Emmaus Road Church | Fort Collins, Colorado

Sermon Scripture: Mark 1:21-28 The Kingdom of Heaven’s authority is undeniable and it is not segregated to certain locations and aspects of our lives. And unlike the authority demonstrated by other power hungry rulers, the stance that Jesus’s authority takes is all together unique. It is so compassionate and focused on the welfare of humanity — you might say it is humanist, for the Kingdom’s conce...

Sermon Scripture: Mark 1:14-20 “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” This simple, two sentence phrase holds the key to the entire human condition. It identifies what is broken and it offers the solution that God felt so strongly about that he came to dwell among us, just to show the way. Perhaps, the unfortunate part of this proclamation is that it has a coup...

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-3 In this season of Epiphany between Christmas and Lent, it is customary to focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, because the revelation of God with us in Jesus is what we have been waiting for! In Matthew 2, the Magi demonstrate for us four elements critical to experiencing epiphany in our lives. Join us as we explore and worship together.

Sermon Scripture: Luke 2:22-40, Isaiah 61:10-62:3 The community of faith matters! Why else would Mary and Joseph in their poverty make the effort to bring Jesus for dedication? How else could Simeon and Anna have known the tune which they were listening for? How else could they have known what consolation to bring to others? How else could they have been so perfectly poised to lead the community i...

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11, Luke 4:16-30 When we take up the call and join in the work of giving to others a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. When we work to build up the ancient ruins; to raise up the former devastations; to repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations, joy and rejoicing...

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11 And when God came in the Christ child born at Christmas, when God heard and answered our cries and dwelt among us, we were offered a gift which could never be taken from us. Was it surprising? Was it what we expected? Yes. This second Sunday of Advent, we too are offered the gift of peace, but this is not a blissfully ignorant peace falsely assuming that everything...

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9 The season of Advent is such a welcome annual reminder that we desperately need hope, love, peace, and joy in our world, because Advent is all about longing and anticipation. It is a time to identify with the longing our spiritual fathers and mothers experienced awaiting the coming of the messiah in the first Advent.

Sermon Scripture: Psalm 95:1-7a On Christ the King Sunday we direct our attention into the BEING of our faith, because in God’s wisdom, through our church fathers and mothers, it is clear we need to exercise both our BEING and our DOING of faith. The invitation of Christ the King Sunday, of Advent, Christmastide, Lent, Easter, Pentecost is to enter into the story of Jesus through adoration, longin...

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 25:14–30 The book of Matthew packs a handful of stories about the return of Christ into chapters 24 and 25 and they all have variations on the same theme. Are we watching, are we waiting, are we ready, are we faithful, are we living the lives of devotional and action that we proclaim we are living? We often view the parable of the talents (silver) as one of multiplication...

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 25:1–13 Join us as we explore the Parable of the 10 Virgins.  As we recognize ourselves in the wise and in the foolish virgins, we will also discover ways in which God has entrusted us with the work of God's Kingdom.

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12 Throughout the book of Matthew these scribes and Pharisees have been on the wrong end of quite a few accusations; “They preach but do not practice!” “They lay unjust burdens upon the people.” “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” But, with introspection, we all carry a piece of the hypocritical heart in each of us. There are many factors that feed this,...

Sermon Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-9, Matthew 22:34-40, Deuteronomy 6:4-8, Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18 Just as Jesus commissioned Peter to, "Feed my sheep," so to have we been entrusted with the work of the Kingdom. When we see ourselves as needed, responsible, and contributing to the Kingdom, then amazing transformations can happen. The call to faithful service is not always easy to respond...

Sermon Scripture: Exodus 33:12-23 Throughout all the ups and downs of the Exodus stories, all the triumphs and failures, all the starts and stops, this one thing never changes. Moses insists on the Lord’s Presence among the people and guiding the people. “Show us your Glory or Lord.”

Sermon Scripture: Exodus 32:1-14 And all throughout scripture, old testament, new testament, and beyond, all throughout church history, God has been calling us to be aware of our Egypt problem. For as much as we desire to be free and whole, we equally desire to feel safe and in control of our lives and environments. So when we are uncertain, we tend to craft answers and solutions for ourselves rat...

Sermon Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-27, Matthew 21:33-44 Among Hebrew scholars, it is well accepted that most modern Biblical translations of the Ten Commandments have misrepresented the intent of Exodus 20. The words might work, but they don’t really fit the spirit of God’s work in the Exodus event. The “commandments” begin with an act of redemption. The law begins with grace. So why would w...

Sermon Scripture: Exodus 17:1-7 We all have a working model of reality that we try to fit the world we experience into. These are the rules, laws, and expectations not only for nature and science and biology, but also for society and relationships and experience. But when our model is shaken, we often look to our leaders to explain it all, to assure us, to close the gaps for us, otherwise all that...

Sermon Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, 8:7-9, 8:12-15, 9:6-12 In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul is detailing some general principles for giving that still guide us today; generous giving should be done wisely and faithfully, giving should come from love and joy rather than obligation, and it is a privilege to give as partners in the Kingdom of Heaven Join us to discover six ways in which we can engag...

Sermon Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19 In a fallen world like ours, where corruption is so tempting to our hearts, money can certainly reveal the taint that is in all of our hearts. And of all the topics that we grapple with in our modern world, money is one that the scripture has LOTS to say about. There is an over abundance of warnings, admonitions, and counsel on money through the Bible.  Th...

Sermon Scripture: Romans 13:8-10, Philippians 2:1-8 According to Jesus, the whole point of the Old Testament law, and of all the commandments, was to teach Israel how to love God and to love their neighbor. (Matthew 22:36-40). Last week we spoke about the generosity of God as demonstrated by Jesus and we focused on the mindset of abundance rather than that of scarcity. The beginning of generosity...

Sermon Scripture: Luke 12:22-34 Creation is an expression of God’s generous love. He’s the host, and we are his guests in a world of opportunity and abundance. But God does not stop there. We’re then called to keep the party going and to spread his goodness. This is a beautiful picture, but it’s not the way we tend to experience the world. Instead, all too often we experience a world of scarcity a...

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12 Fasting is a way to bridge this gap, between “the haves” and “the have nots.” Going back at least as far as Isaiah 58, it has long been a vehicle for biblical justice, a way for those with too much food to share with those in need of food. This simple practice of giving away the money we would have spent on ourselves has the potential to transform not only the live...

Sermon Scripture: Acts 13:1-3, Jonah 3:3-10 Fasting and prayer go together. Like two wings of a bird, together they take flight. You can pray without fasting, and you can fast without praying, but when you combine the two, there’s a noticeable amplification of our prayer before God.  This comes as no surprise, since fasting is a kind of praying with our body. When the request of our heart is coupl...

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18, Romans 12:1-2 When we fast, at least four things are happening in our body and soul; it’s weaning us off the pleasure principle, it’s revealing what’s in our heart, it’s re-ordering our desires, and it’s drawing on the power of God to overcome sin. Our fight is not against the body — the body is broken, but it is a good gift. Our fight is for the body. It’s again...

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18, Romans 12:1-2 When we fast FROM food or activities we also fast TO something. We fast TO Jesus. After all, hunger only results when you long for something more of what you do not have, and in Jesus, there is always more for us if we seek. The body is the sphere where our discipleship to Jesus becomes real. Where it’s not just an idea or even a feeling, but a prac...

Sermon Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 In prayer, we learn with quiet confidence that God is at work building a place for himself in our hearts and mind. This is not done by painful deconstruction of our lives but is simply accomplished when we intently look at God’s glory as revealed in Jesus and are being transformed.