Saints Peter and Paul Sermons

Chapter 8 of The Story covers the Book of Judges in the Bible. The Book of Judges tells us of a 4 phase cycle that the people of Israel go through over and over again for a few hundred years. It is a story not all that uncommon with our own understanding of world history as well. In this sermon, Pastor Aaron connects the dots for us between the Book of Judges, our current state as Americans, and t...

The Holy Scriptures are rife with military imagery. But Jesus practiced nonviolence? (See Matthew 5:38-48). So what kind of battle are we dealing with? Paul said it well in Ephesians: "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against...the spiritual forces of evil." Our battle takes place in our minds - as our enemy, the Devil, seeks to deceive us into sin. In this week's serm...

In this week's sermon, based on chapter 6 of The Story, Pastor Aaron reminds us to pay attention to the signs of God. Most clearly, pay attention to the sign of the cross which is the reminder of Who God is and what He has already done for us through Jesus. Unlike the Israelites, who lost sight of God's Word, let us be people who love the Word of God and do everything we can do obey it....

Why do we bristle when we're told what to do? Why do we sometimes sabotage ourselves by not doing what we're told (even when we know it's probably good for us?). And knowing how we respond to being told what to do -- why did God give us the LAW?In this sermon, Pastor Kevin explores these questions by looking at Exodus 19:4-5. Moses has received the 10 Commandments from YHWH and the...

In this week's sermon, we are introduced to Moses in chapter 4 of The Story. Moses is a man who is given an important task by God. Yet, Moses responds with an important question, "Who am I?" Who am I? That's one of those questions that not thought about carefully can lead people to moments of mental crisis. Moses finds solace in this question by asking God, "Who are you? W...

In the Sermon, Pastor Kevin explores the question that plagues many in the midst of their suffering: "Why?" Chapter 3 follows the story of Joseph. It's a story of suffering. And yet, in it, we learn one of the most important things we can know about God: How He works through our suffering.

In this sermon, based on chapter 2 of The Story, Pastor Aaron shares 3 stories one for each generation: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And, in each of the three stories, we see a similar theme, "God gives life to what seems dead."

The Bible begins with these five words, "In the beginning, God created." God is creator. It's how the Bible begins. It's how The Story begins. In this sermon on chapter 1 of the story, Pastor Aaron preaches about the significance that God is our Creator and we are His creation.

We are a people of stories. We read them to our little ones, we watch them ourselves. From action movies, to love stories, to fantasy, thriller, and historical documentary. When asked about our weekend - we don't list off our activities like data -- we tell a story. It's like stories are written into who we are. BUT WHY?Perhaps it's because we've been written into the Greatest...

The story of Ezra & Nehemiah finishes in an unexpected way. All throughout these books - we've heard about all that God was restoring for His people: the temple; the people's spiritual foundations; the city walls of Jerusalem. But in chapter 13 - all of these accomplishments start to come undone. That's because this isn't a Hollywood story with a "happily ever after.&q...

In Nehemiah 8-12, the characters of our Story of "Rubble Restoration" UNITE. Ezra & Nehemiah join forces to tell "The Story" of God's activity in the lives of His people. But when the people hear it - they weep! Why? Because the "stories" they have been living have been devoid of God. They are confronted with their own guilt & shame for living their stori...

We turn the page into the book of Nehemiah today in our sermon series "Rubble Restoration: Rebuilding God's Way." Nehemiah was an important official (the cupbearer) serving the Persian King when he heard that the rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem weren't going all that well. In particular, the city wall and the city gates had not yet been rebuilt after lying in rubble for the las...

Pastor Aaron and Pastor Kevin join together for this sermon where they share the preaching on Ezra 9-10. This sermon was pre-recorded as both Pastors were out of town this day. In a unique way, they tell the story of these rather complicate words from Scripture. In the end, we hope you hear that Relationships Matter to God.

Ezra is finally on the scene! In Chapter 7 begins a new "section" of the Rubble Restoration story for the people of Israel. The 1st wave of Israelites have been back in Jerusalem for 80 years; the temple has been rebuilt; and there's a lot of positive movement for God's people. But there's one thing lacking in Jerusalem - spiritual leadership. The smallest group to return...

In this week's sermon, we continue journeying with the returning exiles on their rubble restoration project. This week, in chapter 3, the returning exiles decide to first rebuild the central place of their worship - the altar. Once that is established, they can have regular worship with God. But, do you ever wonder, why is worship such a central part of our Christian experience? Why do we gat...

Pastor Kevin walks us into the Book of Ezra by introducing us to characters like Zerrubabel meaning "planted/born in Babylon." This sermon opens up your imagination to put yourself in the shoes of these Biblical characters living in the midst of this defining moment in history. As we journey through Ezra and Nehemiah, we will be looking forward to many things that God has in store for us...

This is the first sermon in the sermon series titled "Rubble Restoration: Rebuilding God's Way." It will be a sermon series walking through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of God's people returning from their time in Babylonian exile. In their return, they find the city of Jerusalem in rubble. So, they begin to restore. However, even in their re...

Follow Me. Go and Be Neighbors. We don't have to go very far to follow Jesus into our neighborhoods. All we need to do is go home. Jesus is with us in our homes. Therefore Jesus plans to utilize you, and your home, and your family as a mission outpost in your neighborhoods. In this final sermon in our "Follow Me. Go and Be" series, Pastor Aaron opens up our eyes to the repeated phra...

Is Jesus a part of our politics? Should He be? In this Sermon, Pastor Kevin looks at the politics of Jesus - as He engages in a political conversation with two opposed political groups. In this conversation from Mark 12, Jesus paves a pathway for us to follow Him as citizens by 1) Respecting the civil authorities and by 2) Reforming the Civil Authorities. Curious how you ought to vote in the next...

On this Sunday, the congregation of Saints Peter and Paul gathered together for one combined worship service outside. We gathered under the theme "Follow Me. Go and Be Workers." The average person will work about 90,000 hours in their life, which is about 1/3 of their lifetime. Do you believe that God has created this work for you to do and is present in your work? You better believe tha...

" I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends." These are powerful words from Jesus towards His disciples. Although He IS Lord, Master, God in the Flesh -- He calls His disciples; He calls YOU friend. There are 2 marks of a true friend: 1) They will always let you in. 2) They will never let you down. Jesus, as t...

We often consider the Church (building) to be the place where our faith formation takes place. However, studies have shown that the HOME is the primary place where children are formed into the people they will grow up to be -- including their faith. So how do we train up our children in the faith? In this sermon, Pastor Kevin looks at the instruction of Moses in Deuteronomy 6 - as he teaches the p...

Jesus has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. He has also commanded us to follow him and BE his disciples. But... what does the word "disciple" even mean?" In this sermon, Pastor Aaron slows things down and defines what "disciple" means, and then encourages all of us BE disciples and MAKE disciples of others modeling our life and teaching after the life a...

This sermon is the first in our new sermon series called "Follow Me. Go and Be." This sermon series will walk us through the ways and places that God has placed us to be his people. Did you know that when Jesus sends you into this world to "Go and Be" he's already there? Jesus never leaves you alone. He actually prepares in advance the good works for you to do. So, as you...

1 Corinthians 16 is the final chapter of Paul's letter to the Church in Corinth. It follows chapter 15 - "the "Resurrection Chapter" - and everything Paul is relaying to the congregation flows from the Resurrection of Jesus. These are "marching orders" for the Christians in Corinth - to continue engaging in the Mission of the Church. Jesus outlined that Mission in Mat...