Faith Lift

This is a first in the series on Adam Hamilton's book "Incarnation" This sermon is based on 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 The question being asked is while we just voted in the presidential race, who is truly our king to who we owe our lives and our devotion? Its the same one who was born in a stable, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 25: are you recognizing Christ around you?

In Matthew 16 Jesus tells his disciples, if you want to follow you must do two things: Deny Yourself and Pick Up Your Cross. The question for us is are we able? We have to do both. 

Jesus in seeking out what people are saying asks the disciples about who people are saying he is. He then asks, "But who do you say that I am?" How do you answer that question? Can you answer as Peter did?

The Caananite woman seeks our Jesus to heal her daughter. In that encounter, he finds someone who gets what he has been teaching and admires her great faith. How can we raise our faith level to go from good to great?

IN the midst of the storm Jesus comes to the disciples in the boat. Peter recognizes who it is and says, "If it is you command me to come to you on the water." Peter goes for a walk on the water, we can too. What do we need to do to get out of the boat and walk on water?

Jesus feeds the 5000+ He tells the disciples "You give them something to eat." What do you have to offer that Jesus can take, bless and have you offer to others?

A Mustard Seed? A Pearl? A Hidden Treasure? What is Jesus trying to say about the Kingdom of God? 

My first sermon in a new  configuration of churches into a cooperative parish. Based on 1 Corinthians 2 Paul desires to know nothing except Christ and him crucified.

Based on Romans 5:1-8, We start with the late author Rachel Held Evans and the reason she stays with the church: T he reason to stay with the church is because Christianity addresses sin and directs us to the Lord, who cleanses and redeems us. She reminds us that there is a remedy for the sin-sick and stained soul.

Through the passage from John 4:1-26, Pastor Craig examines Jesus' breaking racial barriers and what that means for us in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

In the movie Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella took a chance by plowing under part of his corn fields at great financial and personal lossfor a field of dreams. What in your life needs to be plowed under that God's Holy Spirit might work in and through you to create a new field of dreams for all to see Christ?

Acts 1:1-14 details Jesus Ascension to heaven. The disciples are caught looking up at the awe inspiring sight and told to wait for the Holy Spirit.  But the question is what do we do now? Three things: Word, Waiting and Witness. In these in between times that is what we do as we live out our lives of faith and look to the Spirit for guidance. 

In 1 Peter 3:13-22,  Peter is writing to a community of the faithful in Asisa Minor. They are struggling.  But he reminds them of who they are in their baptism. And from that they need to be ready to answer why they have that hope. 

1 Peter 2:2-10 Peter talks about Christ being our cornerstone. When we build our faith on him, we bring with us our past, all that we are and all that we have. What is in thetime capsule of your life to remind you of who you are, where you have been and how far you have come in your faith?

A service based on Psalm 23. Ppleasenote this audio of the full online service, including Call to Worship, Opening Prayer etc. Nature seems to love symmetry. It's a principle that has been described as "change without change." We see this principle at work in God's loving care and protection of us. Change without change.

Luke 24:13-35 Willie Nelson sang "On the Road Again." The disciples were on the road to Emmaus and didint realize who was walking with them. Do we recognize Jesus in the stranger as we are on the road?

The director of the British Museum tells the history of the world by using 100 objects found in the museum. But can the history of the world truly be told without mentioning a certain cross, tomb and stone? These cannot be found in the British Museum, but they tell a story that changed the course of history.

IN the final installment of the sermon series on Adam Hamilton's book "The Walk" Pastor Craigshares the last spiritual practioce of sharing your faith. Is there someone who shared their faith with you that was integral inyour journey? Is there someone who would say the same about you? The challanege: Share your faith with five people within twekve months. Pray about who to speak to and invite to c...

What are the Greastest Books? What books guided your life? The Gospel of John is a book that calls us to trust and bellieve. Through the story of Lazarus, Martha and Mary we come to find out we all have to answer that question: Do you believe this?

When the mother of the sons of Zebedee asked Jesus to give them the right and left hand seats next to him, Jesus asked them if they cand rink from the cup he was about to drink from. Author Henri Nouwen wrote a book by that title. He says in order to livelife ot the fullest in Christ we must be able to hold, lift and drink from the cup.  This is a brief devotional. 

Jesus said where your treasure is your heart is also. Walking with God calls us to livein a way wehre we are thankful for what we have, live a life of purpose, and offering our money, time and talent genrously.

Jesus Christ enables us to be anxious in nothing, prayerful in everything, thankful in anything. ANXIOUS IN NOTHING; PRAYERFUL IN EVERYTHING; THANKFUL IN ANYTHING ... THEN ... THE PEACE.

Joshua challenged the people of Israel to serve the Lord. We too are called to serve God by serving others. We are to see the Christ in all people as we do so and live out the Two Great Commandments. But to do so we have to be willling to have our scheduled interrupted. Often in the midst of our routine is when God needs us to serve the most. 

We hear God through two means, natural and special revelation. Natural is the way through the world aroundus God calls to us. Special revelation is when we come together in studying the BIble to hear God's message for our lives and for the world. To hear it we must pay attention.