Hope In Tigard Sermons

It's probably one of the most revered unwritten rules of our time. "Thou shalt not judge anyone else." Don't get me wrong, there's so much good in that. There's huge value in empathy, in walking a mile in each other's shoes, and in constantly remember that we do not know what's really going on in each other's hearts. It's right that we shouldn&apos...

Every so often what we need to do is we need to stop. And we need to realize. And we need to take a deep breath. Because we need to see that this is it. What we are going to dig into this Sunday in Ephesians 2:1-10 is a word of God that has been parsed and preached and analyzed and analogized, poeticized, and prayed over. This is it. This is the heart of the Gospel. This is the centrality of Chris...

You have lived your whole life with a thought. It’s a thought that you had as a little kid that made your heart hurt. It’s a thought that as a teenager made you constantly be checking yourself in the mirror. It’s got you always asking yourself- am I likeable enough? It’s the thought that has you curating your online profile- that has you constantly stressing about moving forward career-wise- it’s...

Have you ever heard this phrase before? "Solus Christus." It's a Latin phrase that speaks to the history of the church all the way back to Jesus' time. It means "only Jesus." Jesus is the only one who could live perfectly, die on the cross, and rise from the grave. Only Jesus.  Over time, the church lost touch with that truth. The way to Jesus began to be taught as &q...

You have a family. And every family has baggage. It was always taught to me that “Every family has issues.” And I’ve seen in my life how that’s true. You probably have too. Jesus did too. I don't know if we think about it all that often, but Jesus had a family. And his family had baggage. You can see it in the text we're going to study this Sunday in Matthew 12:46-50.  We all long for an...

Why doesn't God just give everyone a sign? A bright message in the sky that proves beyond a doubt that he exists. If you're like me, then you've had that thought. The answer to that question exactly lies in this Sunday's text. You see, the Pharisees wanted to see that sign. They wanted him to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the Messiah. But... he already had. In the...

There's a miracle at the beginning of this Sunday's sermon text in Matthew 12:22-29. Jesus drives a demon out of a man; a demon that was causing the man to be blind and mute. Can you imagine? Blind to every physical input around him, and unable to give any verbal output. It was as if he was trapped in a prison the size of his own body. And Jesus drove out that demon.  We all have inner d...

The pastor who mentored me was and is a hard worker. He's a guy who will have an email in your inbox at 4am and will respond to your message after 10pm. He works hard, and he taught me how to work hard, too. But there was something that I have always appreciated about him. He made sure that I knew- if you're going to work hard, you're going to need to rest hard. Take a break!  That&...

I like to think I was blessed with a fairy tale love story. I met my wife, Charis, standing in the registration line in high school. I followed around with her on campus all registration day, asked her to homecoming, and the rest is history. I think God knew I would need her! We dated for 8 years before we got married, but before my Dad would give me his blessing to even propose to her, he wanted...

Have you ever thought about the human heart? You probably have. I didn't do very well in high school biology, but I still remember that the heart carries vessels in it. But have you ever thought about your heart like this? That your heart IS a vessel?  I think we actually use this language a lot. That if we're feeling tired, it's time to "fill ourselves up."  We've go...

What words should we use? Words are to pastors what the law is to police officers, and what coding is to programmers. Words are a pastor thing. They’re my craft. Everything I do, I do with words. I don’t use any other tools. They’re a pastor thing, but they’re not just a pastor thing. Every time that you use words, they matter. Oh man, do words matter. Words can make your day in a second and wreck...

I’ve got two reasons that we need to sit up and listen to this Sunday's text (Ephesians 4:17-5:2). Here's the first reason. Paul insists that we listen. He doesn’t do that very often. He insists for the Ephesians. He insists on it as a spiritual authority in their lives, as someone who had been their personal pastor for 3 years. He insists on it. Second reason to take the teaching of the...

Over the past year I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve entered into relationships with them and I’ve done my best to keep relationships with them, and as I grow to understand people's lives, do you know what I'm seeing? Division. More and more of it. Maybe you've seen it too. Maybe you've felt it yourself. It has been bothering me and making me sick to my stomach to see the ways tha...

What if there was no Barnabus? If there were no Barnabus, then there would be no Antioch church. And if there was no Antioch church, then there would be no missionary journey to the Gentiles. And if there was no missionary journey to the gentiles, then there would be no mass conversion of the gentiles in the first and second century. And if there was no mass conversion in the first and second cent...

Wow is this Sunday's sermon text a timely one! (But isn't every Word from God?!?) This Sunday, we take up one of Scripture's great teachings on reconciliation. Are you ready for that? Here's the background. What we find in Ephesians 2 is an incredible example of sin's power to take anything that God gives us- our intelligence, our looks, our success, our social position, e...

How do you start a church? That’s one of the big questions that I’ve been wrestling with over the last year- ever since my family and I arrived in Tigard. How do you start a church? That’s the one big question. And there are so many smaller questions that go into answering that big question. Where are we going to worship? How are we going to differentiate ourselves from the other churches in Tigar...

This text is a very famous text. As far as I’m concerned it’s probably the best text in the whole Bible for explaining the differences between Christianity and the religions of the world. Every single other religion on earth is built on the idea of human achievement and working to obtain some kind of salvation. Not Christianity. It’s by grace. It’s God’s doing. It’s God’s work. Can you get excited...

There are times where it’s good to mince words. When we want to be as direct, and simple and clear as possible. Like in a moment of intensity when efficiency is the thing most needed. Or in a moment of care when you want to fit everything you feel into those three famous words: “I love you.” Then, there are times that we can’t help but wax eloquent.   You know what that feels like, right? When you...

Can you think of any differences between the states of Oregon and South Carolina? I think you probably can! One is Southeast America, one is Northwest. One has palm trees, one has pine trees. The list could go on! There are a couple things in common, though. One similarity is that no matter how different the states can be in geography, population, politics, or any other measuring statistic, people...

Why do we sometimes not pray? Why do we sometimes refuse to pray for ourselves? Why is it that sometimes when we do pray we pray prayers that are completely sanitized? Listen in as Job raises his complaint to God powerfully and as he does, learn from him about how to lament and grieve over our pain with God. In so doing, Job shows us how to see our lives through the lens of Jesus. This is a sermon...

It wasn’t all that long ago that we had to decide what to call our church- what captured the heart of Jesus in a way that people of today could grasp. We came up with a few ideas that we tossed around and tested. You see where we landed. We landed on Hope. And we did it because of this- because the most important result of Jesus’ work for us is one word. It’s confident hope for eternal life with J...

This Sunday's sermon marks the beginning of a new series called "Anchored." Today we anchor and rest in Jesus. So many people are feeling spiritually exhausted these days. This sermon encourages you to remember to rest in Jesus. Remember that you have been saved from the grip and slavery of sin. Remember Jesus to Rest in Jesus.  This sermon is based on Deuteronomy 5:12-15.

See God today. Truly see him. See his glory, his holiness, and his perfection. See also his mercy and love. See his son Jesus. You know him. You’ve celebrated his birth at Christmas, you’ve remembered his death, you’ve celebrated his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Now see him as the one who changed your status in the presence of God. Whose life was worthy of standing unashamed in God’s throne room...