Vessel Sermons

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,but a harsh word stirs up anger. Ecclesiastes 10:4 If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest. Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone

Ephesians 2:11-22 (NIV) 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands) — 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 1...

John 13:1-17 1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so rose from s...

Hebrews 10: 19-25 (ESV) Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bo...

Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Final...

Genesis 3:1-7 (ESV) Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither sha...

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating t...

Mark 14:32-42, ESV Jesus Prays in Gethsemane 32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed...

Acts 1:6-9 (ESV) 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of th...

Romans 1:25 (ESV) 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Jude 1:24, ESV 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, Ephesians 3:20-21, ESV 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all tha...

1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (ESV) Final Instructions and Benediction 12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that n...

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (ESV) 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV) 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until th...

In the beginning of 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul put up the guardrails. Paul told us what was out of bounds and off limits. Paul says because God’s will for our lives is our sanctification (being conformed into the likeness of Jesus through the help of God’s grace) we need to avoid all impurity, especially sexual immorality. First he told us what is out and now, in 4:9-12, he tell us what is within bou...

The church in Thessalonica is going through it – they’re experiencing pressure and pain and disappointment and isolation. Life isn’t easy and yet, they are convinced that God is good and that Jesus is over this. So how do you live when life doesn’t look or feel the way it should? Paul’s first word of encouragement to them then and us today is to live lives of purity amidst the pressure. Pain and p...

Psalm 96:1-13 (ESV) 1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord m...

John 20:1-18 , ESV The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter w...

Matthew 27:27-31, ESV 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,[a] and they gathered the whole battalion[b] before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And...

John 13:1-8, 12-15, ESV 1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, a...

In what ways have you ever felt in-valid? How has this process of social distancing and virus prepping caused you to struggle with feelings of being in-valid or to consider these feelings and fears in others? Why do you think it’s important to own your part in the process towards healing and wholeness? The man thought he needed the pool to be healed. He was wrong. What he needed was Jesus. What th...

God is with us and for us – no matter what. A woman is caught in sin. Humiliated and disgraced she is dragged before Jesus. The crowd is shocked and silenced as a question is raised by her accusers: “The law says stone her to death. What do you say Jesus?” Their question is disingenuous. They don’t care about the law and they don’t care about this woman – all they care about is finding reason to c...

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Wave after wave of religious opposition had come Jesus’ way and like a powerful seawall, Jesus didn’t break – the opposition broke upon him. Eventually a more honest question is raised: What’s the most important comm...

Matthew 16:13-16 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

When life is most confusing, Jesus calls us to be most like Him. On the night before Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Jesus speaks a powerful word over the very people who will soon abandon and deny him: Love each other as I have loved you. In the midst of their turmoil and confusion, in the midst of their doubt and uncertainty, Jesus commands them to live a life of love, modeled not upon their own c...

audio file from the FIVE Due to technical difficulties there is no audio/podcast file for this Vessel sermon. God has given us everything we need to face anything that comes our way. After calling us to imitate God and walk in love with each other (Eph. 5:1), Ephesians 6 takes things up a notch. There’s a fight alright, but it isn’t with each other. We are not enemies. Instead, Paul urges us to re...