Mosaic Boston - Sermons

This week we are continuing our sermon series through the 10 Commandments by looking at number 7, “You shall not commit adultery.” The Bible has a lot to say about sex, and several passages that would make even modern readers blush. While the Bible has a lot to say about the goodness of sex, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that to even look at another person with lust, is to commit adultery in our hea...

Have you ever heard (or perhaps said) the following: "Well, I'm a good person. I've never killed anyone!" Modern people love using murder as a benchmark for moral goodness: those who have killed are bad, and those who haven't are good. Oh, if it were that simplistic. Tomorrow, we turn our attention to Commandment #6, "You shall not murder." We'll look at many of the far reaching implications of th...

Few commandment hit as close to home and as straight to the heart as commandment number 5: "Honor your father and your mother." For some of us, this seems like common sense. For others, this seems archaic, offensive, and potentially painful. Some of us have deeply honorable parents. For others, we would rather not think about our biological parents. Several other factors complicate our receptivity...

One of my absolute favorite Bible passages is when Jesus and his disciples get "caught" in a storm. As the ferocious winds tossed them around mercilessly, and water started inundating the small boat, the disciples are all freaking out. And what was Jesus doing? Taking a nap! They frantically wake him with pleas: "We're perishing" and "Don't you care?" Jesus, probably still a little groggy and some...

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Indeed, this commandment prohibits the flippant use of God’s name to mark surprise (‘oh my G_d!’) or shock or worse, but it’s so much more than that. In order to begin to understand the depth of this commandment, we really need to understand the power of names, and names truly are powerful. Businesses have learned this a long time ago and...

What's the most discussed problem in the the entire Bible? Idolatry. Idolatry?! Really? Yes. Book after book, chapter after chapter, verse after verse warn us about the destructive nature of wrongful worship. To contemporary people the world "idolatry" conjures up pictures of primitive people bowing down before hand-made statues. Totally irrelevant to us, right? Don't be so quick to write this off...

We're starting a brand new sermon series called, "10 Laws for Life," as we look at the 10 Commandments as God's design for your freedom and humanity's flourishing.

As we wrap up our series on "Faith at Work" tomorrow, we'll be looking at how the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides the most meaningful answer to the question: "Why work?" Once we have a truly significant answer to the "Why" of work, the practical answers to "How should we work?" flow naturally. However, the most profound difference the Gospel makes regarding our work is by providing the most soul-s...

Just got back from a trip to China and I missed all of you tons!! I can't wait to worship and fellowship with you tomorrow! I was blessed by the opportunity to visit Xi'an, Beijing and Shanghai, all incredible places with amazing people and rich culture. I went with a group of pastors from New England to meet and network with fellow local pastors in those cities. As we met and learned from each ot...

Yes or no question: are you satisfied with your life, now? Are you fulfilled, right now? Are you content, right now? Many of us are on a journey to finding that which will satisfy. The hope of finding that which will satisfy staves off current dissatisfaction, temporarily. We think, "once I achieve ____" or "once I have ____" or "once I am ____" or "once I feel ____ " then I'll be satisfied. But h...

How's your balance? How's your physical stability? One of the things most gym-novices don't understand is that there are two generic types of muscles: movers and stabilizers. Movers are the muscles that actively create movement (quads, hamstrings, pecs, lats, biceps, triceps), while stabilizers provide balance and support. When most people start going to the gym, they strictly work their movers. H...

Have you ever had a near-death experience? What usually happens in the short-term aftermath of such an experience is that we suddenly realize how fragile life is! We're here one second, and then poof, it's over. We come face-to-face with the stark realization that life is incredibly precious, and we should treat it as such. Why had we been so flippant with it? Why did we take it for granted? All o...

How good do you have to be to enter into the presence of God? This week's sermon looked at the pitfall of religion versus the radical acceptance and power of grace.

I love how relevant Scripture is. The Bible, as God's Word, is a timeless book, therefore, it's message is ever timely. As we continue our journey through the book of Philippians tomorrow, and deepen our understanding of growth in joy, we'll look at one of the most relevant passages in all of Scripture for our day. In Philippians 2:14, Holy Scripture tells us, "Do all things without grumbling." Wo...

Think of the absolutely most joy-filled person you have ever met. You ever wonder what their secret is? I can almost guarantee you, they are probably also the absolutely most humble person you've ever met. Humility and Joy are always together and we struggle to live lives of joy because each one of us struggles with pride. We often mistaken humility for weakness. True humility, however, is one of...

How would you fill in these blanks? "For me to live is _____ , and to die is _____." Be honest. What is your life? What is your definition of life? What are you living for? Whom do you live for? What is the most important thing for you? What is that thing/person which will make your life worth living regardless of what else happens? Most of us don't ask such "morbid" questions when everything is g...

Tomorrow, we're starting a brand new sermon series through the book of Philippians, also known as the "Epistle of Joy." As we spend the next few weeks thinking about joy, I believe we'll actually be surprised by the counter-intuitive, supernatural nature of this foretaste of God. True joy is something no circumstance can give you, and no circumstance can ever take away. C.S. Lewis, in his spiritua...

The German poet Goethe called the book of Ruth "the loveliest complete work on a small scale" ever written. Alexander Schroder, a literary critic, wrote, "No poet in the world has written a more beautiful short story." Like all the most captivating and satisfying stories, the book of Ruth ends with a happy ending. Boaz and Ruth finally get married. They have a baby. Naomi is comforted. The end. It...

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells his disciples "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Jesus doesn't just call his followers to grow in innocence (though this is an indispensable part of the Christian life and a daily pursuit), He also calls us to grow in shrewdness, or Godly Wisdom. God's people ought to be characterized by a prof...

We've had a great time the last couple weeks reading and studying the beautiful book of Ruth together. Last Sunday, we read chapter 2, where Ruth and Boaz meet, and sparks fly. However, things seem to cool off and Boaz appears to have stopped making moves (later we find out Boaz thought Ruth was out of his league). So Naomi, Ruth's brilliant mother-in-law concocts a scheming plan, in which she pro...

Last week we began a sermon series through the beautiful love story found in the book of Ruth. As we look at Ruth chapter 2 tomorrow, we're introduced to Boaz who is described as a "worthy" man. We're also given a front row seat to the first time Boaz and Ruth meet and their love story begins. Clearly the book is a love story, but one of the things that struck me as I've been studying this text is...