Sermons from St. John's Community Church

Because we suffer mourning that cannot be consoled, injustice that cannot be made right, we need Jesus the true Son and King to reign.

Jesus comes to us in a way that we can understand and accepts us as we are and with what we know to bring.

Because of our blind spots and our hypocrisies, we must rely upon the Helper Jesus sent, the Spirit of God, to work transformation in our lives.

Prayer is the deeply present conversation with God of Heaven who is attentive, with us, and has made covenant with us by the blood and life of Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus died to atone for our sin, we can live fully into his salvation by confessing and repenting of our sin.

Because of Jesus Christ’ ongoing redeeming work, we persevere because of hope in his sure promises.

God will not forsake you, He is present, active, attentive.

God is steadfast, covenant love, and our failure to be steadfast in return does not alter his character or purpose.

We walk between believing a truth and relationship with Jesus when we want him to keep and protect us without us keeping covenant with him.

When we trust and believe the great things of Christ, we can become another arena in which his mighty works are displayed.

Jesus Christ has introduced a Day of Good News – we are beggars telling other beggars where there is bread.

Because Jesus Christ made restitution on our behalf we can live into freedom, forgiven those who trespassed against us as he has forgiven us our trespasses.

Jesus has inaugurated the Kingdom of Heaven’s great reversal, so we are called to relinquish our sense of belonging in a kingdom of the world to belong to his “other” Kingdom.

Because Jesus is God’s most ordinary and great Word, we can accept God how he has chosen to meet us.

We can trust in the absurdly generous love and power of God because Jesus is both our Redeemer and Restorer.

When we look for reassurances of what makes sense, we overlook the work that God is doing.

The fulfillment of purposes of God in history.

The normative functioning of the New People of God.

The future vision of God's people in God's presence.

God makes a way to place His glory in the midst of a nation - a place with high walls.

God anoints 70 elders and the prophesy.

God restores his glory based on his compassion.

God's presence leaves a disobedient people.

Christ’s defeat of Satan is not by Satan’s means - power and self interest. Instead Christ defeat’s Satan through self-sacrificial love.

Our “little faith” does not limit or dictate Christ’s power, authority, or will so we can boldly marvel at the abounding love and grace of our Lord.

If Jesus’ death were only about morality, He would have been able to save us from Hell, but not bring us to Heaven. The Cross that saves us from sin, brings us to God.

Jesus took our guilt and the judgement we deserved, so, in turn, we judge as we have been judged and forgive as we forgiven.

Because we are in rebellion against God, we needed Jesus to fulfill all righteousness on our behalf so that we may be buried with him in death and raised to walk in newness of life.

John’s ministry as the messenger and forerunner of Messiah was foretold by Malachi and Isaiah and an Angel. What does this tell us about John and Jesus?

Jesus became a refugee to be the savior of refugees. He was patterned after Israel to be the Savior of Israel.

Pharaoh and Herod would slaughter a generation of children to keep suppress God’s program. Neither were successful.

When Jesus is your only hope, no obstacle can keep your from drawing near.

Is the Birth of Jesus just a recast Roman Hero Story or the answer to humanity’s oldest problem?

In this mass of humanity, is anyone strong enough to reign and kind enough to save? Here is the one who fulfilled the ancient promises of God’s Savior/Servant/King.

It takes a God who can raise the dead to give us back our future.

The Gospel speaks to the marginalized because it is their story- the story of a stone that human builders thought useless, that God then chose as a cornerstone. From what we thought was rubble, God would build His New Temple.

The Jewish idea of a “Goel” a Kinsman Redeemer is one repairs our past, and re-opens our future. The Redeemer does this by entering our situation and offering us a true family.

Just as the lord has remained faithful to his covenant love for us. So should we remain faithful to our covenant with him and each other.

How is hope still possible when we feel empty and bitter? When the hand of the Lord seems to be against us, it is time to turn around!