Renew Covenant Church Sermons

"In the Storm" by Tim Goddard || Mark 4:35-41 || 11.12.2023 by RC2 Lynnwood

Jesus tells a parable of a sower spreading seed on different ‘soils,’ and later explains the parable in more depth to the disciples. The soil represents the hearer’s receptivity to the Word of God. Good soil produces an abundance of fruit. What does this mean? What kind of soil do you have? Why does Jesus tell parables? What is the secret of the Kingdom? Openness and receptivity and a willingness...

Jesus does not fit into the social expectations surrounding him, but he rather disrupts them and then redefines what it means to have identity and be family in the spirit-filled Kingdom life. The world is messed up and Satan’s behind it, but Jesus flips the script on it all offering everyone new identity and new possibility in his family structure.

From v13 to the end of the chapter Mark gives us 3 episodes which demonstrate that the Jesus way disrupts the religious status quo. Whether it’s 1. eating with sinners; 2. feasting, not fasting; or 3. breaking Sabbath Law, Jesus does things differently, but this is not simply to deconstruct the establishment but he acts in order to bring life into spaces and structures that are not life-giving and...

Jesus as the Word is the ultimate lossless coming together of ‘word’ and ‘action’ The leaders challenge his authority once again on the ‘forgiveness of sins’ but JEsus backs it up with action.

The first ministry Jesus and his newly appointed disciples encounter is a demon-possessed person. What’s with demons and healing in Mark? Jesus is Savior, and it is the nature of the Savior to go to places where evil has taken over, where the shadow of darkness is sucking life and spirit out of people. Jesus not only proclaims Good News, but He carries the Authority and power to bring life to plac...

As John is “handed over” for death, the transition now is to Jesus and his ministry: the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom, which is near/has come. Mark highlights the urgency of the call of the Kingdom as Jesus calls his first disciples. In what ways do we recognize the urgency of Jesus’ call in our lives? What will we drop to follow him?

John prepares the way for Jesus, who now enters the scene in Mark. Who is this Jesus? Baptized and honored Son of God. He now comes to proclaim the Good News. What is the good news?

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither h...

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite,...

Entrenched in a patriarchal society and married to the "Alpha Man," Vashti risks privilege and position and even her life to stand up to power and say "no" to sexual objectification and abuse by her husband. Her refusal upsets the fragility of the male ego which threatens the entire power structure of the Kingdom. We don't know what happens to Vashti, but we point to a hero who does not get the at...

Genesis 11:1-9 1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may mak...

Jesus is not white. Decolonizing how White Supremacy has determined what is sacred and what is profane. Who is righteous and who is pagan What is beautiful and what is deformed. I have grown up with a layer of whiteness on top of my Bible on top of my spaces of worship.

One of the modernist, Western lenses by which Scripture has been interpreted in the American Church is that of radical individualism. The word “Oori” in Korean means “we,” and is used more often within a collectivist/group mindset. We should consider that many of the cultures from within which the Scriptures were written were more collectivist than they are individualist. What does this mean for o...

6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

How very, very challenging it is in this society to live a life that isn’t influenced heavily by direct competition with one another and the need to “get ahead” of our neighbor. That is what we will be exploring this Sunday as we take a good look at Ecclesiastes 4: 1-16.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

In Acts 10, Peter has a vision from God that leads him to realize that Gentiles can also receive salvation through Jesus Christ. A Roman centurion named Cornelius has a similar vision and sends for Peter to come to him. Peter goes to Cornelius' house and preaches the Gospel to him and his household, and they all receive the Holy Spirit. This event marks a significant turning point in the early Chr...

Paul in Athens finds common ground with the Athenians to take opportunity to preach the Gospel. To be relevant means to engage the marketplace in daily life with the Gospel.

God will gather all things up and make the old new again. This is the Christian hope, but it is also a gift we experience now in part. God redeems what we thought was beyond the human capacity for hope–the old, lifeless, abandoned, destroyed, maimed, broken things. We participate in this work of restoration in the world. We are restored along the way.

Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have been raised with him into new life. This new life is one where we are 1. Reconciled with God and grafted into God’s new family and 2. Reconciled with one another as Brothers and Sisters being built up as one church.

Christ is Risen! What does this mean for the disciples as Jesus appears before them and ‘touches’ them. He breathes the Spirit on them. He allows Thomas to touch him as Thomas is doubting. The renewed life is the spirit-led life moving out of the truth of Living, embodied Christ. We are carriers of Grace and Love to those we touch.

Mary is weeping at the tomb of Jesus. An angel asks her, "why are you crying?"

Jesus enters Jerusalem during the Passover–which was a tense time as it marked Israel’s deliverance from an occupier. Contextually Rome is the now the occupier. The triumphal entry and Temple demonstration should involves Jesus “initiating conflict during a stressful period with revolutionary associations.” Of all the rulers of the world, we pay homage to the Humble King who rides in on a Donkey.

There are 3 phases of Renewal in this passage. * Bones come together, flesh appears. Still no breath. (alive but no transformative power) *Breath of life comes into dead bodies and they come to life and stand up (new life in Christ) *”Our hope is perished. we are finished.” God makes his promise to plant them on fertile land. (purpose) Perhaps we can see these 3 stages as Jesus’ 3 days in the tomb...