Mosaic Boston - Sermons

Have you heard these phrases before? "Your days are numbered." "The writing is on the wall." "You have been weighed and found wanting." All three phrases come from Daniel 5. All three have made their way into the public imagination of our culture. All three pack a powerful emotional punch. These phrases are deeply moving because they communicate some of the most profound, self-evident truths about...

Do you ever feel like your own worst enemy? We’ve been walking through the book of Daniel, and we’ve seen how God is able to deliver us from our enemies and the trials of life. We’ve also seen how, at times, God chooses to not deliver us from our trials, but to deliver us by walking with us through our trials. Before any of this, however, God first needs to deliver us from the greatest enemy of al...

Today we have the blessing of studying one of the most famous and beloved stories in all of Scripture: the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into the fiery pit. It's a phenomenal testimony of the unwavering, ironclad, immovable faith of three young men, in the face of the most dire of circumstances. This text is chock-ful of faith-building and live-giving lessons. A primary question...

You ever feel like living a faithful Christian life is an uphill battle? Like the deck is stacked against you? Like you're Sisyphus, pushing a massive boulder uphill, and when you're almost at the top, you gas out and the stone comes tumbling down the hill, almost crushing you in the process? There are so many temptations in this world, and so many more in the city. How in the world can you remain...

Corporately, we'll celebrate the triumph of Christ over Satan, Sin, and Death on our behalf! As the Scriptures say: "Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

This Sunday, we are finishing our "Hard Sayings of Jesus" series with a look at Matthew 21:1-22, where Jesus rides in to Jerusalem on the occasion we have come to know as "Palm Sunday." We've chosen to include this passage in our series reflecting on the most perplexing teachings/actions of Jesus, because there's so much in this text that really seems out of place. Why does Jesus tell his disciple...

A Canaanite woman begs Jesus to heal her sick daughter, and he responds by saying "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." What?! Did Jesus just call her a dog? What just happened? This text seems utterly incompatible with the character of Jesus. It seems shockingly intolerant. Are we missing something? However, the woman isn't offended and actually responds in such...

I don't know about you, but I think I've had my fill of the mosh-pit morass that this presidential election has become (and we've got 8 more months of it!!). As election season fatigue sets in, it's helpful to remind ourselves of who is really in charge: King Jesus! We all long for a leader who can bring true, lasting, meaningful change. We all long for a leader who is good, kind, benevolent (and...

One of the cardinal rules of public speaking is: "Don't be boring!" I remember a preaching professor in seminary used to say, "Preaching a boring sermon is a deadly sin!" Why? Because the Gospel is anything but boring. Jesus is the most interesting man in the world (sorry Dos Equis guy). As the most interesting man in the world, Jesus' words are the most riveting words in the history of the world....

As we continue our series through the "Hard Sayings of Jesus," we'll look at one of the most mystifying texts in all of Scripture: Jesus' teaching on the "Unforgivable Sin." Many Christians over the centuries have worried that perhaps they, unwittingly, at some point, have committed this sin. Just to calm the troubled soul of the Christian burdened by this worry: No Christian can commit this sin....

Today, we're beginning a new sermon series called, "The Hard Sayings of Jesus." Most of what Jesus said was absolutely clear to understand, though impossible to do (apart from the grace of God). Mark Twain spoke for many, when he said that the things in the Bible that bothered him most were not those that he did not understand but those that he understood quite well. However, Jesus did say some th...

Have you heard of "The Lady Macbeth Effect"? It's named after the Shakespearean queen who manipulates her husband into killing the king, and then is racked by shame and guilt. She start frenetically washing away blood on her hands that only she can see. She deludes herself that "a little water will clear us of this deed." But for all of her repeated washing, she cannot cleanse herself of the ever-...

What's your most prized possession? Of all the things you own, that belong to you, what do you treasure most? When I was 17 years old, I spent my life savings life savings on a car. Now my life savings wasn't much, about $3,000, but it was all I had and I earned it by mowing a lot of lawns in the summer, shoveling a lot of driveways in the winter, and raking a lots of leaves in the fall. So I gave...

When we think of grace, we think of it more like a couch rather than a coach. We think of grace like a couch: you sit, relax, chill and grace does all the work (maybe brings you a snack). We should be thinking of grace more like a coach. In Titus 2:11, the Apostle Paul says it's God's grace that trains us to renounce ungodliness. God sends Coach Grace into our lives to bring lasting transformation...

At the beginning of tomorrow's sermon, I'm going to take a look at what the Lord has done in and through Mosaic Boston, and also cast vision for all I long for the Lord to do in and through us in 2016. 2015 was an incredible year for our church body! In many ways, it was the greatest year to date, in terms of quantifiable growth. In order to be good stewards of God's grace upon us, we need to be a...

Have you ever completed a project, only to realize minutes later your work has been undone? You hit the bottom of your inbox, but by the time you send your last reply there is a new message waiting for your response. You clean the house, and before you can sit down to admire your work the kids' toy box has already exploded across your living room. So much of life comes with the feeling that there...

"It's a New Year and that comes with new energy and passion to bring about change in our lives for the better. But more often than not, we hear stories about how people just didn't follow through. That diet just wasn't "for them". The gym just didn't "work with their schedule". The new Bible reading plan just wasn't "giving them what they needed". Data show that 25% of us will have fallen short of...

This Advent season we're looking at the four Authorized Biographies of Jesus Christ to inform our understanding of the first coming of Christ, and prepare for his second coming. Today, we look at Christmas according to the Gospel of John, from John 1:1-18, one of the most theologically and philosophically rich texts ever written. In preparation for our time together, be sure to spend some time tod...

This Advent season we're looking at the four Authorized Biographies of Jesus Christ to inform our understanding of the first coming of Christ, and prepare for his second coming. Last week we looked at "Christmas according to the Gospel of Matthew." Today, we're looking at "Christmas according to the Gospel of Mark." At this point, you should be asking, what in the world did Mark say about Christma...

Advent is the celebration of the first coming of Jesus Christ and the anticipation of his second coming. I think our culture has over-sentimentalized Christmas. Yes, the Christmas story is a sweet story in some respects: there's a cute baby, farm animals, shepherds, wise-men, gifts, angels singing. Nice. However, there's also lots of heartache, shock, anxiety, pain, and suffering, and blood-shed....

Tomorrow we plan on wrapping up our sermon series through the 10 Commandments, with the last one, which is simply "You shall not covet." At first glance this seems to be a strange way to wrap up the "greatest laws ever." Where's the climax? Where's the crescendo? Seems like more of a dud, than anything else. Right? Well, not exactly. The 10th Commandment is actually a perfect culmination of the De...

As we look at commandment #9 tomorrow, we’ll be thinking through the question: “What is truth?” and the corresponding question: “What is a lie?” We live in culture that’s accepted the lie that there is no such thing as truth. At least, not ultimate truth. Not Truth, with a capital “T”. Nowadays, we’ve even accepted the lie that the Truth, even if it does exist, doesn’t really matter. In John 18, P...

Have you ever been stolen from? I'm sure we all have. Remember that feeling the moment you found out? It's hard to describe, but we all know how it feels. You feel a mixture of shock, anger, helplessness, maybe ever grief. You feel like you've been violated. How could this have happened? How dare they?! What can I do to get it back? How can I seek justice? What's the most valuable thing you've had...