Munger Place Church - Dallas, Texas

Why start with Adam and Eve, if you know they are going to screw it up? Why re-start with Noah, if you know he’s going to screw it up? Why take the Israelites to The Promised Land, if you know they are going to screw it up? Does the Lord make mistakes? Can the Lord change his mind? Why does the Lord say he’s going to destroy the Israelites, and then change his mind after Moses remonstrates with hi...

You can read the entire book of Deuteronomy and not come across a military strategy for defeating the Canaanites. Why? Because Moses (rightly) knows that the Children of Israel’s greatest enemy will be … themselves. We all face external enemies—of course. But our greatest enemies are always within. Note: we had some problems with our recording equipment today, and so we missed the first few moment...

Everything worth having comes with a cost. I believe that is incontrovertibly true. Here’s the question: Am I willing to pay the price required to enter the Promised Land of what God has for me? The Israelites weren’t willing. Are you? Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Numbers 13:1-3, 25-33, 14:1-4, 6-10 References: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76.htm https://psychnews.psychiatryon...

Leviticus isn’t as useless as you thought. All you need is a little bit of context. Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Leviticus 19:1-19; Exodus 28:1-6 References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-pfzKbh2k

If you are serious about finding your purpose, it might mean you need to take the long route through the wilderness—as the Israelites learned, the shortest way is not always best. Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Exodus 13:17-22

Step 4 is totally thankless, extremely difficult, has no end date or finish line, but I can't imagine you finding your purpose without it. Any takers? Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13

The story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac is one of the most troubling in all of the Bible. And what if that’s the point? Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Genesis 22:1-13

It turns out that unless we’re specifically taught how to live, we just won’t have any idea. Which brings us to Step #2 in finding your purpose… Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Genesis 6:5, 12:1-4, 12:11-13, 15:2-3, 16:2-4, 17:9-10, 20:1-2

I hear all the time from folks who are unsure if they’re where they’re supposed to be:  I’m at the midpoint of my career—is this what I should be doing with my life? I’m an empty-nester—what’s next for me? I’m choosing my [major, spouse, 1st job, etc.]—how do I know what or who to choose? So, how do I find my purpose? This is Step #1. Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 12...

What was it that the magi saw that made them leave Babylon and travel all those weeks across the desert to arrive in Bethlehem? It was the dragon that tried to eat Jesus… Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 Revelation 12:1-12

Mattei Markwei was the dean of the theological college my dad taught at when we lived in Africa in the 1980s. This sermon is about what he used to say, which seems particularly relevant for me as I write this, considering how God has provided for me—both professionally and in my family—since last year’s Christmas Commitment Sunday, 12 months ago. Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-16...

We’ve said that faith is more than merely assenting intellectually to the miraculous. And we’ve said that faith is not a magic get-out-of-trouble formula that we can sprinkle on our lives so as to avoid all problems. Faith is not about avoiding suffering, but about enduring suffering…with joy. How? Why? That’s our topic for this week as we look at one of the greatest stories—not only in the Bible—...

Sometimes the way we talk about faith seems to imply that as long as you have faith, everything will work out for you. So, in this way of thinking, whenever you are confronted with a bad situation, you need to have faith that the bad thing won’t happen. But this obviously isn’t true: bad things happen to people even when they are full of faith. (Jesus was crucified, after all.) So, what does it me...

Faith is really about trusting that God knows more than you do, and acting accordingly.

When people in the modern world talk about “faith,” they tend to mean believing in things that don't have scientific evidence. But in the Bible, faith is a heck of a lot more than that. In the Bible, faith is practical…. --Andrew Forrest Hebrews 11:1-7; Genesis 6:9-22

Sometimes I wonder about the world my children will grow up in. Sometimes the world can seem overwhelmingly depressing. But when I read Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon, written around 595 BC—in my opinion one of the most surprising passages in scripture—I find encouragement and strength. And an encouragement to be stubbornly hopeful in this broken world. What about you? Happy 7th Birthd...

Dear Church, This is a difficult sermon for me to preach. It’s embarrassing, but I think I need to honest with you and confess. It may be that other folks will identify with what I’m going to say, or it may be that I’m the only one who needs to hear this... In any case, I know that these words apply to me and I know I NEED them. Your pastor, Andrew Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19

The letters of Paul were written 2,000 years ago, but they are still relevant for us, because people are the same everywhere. So, his words about speaking well of others apply to us, and they particularly apply to the world of social media. --Andrew Forrest Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-32 References: http://theweek.com/articles/695333/write-internet-im-sorry

If God is good, then why do the innocent suffer…? T wo weeks ago, I said (drawing on Proverbs) that if you want to have a good life, it’s simple: Act wisely, and everything will work out for you. Last week I said (drawing on Ecclesiastes) that it’s not that simple, because time, chance, and death are huge exceptions and problems in the system: It doesn’t always work out for the wise in the way tha...