Christ Church Vienna

In Acts 9, we read about the conversion of Paul. Dean talks about the surrounding chapters, which include the conversions of the Roman Centurion Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch, and how we can be like Ananias and Barnabas were to Paul.

On the 2nd Sunday of Easter, CCV begins a series using the Lectionary Year C readings, focusing on The Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 5, Peter and the Apostles are arrested for preaching Jesus. But when the Angel of the Lord sets them free and calls them to preach the gospel in the Temple […]

Easter Sermon: In a culture of an increasing hopelessness, the Christian hope, grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ offers a real hope–Jesus did rise bodily from the dead; and a living hope with ongoing implications for lives. The Christian living hope is upside-down, forward-back, and inside-out.

During our Palm Sunday service, Dean walks us through the story of the last supper and the following events, talks about the significance of bearing our burdens, and reminds us of who we would have been in the Passion narrative.

In Luke 20: 19-26, we hear Jesus say “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Johnny explains the history behind those testing Jesus, the meaning of Jesus’ statement, and what this means about how we live our lives.

This week, Johnny takes us through two stories, one as Jesus enters Jericho, and the other as Jesus leaves. Johnny discusses the faith of the blind beggar, the only one who sees Jesus as the Messiah, and Zacchaeus the chief tax collector who, like everyone there, has a deep need for salvation in Jesus.

In this famous parable, Jesus tells a story of a son who is lost from his father, a father who longs for his son, and a brother who doesn’t understand either of them. Dean shows us how each brother is lost in his own way, how we can all be both brothers at times, and […]

In Luke 12, Jesus addresses our fears, calling us to not fear man, but instead to fear God, and not to worry, because God will provide for us. Johnny addresses our modern fears and anxieties, and shows what it means to fear God.

In Luke 10, we read a story of Mary and Martha, who are friends of Jesus. We see how Mary decides to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him, how Jesus commends her for this decision, and learn from Johnny how to apply this to our decisions today.

In the climactic mid-point of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus goes to a mountaintop with three of his disciples. While he is praying, he is transfigured, appearing bright and white, and with him Moses and Elijah. What do we make of this strange story? It is a mystery? And yet in the Bible, mysteries beckon […]

In this passage, we hear about two healings Jesus performed, with the bleeding woman and the death of Jairus’s daughter. Dean takes us step-by-step through the passage and highlights five important things we learn about our relationship with Jesus from this story.

Simon, the Pharisee, invites Jesus to a dinner party. He fails to offer Jesus the customary greetings and honors. But a woman of the city, a known “sinner,” who joins the poor in the room has come to honor Jesus–she begins weeping, then wiping his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with […]

(Unfortunately the normal audio recording process was not available this week) This week, we read about two of Jesus’s healings, one the servant of a centurion and the other a widow’s son. In covering these two stories, Johnny shows us how the stories are not so much about the healings as they are about the […]

This week, we read Luke’s representation of the Sermon on the Mount, and hear about Luke’s four Beatitudes and four Woes. Dean takes us through the passage and describes what it means to be on Jesus team, explains what it means to be in the Upside-down Kingdom, and teaches us a new word: Parenetic.

This week, we read in Luke 6 about Jesus’ confrontations with the Pharisees on the Sabbath. Johnny talks about the significance of the Sabbath in First Century Judaism, what it meant for Jesus to claim Lordship over the Sabbath, and what the Sabbath means for our own rest today.

This week, we hear the story of Jesus revealing himself to Peter through the miraculous nets overflowing with fish. Johnny talks about what it meant for Peter and the other disciples to abandon that catch, as well as their whole lives as fishermen, to follow Jesus and become fishers of men.

As Jesus begins his ministry here in Luke 4, He reads a brief passage from Isaiah 61 about the coming Messiah, before telling the crowd that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). Matt discusses the importance of Isaiah 61 as a whole chapter, and the messages of salvation, forgiveness, and […]

In this week’s sermon, we read about Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem as a twelve-year-old boy to talk to the teachers in the Temple. Johnny discusses the importance of this year in Jesus’ life, the significance of his ability to debate with the religious leaders in the temple, and how this connects to our need […]

In this first Sunday of Christmas, we hear about the second set of witnesses to Jesus: the older saints, Simeon and Anna. Dean talks about how the story of these two being included in Lukes gospel continues to show how God highlights those we might not notice, and marvels at the amount of time it […]

In our Christmas Eve service, we read from Luke 2 about Jesus’ coming to the world. Johnny talks about the hardships of the journey to Bethlehem, the contrast of Caesar Augustus and Mary, and the glory of God, come to bring good news to shepherds.

In this brief sermon, Dean narrates a story from the perspective on Zechariah about Luke 1, where he meets the angel Gabriel, he and Elizabeth have a son in their old age, and Mary comes to tell them of her child, who will be the Messiah.

In the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy, we hear about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth from Juan Esteban in Spanish, with translation by Rod Nuñez. Juan Esteban talks about the two parts of the passage, the surprise of joy and the surprise of praise, and how we can integrate this joy and praise […]

As we continue through the Gospel of Luke, we hear about the Annunciation of Mary by the angel Gabriel. Dean tells us the story and compares it to Gabriel’s appearance to Zechariah, which was covered in last week’s sermon. He then gives context to better understand the implications of Mary’s calling, and how well Mary […]

In our first Sunday of the Advent season, we begin our study of The Gospel of Luke. Dean introduces us to Luke and shows us the picture that Luke paints of Jesus’ life through his Gospel, tells us the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and shows us the importance of remaining faithful to God even […]

In our final week of the All In campaign, we read in Matthew 16 how the Church, both local and global, was Jesus plan for his glory on earth. Johnny breaks down what it means for Peter to be the rock the Church is built on, discusses the responsibilities of the local and global church, […]