Gospel for life with Nathaniel Timmermann

Paul sows us that the most practical activities of our lives - eating and marriage - are spiritual. He lays out ow these are the areas for spiritual warfare. A sermon on 1 Timothy 5 on August 24

We've got the awesome privilege that God is working through us. We are his masks. A sermon on 1 Timothy 3, 5 and Michael Berg's "Vocation" on August 10th

The people of Peace want to build a good congregation in Otsego-Plainwell that lives well for the people around us. We want to know the people around us and build better relationships because there is one mediator and not just because we share other common interests. A sermon on August 3, 2025 for Friendship Sunday. 

A sermon on 1 Timothy 2 and Michael Berg's "Vocation". On july 27th, 2025 

The question, "What should I do with my life" is constant refrain. We graduate from high school - what should I do with my life? Finish college - what should I do with my life. Don't like our career - what should I do with my life? Have kids - what should I do with my life? Retire - what should I do with my life. Over the next few weeks, we'll try to answer this question through the lens of "vocat...

Charles Taylor explains that while 500 years ago it was almost impossible to NOT believe in God, now it is almost impossible TO believe in God. In so many ways, we've built a life that can be meaningful, rewarding, and successful in some ways without God. Then we use little salvations to fix the problems we still have. But what if each of those little salvations simply pointed to the bigger salvat...

For someone who takes the time to investigate the issues related to the Bible, they will likely discover hundreds of questions and problems. There are reasonable answers for many of these questions. The real question is, what is the Bible? Is it data or information? Is it a rule book? if it is these things, it will disappoint us. But if it is something more.... a sermon on June 1st, 2025

Can a book so old be reliable? Can we trust it and learn from it? What about all the problems in the Bible? This week we consider whether the Bible is reliable. A sermon on Acts 17:10-15.

A common problem with Christianity is that it ruins the fun in people's lives. Whether intentional or not, it becomes something of a "straitjacket" that people simply have to put up with. What do we do about this? Why does Christianity take all the fun out of life? A sermon from Acts 11 and other lessons on May 18th 2025

The first Christians dealt with some of the hardest questions. One of them - what do we do about suffering? They faced so much. Then they healed. Acts Answers - a sermon on May 11th 2025.

There are plenty of arguments that Christianity does good things in the world. See Confronting Christianity or Alvin Schmidt How Christianity Changed the World. But Jesus doesn't say Christianity is good because it makes the world a better place or because people do good things because of Christianity. Rather, he says Christianity is good because Jesus died and rose. A sermon on Acts 9:1-22 on May...

We still ask a lot of questions of Christianity, and so did the ancient people. Acts answered a lot of the same questions. Lets find out what they said. First study - is Christianity legitimate? is it valid? Should we keep it around? Acts 5:17-34

Peeps. Crème filled eggs. Chocolate. Bunnies. Chicks. Lambs. Lilies. Tulips. Daffodils. They’re all fun things that are part of spring. But they actually take us back to the real Easter. While the religions of the East speak of dissolving into the ocean of being, and while Islam and the Christian cults portray an otherworldly future, the Bible promises resurrection. This is different. It’s this li...

Repentance can be difficult, almost terrifying. Yet it is renewing, and God is desperate to renew us. A sermon on Psalm 51:10-13

Don't murder - protect human life. But we can't imagine our desire for violence. We've got to see the incredible value and worth we have from the one who gave up his life for us. The 5th Commandment.

Do we really know ourselves well enough to tell the truth? Death and resurrection can firmly ground us and give us a place to build from. Sermon on April 6th, 2025 on the 8th Commandment

We've been convinced that consumption is the way of life. It is a spiritual practice that fills our souls. The 7th Commandment points us to a different way. We stop living off the backs of others and consuming everything we can get, and start constructing lives. A sermon on the 7th Commandment on March 30, 2025.

If sexuality is something sacred to be stewarded, how do we steward it? How do we manage it and care for it and let it be something that leads to flourishing? We have to begin by not just expressing our sexuality. A sermon on the 6th Commandment, March 23, 2025

There are a couple of different stories you and I can choose to live with our sexuality - and we should choose a good one, because it is an incredibly powerful force. Which are you living? A sermon on March 16, 2025

To modern ears, "honor your father and mother" and it's implications sound crazy. 'I owe someone respect not because of their accomplishments or their status?" That's what the gospel wants from us because Jesus gave up his authority. We can respect people who stand in God's place. A sermon on the 4th Commandment, March 9th, 2025

There are a lot of questions to ask about repentance. One place to start: do we even need it? Do we need to practice repentance? This isn't a great answer, but part of the answer comes from the Great King David. He models repentance in Psalm 51.

Have we lost glory as we've closed down our world? How has that hurt us? Let's reclaim glory for our lives. Sermon on Luke 9:28-36

We've got a lot of different games and rules that we can play to prove our worth and value. There were at least two specific ones in the Bible - ethnicity and obedience. Those are still popular today. Jesus sets up a different system in the sermon on the plain, one were we can still get a win. Luke 6:17-26 on February 16th, 2025

We rarely feel wanted in life. It turns out that a lot of people aren't actually wanted in life. It makes sense that we wouldn't feel wanted. It's quite rare. It testifies to the fact that we are sinners. But Jesus wants sinners. A sermon on Luke 5:1-11, February 9 2025

It's really hard to get our beliefs and behavior to come together. Some people might say it doesn't matter, but it shows up in so many ways. Why? Jesus gets at the root problems and brings our life back together today. Sermon on Luke 4:38-44.