Mosaic Boston - Sermons

Good Friday service from April 14, 2017 at Mosaic Boston | Brookline

This week we looked at one of the most astonishing "I am" statements in the Gospel of John. In the context of proclaiming himself as the life-source of the universe ("I am the true vine"), Jesus shockingly says, "apart from me you can do nothing." Now, that's a staggering statement to make! Nothing? At first glance, there appear to be many things, many people do daily, apart from Jesus.

In John 14: 1-14, Jesus pronounces his famous words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If we love God, then why are we prone to wander away from Him? Jesus answers this question and more in John 10:1-21. In this message, we see how Jesus reveals that He alone is the Good Shepherd of our wandering souls.

From the very beginning, when God spoke and broke into the chaos of the darkness, light has been associated with the nature of God. So much so that when Moses looked at God’s back, Moses’ face began to glow. To the Hebrews, God’s presences in the wilderness was represented by glowing pillar of fire. In the temple era of Israel, God was represented through flames and candles in their most holy buil...

As we look at who Jesus is, in his own words, it's intriguing that Jesus compares himself to food. More specifically, Jesus compares himself to bread. Actually, he makes a stronger statement than that, he flat out says: "I am the bread of life." What in the world does that mean? Jesus is revealing a profound truth about us and about God. He is telling us that we are desire machines, animals of des...

Who is Jesus Christ? Lots of people have lots of ideas about Jesus Christ. But who is Jesus in his own words? What did he say about himself? In this sermon series, we walk through the famous "I am" statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. We're going to give Jesus a chance to reintroduce himself to us.

In Chapter 6 of Ephesians, St. Paul gives us God's plan for parenting, work, and spiritual warfare. Parents are told to commit to raising their children in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord." Employees are told to commit to doing their jobs "not by way of eye-service as people pleasers" but from sincere hearts, as if working for the Lord. Finally, all Christians are told to commit to the...

Some people argue that if marriage is so natural, then why would it require work? And how come some couples, who are willing to put the work in, can't seem to make it work? Since our culture doesn't have much of an answer to these question, many just say we weren't designed for marriage. Scarlett Johansson, who was recently divorced for the second time, said in an interview: "I think the idea of m...

In Ephesians 4, Paul lays out God's design for the unity of the Church, and the unity of individual churches. He writes, "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

What do you pray about most frequently? What do you pray about most intensely? Your finances? Your health? Your relationships? Your career? You? One of the best ways to reveal what you truly care about most in life, is to analyze the content of your prayers, the frequency of those prayers, and the intensity with which you pray about those things. We pray about what concerns us most, because prayer...

In order to help us understand the lavishness of God's mercy, grace, and love, Paul explains the bleakness of our plight apart from Christ. He plunges us deep into the abyss of our sinfulness, where it's cold, dark, and the pressure is excruciating. We weren't just spiritually sick or ill, we were "dead in our sins and trespasses." We weren't just naughty, we were "children of wrath." Then, when i...

The first in our series of book of Ephesians, a letter written for a cultural moment not unlike our own. Actually, Ephesus was a city more divided than our own. St. Paul writes to them, to tell them of Christ's plan to "unite all things to himself, in heaven and things on earth." Through the Gospel, Jesus breaks down the "dividing walls of hostility." Christ reconciles us both to God and to each o...

Listen as church planting resident Ivey Rhodes turns to the Bible to figure out what fasting is, and explore what it isn't: - Fasting isn’t for weight loss or any health benefit. - Fasting doesn’t earn favor with God. - Fasting can’t save you. - Fasting doesn’t make us spiritual giants. - Fasting isn’t a command. - Fasting doesn’t bend God to our will. If you want to hear what Christian fasting is...

Prayer is the lifeblood of our relational connection with God. Oswald Chambers once said, "We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first life of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything al all." Prayer isn't just to be used in the case of emergency. Prayer is how we commune with and encounter God himself. As we...

Week 1 of our Spiritual series looks at the connection between Holy Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Christians tend to gravitate toward one of two extremes regarding the third person of the Trinity. Some pursue experiences in the Spirit of God strictly apart from the Word of God. They listen for voices in their hearts or signs in the sky. They are always talking about what God said to them through...

The feeling of fear isn't something we naturally associate with Christmas. However, three times, at key moments in the Christmas narrative, people are told to "Fear not!" Yes, seeing an Angel is probably a nerve-racking experience, in and of itself. However, there may be more to it. They weren't just frightened by the Angel's appearance. They were frightened by the Angel's announcement. But all ar...

Joy is a sign of a healthy heart, and by extension, a lack of joy is a symptom of an unhealthy heart. Joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. Pleasure is felt in the body; happiness is felt in the mind and feelings. Joy, however, is felt deep in the heart, deep in the core of your soul. How’s your heart? How’s your joy? When the Angel brought news of the first Christma...

There are many things in this world that show us that God loves us. However, Christmas is the greatest, most ultimate, proof of God's love for us. The God of the universe subjected himself to becoming human, with everything this entails.

The word "Advent" comes from the Latin word "Adventus," meaning "coming" or "arrival. It begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Day. Advent is a celebration of the first coming of Jesus and the anticipation of his second coming. Celebrating Advent helps us cut through the infinite distractions, of life in general, and the Christmas season in particular, and refocus our attent...

Some days prayer is the only thing that gets you through. There is a real sense in which we should pray, to make it through the day. And that isn’t a bad thing at all. Prayer helping us through tough times is Biblical. We see that idea throughout the Psalms and from Jesus himself. Check out church planting resident Ivey Rhodes' sermon on prayer and how it helps us through the ups and downs of life...

In Genesis 12, God calls Abram (aka Abraham) and promises to bless him "so that you will be a blessing." This is how God's blessings work: when He blesses us, we are to receive those blessings with open hands, so his blessings don't just flow to us, but through us. We are not to be collectors of blessings, but dispensers of blessings. We are not to just be beneficiaries of blessings, but agents of...

However we feel, we must not overlook the phenomenal opportunity before the church today. We have an opportunity to live out the love of Christ by standing in the gap for all those who feel vulnerable, fearful, and alienated. We have an opportunity to boldly stand against anything that threatens life. So we stand with and fight for the unborn, the minority, the immigrant, for all who are oppressed...

One would think the story of Noah in Genesis should have concluded with a happy ending. However, tragically, it doesn't. The second half of chapter 9 tells us that Noah sinned, and so did his son Ham. The sin leads to a curse, and a forfeiture of blessing. Why? Somewhere along the way, Noah stopped striving for God's blessings. Unlike Jacob in Genesis 32:26 who told God "I will not let you go unle...

As we continue our journey through the book of Genesis, and the story of Noah in particular, we see the very first rainbow in all of human history. After over a year in the ark, with his kids, lots of animals, and certainly not enough ventilation, Noah leaves the ark for dry ground and fresh air. Can you even begin to imagine the feeling of getting out of that boat? Over a year in a boat, in some...