Sonoma Avenue Sermons

While John might be slowly introducing his readers to the power of Jesus in his gospel, the same cannot be said about the way John communicates the authority of Jesus. John already told us in chapter one that Jesus is the word, present from Creation, the son of God. When Jesus entered the temple in chapter two, he had some thoughts about what was going on in his father's house. Join us as we explo...

John slowly rolls out the power of Jesus in his gospel. We got a glimpse of what Jesus could do when he called Nathaniel to be his disciple. But, what is next? What can this son of god do? The sky is the limit right? While this is true the first miracle we get is one that takes place in a nothing town, at a wedding of people we never hear about. Most of the people at the wedding did not even know...

Jesus had an effect on everyone that he met. Anger, fear, wonder, love, and all of the reactions in between were products of an encounter with Jesus. Some wanted to get rid of him, while others left everything behind to follow him. Why would someone do this? Join us as we explore the call to follow Jesus.

John the baptist plays a crucial role in John's account of the life of Jesus, but not in the same way as he does in the other gospels. In John, JTB is the crucial first witness to the person of Jesus. He exists to do one thing: point the way to Jesus.

The Gospel of John was written so that those who read it would come to understand who Jesus is and believe in him. John, in a departure from the opening of the other gospels, did not mix words. Jesus was not just a man born in Nazareth. He was not just a teacher, healer, or prophet. He was so much more than you can imagine.

Churches all over the country have seen a lot of change over the past few years. Where does our church fit into this big picture? As we look forward to what we want to accomplish, what do we hold on to? What keeps us grounded? Join us as we explore where our future lies.

Join us as we look back at some of the good things that God has done here at Sonoma Avenue.

Jesus told a story about a father and his son. The son approached the father and demanded his inheritance, even though his father had not yet died. His father gave it to him. The son squandered his father's money and ended up destitute. We know this story. We understand the rules. We know how the son ended up amongst the pigs. We know what the reaction of the father should be. We hurt for him. We...

Even though we do not know much about Jesus when he was a child, the question of what he was like is a fascinating one. There is only one story, told by Luke, which give us any kind of insight. It's not much. But Luke believed it was important to tell. Let's take a look at what happened when Jesus went to the temple at the age of twelve.

The coming of Jesus the messiah is an unbelievable story right from the start. How do you convince someone that something so amazing is true? Luke faced this problem when he set out to write an account of the beginning of Jesus' life. He pulled on the best resources he could: eyewitness testimony from trusted sources to show that Jesus really is the Messiah.

I want more joy in my life. Advent tells us that the greatest joy is available to us at any time. It is not dependent upon things going right or life being perfect. It is always there, steadfast and waiting for us. You can have joy no matter what is going on in your life. Join us as we explore the joy that Jesus brought to the world.

I am pretty sure that we would all like for there to be more peace in the world, and yet peace seems to be something we continually pursue without ever capturing. It makes me wonder: "What are we asking for when we ask for peace?" God provides peace. Jesus is the bringer of peace. We have heard that over and again. But how does it work?

The Hope that we have in Jesus is a greater hope than we can have in anything in this world. But what makes it different? Join us as we begin the season of Advent by exploring how Jesus brought a new kind of hope to the world.

Corinth was a messy church, but what was the solution to many of their problems? The answer is a simple one: Love. Join us as we wrap up our series on the messiest of churches.

What is it that holds us together? How are we all joined under one purpose, and yet so different? Why can't I do the same things that someone else does? Is that person a better Christian than me? Am I a better Christian than someone else? Join us as we study 1 Corinthians 12 and take a look at the most common cause of fragmentation within the Body of Jesus.

We love being right about things. Being wrong... not so much. The stakes are high within the church when people disagree on an issue. What is the right way to handle those disagreements? Paul has some thoughts.

This week, we continue to explore the underlying issues that lead to the Church in Corinth being so dysfunctional. What happens when the practices of the world around us come into direct conflict with the values of Jesus? What happens when our sense of self preservation conflicts with the values of Jesus? It's complicated but let's take a look.

We live in a world that has rules. We all live by these rules everyday. We follow a God whose rules are different than the rules of the world. In Corinth, we see how difficult it is to live the life that God has called his people to. They were not very good at it. In fact, they “adapted” God’s rules so that they could still live as Corinthians with a Jesus flavor. Paul told them clearly that they...

The Corinthian church had several extraordinary problems. That is how it looks on the surface. Join us as we dig deeper and see that one of their core problems was one that has been around since creation. Who knows better? God or us?

The church in Corinth was a complicated community, but by no means were they unique in their complications. In fact you can trace some of their tendencies back through many of the phases of God's relationship with his people. This week we take a look at one episode from the Exodus which explains why people, across human history, similarly respond to adversity.

The Israelites were released from slavery by the Egyptians! That whole chapter is over...right? There was still one more lesson that needed to be taught: to Egypt, the Israelites, and the world. There is one God and he can do the impossible

The time has come for the people of God to leave the shackles of slavery behind, and begin their journey into freedom. But liberation is not something that just happens. Yes, God is setting them free, but they must first commit themselves to him in order to gain that freedom. Do they have the faith to believe that this is really going to happen?

The Exodus story has taken us down a long and complicated road on the way to freedom for God's people. One by one, the plagues came upon Egypt and each time, Pharaoh failed to let the people of God go. The tenth plague is the one that broke his will. Gods people were free at a terrible cost: the lives of all of the firstborn children in Egypt. What do we do with this story? It is a story of freedo...

God sent the plagues upon Egypt for a very specific reason. The world needed to know that he is God. The road to deliverance is not an easy one. There are all kinds of things that can get in the way. Even so they cannot stop God and his plans for his people.

In the Exodus story, we see that God needed to make a statement. He wanted the world to know that he is God. He wanted Pharaoh to let his people go because he is God. He wanted the Hebrew people to follow him into the wilderness because he is God. But what was the best way to show them who he is? If frogs, gnats and flies came to mind, then you and God are on the same page.