Lakeside United Methodist Church

Sermon:  Humble Prayer Scripture: Luke 18:9-14 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The parable about the prayers of the self-righteous Pharisee and the humble tax collector seems straightforward, but it is a trap! Even the very definition of humility can point us in the wrong direction. Sermon Series:  Prayer That Sustains Description: To his weary disciples… To those trying to do it all the...

Sermon: Persistent Prayer Scripture: Luke 18:1-8 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: A season of waiting is ultimately an admission of our lack of control. When it feels like we are waiting on God to deliver what God has promised, it can be frustrating and wearying and even tempt us to lose heart or hope. Knowing that his disciples would soon face this struggle, Jesus taught them to focus on...

Sermon: How It All Ends Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14, 27-28, Revelation 22:1-6 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The word "apocalypse" is often used to refer to the end of the world. One of the most famous apocalyptic works in the Bible is Revelation, which does give us a picture of the end. But ultimately, apocalypse is about God allowing us to see from a divine perspective. That makes this...

Sermon:  What We Want For You Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The annual "stewardship sermon" about giving is rarely a top-5 most loved sermon - either for the congregation or the preacher! And yet, what we do with our financial resources and how we relate to money is one of the things Jesus talked about the most. It was a common theme for Paul as well. Fo...

Sermon: Reading Someone Else's (Holy) Mail Scripture: Romans 12 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Reading the New Testament Letters. They teach theology, but that theology is born out of real relationships between people facing real challenges. Sermon Series: Learning to Read the Bible Even if we accept that the Bible is not a textbook or moral instruction manual, we can still desire more...

Sermon: Discerning the Meaning and Significance of Jesus' Parables Scripture: Luke 16:1-9 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Though we can conflate the two, meaning and significance are two different things. When we read Jesus' parables, we often skip the meaning in our search for the significance. We practice finding both today, as we dig into one of Jesus' most difficult parables. Sermon...

Sermon: Eyes to See, Ears to Hear Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The parables of Jesus are some of the most beloved and well-known passages in the Gospel accounts, if not the entire Bible. Just about everyone knows what a "Good Samaritan" is even if they don't know where it comes from. But, in a refrain that has been repeated throughout this series, what if o...

Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon: Who Do You Say That I Am? Scripture: Matthew 11:2-6 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Each of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus tell the same story, but they get there using different routes. This is, in part, because they are writing for different target audiences. This week, we explore a few key facets of these books that will help us both see the unified story and appreciate the...

Sermon: The Gospel is All About God's Kingdom Scripture: Mark 1:1-8, 14-15 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: "Gospel" is one of those words that might be so familiar that its meaning has become fuzzy or diluted. Paradoxically, it has also come to represent something so specific that actually limits our understanding of it. And so, in order to learn how to read the Gospels, we first need to...

Sermon: Where Are We Going? Scripture: Revelation 21:22-25, 22:1-5 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The story of the Bible begins in a garden with access to the Tree of Life and it ends in a garden with access to the Tree of Life. In-between is the story of humanity outside of the garden, without access to the Tree of Life because we are bound by the power of sin and death. In order to ge...

Sermon: What Is Our Story? Scripture: Genesis 2:9, 15-17, Genesis 3:14-15, 22-23 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description:  The beautiful story that begins with humanity as royal priests representing God and ruling over the good world on God's behalf only last about a page before it all comes crashing down. And it is here where we sync up with the beginning of the stereotypical story of Christiani...

Sermon: Who Are We and Why Are We Here? Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31, 2:4-9, 15 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Identity and purpose: who we are and why we are here. More than any other of life's "big questions", these shape how we see and act in the world. In a way, the answers to these questions are both much grander and much more simple than we likely realize. Sermon Series: Garden Cent...

Sermon: Where Are We? Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: In order to tackle the big questions of life, like who we are and why we are here, we must start at the beginning. And in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This week, we start off by exploring the world into which God placed us. Sermon Series: Garden Center - Who We Are & Why Are We Here  

Sermon: The Pursuit of Lady Wisdom Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8, 13-18 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs are all tied to the figure of Solomon in the Bible. And like in the narratives of 1 Kings, we experience multiple sides to Solomon - the young optimist, the elder cynic, and even the ideal shepherd king that wasn't. But despite the var...

Sermon: Wisdom: Not If But How Scripture: 1 Kings 3:3-15 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The simple truth is that everyone gains wisdom—it's a part of growing up. But not all wisdom is created equal! The source, content, and ramifications of how we see and discern good and bad, right and wrong shapes our lives. And as the biography of King Solomon shows us, it is a life-long pursuit. Ser...

Sermon: How Jesus Fulfilled the Law Scripture: John 5:19-24 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: It is not uncommon to hear people say that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament seem like two different Gods. One is about rules and laws and the other is about faith and love. But when we learn to read the Law of the Bible properly, we see that it is all part of the unifi...

Sermon: What Even IS Biblical Law?! Scripture: Psalm 1 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: There's a memorable bit of dialogue from the film  The Princess Bride : "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." In some ways, this could be said of us when we talk about the Law in the Bible. And so, in order to learn how to read biblical law, we might first have to...

Sermon: Covenant Watchdogs Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Dr. Tim Mackie of the BibleProject describes the biblical prophets like "covenant watchdogs," issuing warnings and calling people back to faithfulness to God. But it is not all gloom and doom. Even the most devastating of God's punishments are ultimately about providing the cleansing necessary to rest...

Sermon: Prayers of the Past, Hope For the Future - Part 2 Scripture: Psalm 8 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Last week, we introduced the idea that the Psalms are prayers of the past that offer hope for the future. This week, we see that the hope offered isn't just some general hope about God's future faithfulness. Rather, some of them became key points that New Testament authors, and ev...

Sermon: Prayers of the Past, Hope For the Future - Part 1 Scripture: Psalm 2 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 poetic songs and prayers. But it isn't just a "best of" collection - they are intentionally arranged, communicating deep truths within and across psalms. These prayers give us both a picture of the past and hope for the future. Sermon Seri...

Sermon: Roses Are Read, Violets Are Blue, Poetry is Hard, but It's Worth It Too Scripture: Psalm 29 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Poetry can be hard to read and understand. Even seemingly simple poems, like the famous "roses are red…", have much more going on below the surface than we often realize. But poetry, and especially biblical poetry, is so valuable precisely because it communi...

Sermon: HGTV, The Bible, and Baptism Scripture: Romans 6:1-8 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: If you've ever watched a home renovation show like Fixer Upper or Home Town, you are familiar with the concept of design patterns. Colors, textures, themes, and sometimes even literal patterns run through the house in big and small ways to tie everything together. The same technique is used by th...

Sermon: Haven't We Been Here Before? Scripture: John 4:1-26 Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: The streets of New York City, the canals of Venice, a cafe in Paris. These are iconic settings that many of us can not just picture but almost feel too. The setting in a narrative has the power to affect how we experience a story - sometimes without even realizing it! And learning to read the Bibl...

Sermon: Seeing Yourself in the Bible Scripture:  2 Samuel 12:1-7a Speaker: Rev. Dan Wunderlich Description: Modern stories often give us what can seem like detailed blueprints of characters, telling us about their appearance, backstory, and even thoughts and motivations. The characters in the Bible are much more like impressionist paintings, communicating a lot through very little detail. This lac...