbor to include even our enemies.

Faith gives us the courage to build community. Community is the ultimate goal of faith. The fullest expression of our faith takes place when we are in community, supporting, caring for, and uplifting one another. Galatians 6:1-16

The story of the Good Samaritan is known even in the secular world. Sometimes we see it as a story about the need to stop when we see someone with a flat tire or buy lunch for someone in need. But the story goes beyond that. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews that Jesus was preaching to. Loving our neighbor means loving without exception, to all, even those whom we despise.

Pau's mission was to teach young Christians to live out their faith in community. It is no easy task. To live intentionally in a Christian community is something very different than just going to church every Sunday or attending fellowship events or doing service projects. To live intentionally in a Christian community means orientating ones life around faith in Christ Jesus and seeking to live ou...

Freedom, even freedom in Christ, is hard. Paul sets out some guidelines for our freedom in Christ. He says we are not to use our freedom for self-indulgence. It is so very easy to use that freedom for our own benefit. Paul says we are to use that freedom through love to become slaves to one another. No one likes the term slave, but what Paul is trying to say is that in a Christian community we are...

This sermon picks up where last week's sermon left off. Our freedom is not meant for self-indulgence. It is meant to give us confidence that God is with us in all circumstances. Paul wants us to have freedom to reach out to others in love. If we are not successful, that is o.k. We can try again. Galatians 5:1, 13-25.

Faith in God's grace allows us to have hope even in the midst of difficulties. Faith means that we trust that God is at work redeeming the world. This is not based on our worthiness, but on God's love and grace. Grace is God's love in action. Romans 5:1-5

Paul's letters to Timothy really speak to how we cultivate Christ's love in people. Cultivate can be defined as something done to promote or improve growth. When we think about our lives as Christians who are here to love and serve...How are you constantly cultivating the seeds in your life and the lives of others around you? Find the answer to that. Live it. And you will always have and live in a...

Being a Christian does not exempt you from pain or suffering. It does, however, give us the opportunity that God is with us in everything life will throw at us."The day will come when God will set us free" Eph. 4:30. In the midst of whatever else is going on the gift of the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee for us that the day will come when God will set us free, and in that experience you may find h...

The birth of the church some 2,000 years ago was born of the Spirit. It was a time of great change. So today, the church is to be reborn after COVID, changing demographics, and the need for the Gospel in our community.

Water is central to the creation story. Rivers in the Garden of Eden; Jesus' ministry begins in a baptism in the river of Jordan. How in the very end of the biblical story with a river running through the city nourishing the Tree of Life. Water is holy, it is what brings life. Baptism is the initial welcoming act of celebration of a person coming into community of faith. I want to remember my bapt...

This sermon will look at the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. What does it mean that Jesus left us in charge? What do we do with that information? How will we manage without Jesus (the answer to that question is next week at Pentecost).

Life after resurrection hopes in more than the life that we experience now. It also trusts that God is a God of history and that all of this is leading to something glorious, something that words cannot describe. This sermon will explore the idea that God (Love) wins!

When the people ask Jesus directly is he is the messiah, he does not give them a direct answer. He says that only his sheep will hear his voice. What makes Jesus the Good Shepherd? Is it because he said so, or is it something more, in the way he loves?

"It's All About Love" - This sermon will explore Jesus commandment that we "love one another." Why does Jesus say that this is a new commandment? Jesus certainly elevates loves as the standard for how Christians will be identified as Jesus' disciples.

This sermon deals with another resurrection appearance. In this one, Jesus encourages Peter to "feed my lambs...tend my sheep... feed my sheep." This sermon will explore what ministry looks like in a world where Christ is risen.

Life as a follower of Jesus Christ should be one of extravagant, outrageous love. Maybe even a love that could be annoying. How do we live out the love of Christ in the world. The love Christ told us should be out way of live. We live out all the time! We live it out everywhere with everyone!

Isn't it interesting on how when we think we know how to do something we keep on doing it the same way over and over and over again.  The reality is that we often have to do things differently if we are going to have any hope of succeeding. It was only when Jesus told the disciples to fish from the other side of the boat, something that haven't tried all night, that they wound up catching anything...

This sermon deals with another resurrection appearance. In this one, Jesus encourages Peter to "feed my lambs...tend my sheep... feed my sheep." This sermon will explore what ministry looks like in a world where Christ is risen. John 21:1- 19

The fact that Jesus still bears and shows the scars of crucifixion to Thomas after the resurrection tells us that our own healing and new life may still bear the scars of our own journey of faith. John 20:19-31