Lenexa Central Church Sermons

Acts 2:1-13; Isaiah 56:1-8 The gift of the Holy Spirit gave the disciples power to declare the Gospel in languages they did not know. What God did in confusing the languages at Babel (Gen. 11), he reverses at Pentecost in bringing them together, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that “my house will be a house of prayer for all nations.” Becoming a church for all nations is hard work, but the Holy Spiri...

Acts 1:1-11  Having spent 40 days with the resurrected Jesus, the disciples understood more than they ever have before that God was truly for them. The resurrection of Jesus wasn’t the end of the story but the beginning. However, when God gives us a new beginning, we are called to tell what he has done for us.

1 John 4:7-12 Christ's triumph in the resurrection is not the end of the story...it's just the beginning! Because Christ has loved us, we are to love others deeply. Our love for others is what "completes" our love for God! It's the ultimate "so what?" to the Gospel.

Romans 8:33-34; John 15:12-17  We were created for community and to be in relationship with one another. The brokenness of our world, however, can leave us broken and feeling isolated. When other relationships fail, Jesus is the friend who always has our back. Because our God is FOR us, we will never be alone.

John 21:15-19   Our failures will never exhaust God's limitless supply of grace.

1 Corinthians 12:6-10   Are you frustrated with life, with your circumstances, with God? Followers of Jesus are not promised an easy path, but we can have faith in the God who walks with us. His grace meets us right where we are, and his peace surpasses our understanding

John 20:1-18 Mary didn’t recognize it was Jesus until he called her by name. The Good News of Easter is that love knows our name. When Jesus calls us by name, He invites us into a life-giving relationship with Him in which we discover the relationship our soul has longed for. This one who knows our name restores what the world has taken away.

Romans 8:31-23; John 20:24-31  How does one take a leap of faith into the unknown? Thomas doubted, yet confessed, “My Lord, and My God!” The Apostle Paul once tried to destroy the church, and then spent the rest of his life building up what he once tried to destroy. An encounter with the risen Christ changes everything and enables us to jump into the unknown. Because THIS God is for us, we can ent...

John 12:12-19 Earthly kings come and go. Some are good, and some are bad. No earthly king, however, is perfect. Jesus is the perfect King who embodies the love, justice, and righteousness that enables God's Kingdom to come "on earth as it is in Heaven." Will we give our allegiance to this King and this Kingdom?

Luke 9:18-27 When Jesus invites someone to follow him, he is inviting them to die. This death to all that is contrary to the Way of Jesus begins in surrender. Surrender is the foundation of the spiritual life. Practicing the Way is a lifelong process of deepening surrender to Jesus. Surrender to Jesus begins today, and it begins again tomorrow.

Luke 5:12-16 Becoming an apprentice of Jesus doesn't happen by accident. Jesus lived by a "rule of life" that is anchored in prayer, and would-be apprentices must understand the connection between what Jesus did and who he was. His purpose was fulfilled because he was intentional in how he used his time. God invites us to commit to a grace-filled rule of life that transforms us into...

John 14:8-14  As apprentices of Jesus, we not only spend time with Him and become like him, but we are sent out to do what he did. The end goal of apprenticeship is to grow and mature into the kind of person who can say and do what the Master does. Compared to Jesus, this sounds impossible, but we have the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to do "even greater things than these."

Matthew 5:43-48  When Jesus talks about "perfection," he isn't referring to unattainable sinlessness. He's referring to maturity, specifically, being mature and complete in our love for others. It may not always be pretty or easy to understand, but love for the unloveable becomes the ultimate measure of one's growth towards Christlikeness. 

John 15:1-17 As an apprentice of Jesus, our life is anchored in his presence by the Holy Spirit. This is the call to "abide" in him. If you're not abiding in Jesus, you're abiding in something: media, relationships, careers, or any combination of things. Apprenticeship with Jesus recognizes that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that we must intentionally set before God...

Mark 1:16-20 We live in a world that imagines one can be a "Christian" but not an "apprentice" of Jesus. The invitation to follow Jesus is more than subscribing to the bare bones beliefs of Christianity. Jesus invites us to follow him and to become his apprentice. Converts to Christianity will not change the world, but apprentices of Jesus who embody His Kingdom in what they do...

John 6:35; 6:68-69  There is a difference in knowing about Jesus and being in relationship with Jesus. We are invited into a deep and abiding relationship with him that impacts our entire life. In John 6, Jesus not only feeds the 5,000, but declares himself to be the “bread of life” that “comes down from heaven.” Are we “all in” with who Jesus declares himself to be or are we just in it for the fr...

Psalm 37, Matthew 7:13-14, 1 Corinthians 1:21-25 Jesus is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. 

Psalm 37; Matthew 11:28-30 The creation account describes a rhythm in which God separates, fills, and rests/blesses. In the same way, our lives are "recreated" by God's Holy Spirit when we seperate from the world, are filled by God, and become a conduit of God's blessings to the world. Jesus invites us into this way when we are invited to "take his yoke" upon us. This...

Mark 10:46-52 Are we so familiar with God that we're missing Him? Hear the Word from Mark 10 as Rev. LaMorris Crawford provokes us to live in faith and expectancy.

Psalm 37; Luke 17:11-19 Delighting in the Lord means we revere the Giver more than the gift. In the story of the 10 lepers who were cleansed, one came back to give thanks, a Samaritan! We are not entitled to anything, but everything is a gift from God. This cycle is sustained by grateful hearts who find their delight in their relationship with God. 

Psalm 37 Some people are leapers - they jump in with both feet with little hesitation. Others are calculators - they analyze the risk thoroughly before making a decision. Both are called to be disciples of Jesus who trust God above all else. This way of living demonstrates for the world the most basic of all biblical truths: God is with us! 

Psalm 37:1-9  This Psalm invites us to fully commit to the ways of God that bring peace in place of worry. It's a daily decision that teaches us faith in the character of God and not in our circumstances. As we face new situations, we commit to this way again and again, experiencing more of God's peace and faithfulness. 

Luke 2:41-52

Luke 1:46-56  The message of Christmas invites the people of God to sing, but the world is woefully out of tune with God’s purposes for creation. Mary obediently brings her life into harmony with the Christmas message in the midst of a dissonant world. All are invited to sing with Mary as we embrace the Christmas message that brings the sour notes of our life into the key of Christmas. 

Isaiah 12:1-6  We are reminded in the season of Advent that, while Christ has already come, Christ will also come again. We live in a reality where things are not as they should be, but we find an unexplainable joy that only God can give as we wait.