Ellsworth CRC

A Sermon on Luke 9:57-62 Me - Olympic Athlete focus The Winter Olympics are happening right now, and if you've been watching, you've seen what total commitment looks like. Think about a downhill skier. They're flying down a mountain at 80 miles per hour, and everything depends on looking ahead. You read…

The Transfiguration A Sermon on Luke 9:28-36 Theme: Jesus shows us his glory so we can trust his voice as he leads us through the valley. ME: Mountain-tops and valleys Hiking in the mountains is never flat. Every trail involves some combination of climbing and descending—mountain-tops and valleys. You…

A Sermon on Luke 8:26-39 ME: The Demoniac's Desperate Condition (vv. 26-29) Picture Jesus in a boat after calming a deadly storm. He could turn back to safety. Instead, he crosses into a pagan land, for one tormented man everyone else has abandoned. Jesus arrives in Gerasene territory (Gentile land,…

A Sermon on Luke 7:1-17 ME - Being in hopeless situations Those phone calls that come in the middle of the night. Sitting with a family in the last hours of someone's life. Name that feeling: you've done everything you can, and it's not enough WE - we all have been in those “hopeless” situations We all…

ME - Self-centeredness Noticing how often we catch our reflection (mirrors, windows, phone screens, storefronts) The hook: We are more self-focused than we realize, and it shapes everything WE - we all struggle with being self-centered Broaden to shared human experience: "We live in the 'selfie generation'…

Luke 5:27-32 ME - Death and Taxes Only two certainties in life: death and taxes Tax collectors are universally disliked (IRS has 2.5 star Google rating) First-century tax collectors were worse: worked for occupying Rome, could overcharge and pocket the difference, had soldiers enforce payments They were…

ME - Daily Temptations Temptations we give into when no one is watching are the most dangerous It's when we're alone that temptation is greatest and our defenses weakest WE - Temptations When No One Is Looking We face temptations daily—small and large We have conversations with ourselves (or the devil)…

A Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12 ME Story of the good disruption that having Phoebe was for our family. You move from self-centeredness to other-centeredness You experience love that's costlier than you imagined You learn dependence (on God, on your spouse, on community) in new ways You worship God's design…

ME: Moving Moving around a lot when I was younger. Not Really being able to get to know a place very well. WE: Being vs. Living Somewhere There's a difference between being in a place and living in a place. GOD: Jesus Moves Into the Neighborhood Read John 1:10-14 The movement John shows us: vs. 10-11:…

An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 37:26-32 ME - The Walls are Crashing In Picture King Hezekiah standing on the walls of Jerusalem. Hezekiah standing on those walls, surrounded, questioning, desperate—that was 2,700 years ago. But you've been there too, haven't you? WE - Identify the shared tension Maybe not…

An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 41:17-20 Me: Seasons of life that are barren Droughts in the West and the need for rain. Seasons when faith feels dry, empty, and exhausting • Doing the right things but sensing no life or growth • Wondering if God is present or silent We: Trying to work our way out of those…

From Repentance to Growth An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 27:1-6 ME: A world overrun with thorns Look around at our world. The news cycle is one long parade of violence, corruption, addiction, and people tearing each other apart. We see political chaos, wars, families unraveling, and anxiety eating away at…

An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 11:1-9 Theme: God has a King who will set all things right and bring justice to our world. Live and walk in this truth. Image: A shoot growing out of a dead stump. Need: Trust that the King is coming. Mission: Live knowing that the King is coming to bring justice and restore…

The Problem (ME/WE) Image of light in the darkness We think we see more than we do. Walking in the dark feels familiar, but it is still darkness. We claim to walk in the light while living with hidden darkness. Christ's Pattern of Love (vs. 1–2) “Walk in love, as Christ loved us.” • Christ's sacrificial…

1. ME – Introduce with the Orchestra Image Describe the experience of hearing an orchestra tune before the concert—chaotic, individualistic, everyone focused on their own sound. If you've ever sat in a concert hall before a symphony begins, you know the peculiar sound of an orchestra tuning up. It's…

ME – When the Pieces Don't Fit Have you ever tried to assemble a jigsaw puzzle without seeing the box lid. I never had, I find it hard enough to do even when I have the picture on the box right in front of me. Before Phoebe came into our family, Emma would normally have a puzzle going on our dinning…

ME — Remodel Projects HGTV - all of the different remodeling shows. Everyone like the “before” and “after” photos. No one loves the dust, the noise, the mess. During seminary, I was part of a summer work crew that fixed up student housing. When we started a remodeling project it always looked easy ……

Alive in Christ Story of seeing “The Thinker” statue in Paris. Have you ever walked through a museum and stood before a finely carved statue — maybe the thinker or another masterpiece — and wondered, “How could someone shape something so lifelike out of a block of stone or metal?” Yet imagine if that…

Blessings in Christ Ephesians 1:3-14 — “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world” (v. 4–6). — “In Him we have redemption through His blood” (v. 7). — “You were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (v. 13–14). All of it points back to God and his glorious grace. Let worship…