Gardendale Nazarene Sermons

Bitterness to Gentleness Ruth 1:1-17, 4:13-17 Judges 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him. Ruth 1:1-5 1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of...

Today we are joined by our youth pastor, James Dolinger.

Mission and Naming  Exodus 1:8-2:10; 3:1-15 Exodus 1:8  A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. Exodus 1:9-22 Exodus 2:10  When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 3:1-15 Exodus 3:14  God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to...

Blessing and Naming Genesis 32:9-13, 22-30 Motif-  a dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition Genesis 16:8  He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” Genesis 16:13  So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees...

When Promises Turn to Laughter Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 Stories between Genesis 2-18 Noah and the Great Flood Tower of Babel Call of Abram Sodom and Gomorrah Introduced Abram's Vision and Covenant Ishmael and Hagar Genesis 15:1-6 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, “Lord...

The First Family Genesis 2:4b-25 "It's Him again, the Creator of the universe. It's Him again." Genesis 2:4-25 Genesis 2:18  Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” Genesis 2:20  The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corres...

Learning as We Go John 15:9-17 John 15:9-17 9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one...

Power Redefined Isaiah 2:1-4 Axiom 7: God's love always reckons with power. Exodus 23:1-9 1 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. 2 “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. 3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. 4 “If you come across your enemy’s stra...

What is a disciple? • A disciple is one who follows Jesus • A disciple is someone who has been changed by an interaction with Jesus • A disciple is someone committed to the mission of Christ You are invited to be a disciple, but it is not something we are left to accomplish on our own strength.  We have an inner-life and an outer-life. Isaiah 5:1-5 1I will sing about the one I love, a song about m...

John 11:17-27 "...when we open the Bible–we enter the totally unfamiliar world of God, a world of creation and salvation stretching endlessly above and beyond us. Life in the warehouse never prepared us for anything like this.  Typically, adults in the warehouse scoff at the tales the children bring back. After all, they are completely in control of the warehouse world in ways they could neve...

In the Middle of Our Mess (Romans 8:5-11) Axiom 4: God meets us in our messy reality. God doesn't despise the sinner. He desires to be with the sinner, to heal and forgive and save the sinner. The God who is love, who is always present and at work, who looks just like Jesus, always meets us right where we really are, in the middle of whatever mess we find ourselves in. Three Questions dealing...

Axiom 1- God is love, so it is all about love. Axiom 2- God is always present and at work. The bottom line of this second axiom is that God is present, actively working among us right now and always. This is not a nice idea to make us feel better; it is the bedrock reality of the universe. It is the truest thing about the world. We have all built a custom god who lives in our imaginations. These g...

God is Present Psalm 139 In our story, God creates the world on purpose and in love, providing for it, caring for it, and calling it all very good. This is God's own temple where He dwells with humanity. It is where we meet God because it is where God resides. John 1:1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All...

God is Love 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Axiom-  a statement that is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true. Eight Axioms to Cultivate a Robust Faith • God is love, so it is all about love. • God is always present and at work. • God is just like Jesus. • God meets us in our messy reality. • God cares about all of it more than we do. • God does the same work in us and through us. •...

This morning we are joined by Rev. Kristofer Labenske.

The Opportunity for Freedom Galatians 5:13-18 "God has given us a wonderful exercise for training in truthfulness. That exercise is called prayer. To learn to pray is to have our bodies formed by the truth and love that move the sun and the stars.ul exercise for training in truthfulness." –Stanley Hauerwas,  The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godchild John 8:30-38 30 As he was saying...

At Home in the Truth Colossians 1:9-14 Here's my advice– "Do not lie." "A Christian is someone who is unable to lie." –Stanley Hauerwas “...the truth can be spoken only by someone who is already at home in it, not by someone who still lives in untruthfulness..."  –Wittgenstein  What does it mean to be at home in the truth?  Colossians 1:9-14 9 For this reason also, sin...

Prowling Like a Lion 1 Peter 5:8-9 Two Truths Concerning the Devil: • I believe in the devil because Jesus believed in the devil. • The devil's end goal is to spread death. John 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he s...

The Role of Virtue Romans 1:20 Romans 1:18-25 18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the cr...

Three Theories for the Nature of Truth 1) The Correspondence Theory-  A statement is true if it corresponds to the way the world is 2) The Coherence Theory-  A statement is true if it is consistent with other statements we take to be true. • The coherence theory is put under pressure when other truths are questioned. 3) The Pragmatic Theory-  A statement is true if it works. • The pragmatic theory...

This morning, we are joined by our youth pastor, Rev. James Dolinger.

Freedom from Sin Romans 6:1-14 Romans 6:1-14 1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the...

God Sought Life Romans 3:28-30, 5:1-11 Romans 3:9-10 9 What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. Romans 3:23-24 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ...

Called to be Saints  Romans 1:1-17 Romans 16:19-20 19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 1:1-7 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart...

Stand on Your Feet! Acts 13:1-3, 14:8-18 Acts Outline from Acts 1:8 A. ...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you (chp. 2) B. ...you will be my witnesses... 1) in Jerusalem and Judea (chp. 2-7) 2) in Samaria (chp 8-12) 3) the ends of the earth (13-20) Acts 13:1-3 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cy...