SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS - Pewaukee, WI

Title: The Prodigal SonText: Luke 15:11-32Theme: In this parable Jesus teaches that the Father's love is for all. We tend to fall into either camp of the younger son or the older son. Sometimes we think we can earn God's favor if we work for it - like the younger son. Other times we can fool ourselves and think that God owes us his love because we have been faithful - like the older son. May we all come to grasp the Gospel, that says the Father's love is given freely to all who would receive it. He is the one who welcomes us into his family, and as his children we live in response to his love. 

Luke 12: 13-21

Text: Luke 16:19-31Title: The Rich Man and LazarusTheme:  The Great Reversal - Jesus is talking directly to the Pharisees (with others in earshot, of course) about the condition of their heart.  Earlier in his teachings, he said things like "The first shall be last and the last, first..." This is a parable to show the eternal impact of these words.  Outer appearances mean nothing - it's the condition of someone's heart that sets their eternal course. We will explore the nuances of the parable to help people evaluate their condition of their hearts...

Text: Luke 11:14-28 Title: The Strongman and Empty HouseTheme: Satan seems to think that he's got the upper-hand (strongman) position when it comes to controlling peoples' lives - but there is one who is Stronger who is coming to defeat the strongman and take away his 'possession'.  This is the parable revealing the nature of the mission of Jesus - not only Who he is (liberator) but how he's going to do it (defeat the strength of evil).  This is a parable highlighting the Power of Jesus - and giving people an invitation: Receive Him and Be Filled By His Presence.

Text:  Mark 12:1-12Title: Parable of the TenantsTheme:  In response to the Religious leaders trying to trap Jesus into saying something blasphemous, He responds with a story that tells about tenants who have been put in charge of a vineyard and how they ignore the will of the owner and even kill his son to get the vineyard for themselves.  The story highlights how the religious leaders were holding Israel captive by their leadership and their rigid application of the Torah - going so far as to claim more rights to Israel than God himself... We can see ourselves in this text as we can sometimes claim to have more authority over our lives and God's plan than God does himself...  In both cases, the Father wasn't afraid to send his Son - and his Son will be the way through which restoration of the vineyard will be accomplished whether they like it / know it or not.

Text: Luke 10:25-37Title: The Good Samaritan Theme: Jesus calls us to love one another in radical ways that go beyond superficial niceties. It sounds like a sweet sentiment at first, but it is a calling that can quickly become uncomfortable and inconvenient when we actually put this kind of love into practice. Loving our neighbor as Jesus calls us to love our neighbor requires mercy first. As we are given mercy by our heavenly Father, it's that mercy that stirs us to have mercy on one another.

Text:  Matt 9:14-17Title: Out With Old, In With the New!Theme:  As Jesus begins his ministry and it doesn't seem to make sense to people, he uses the illustration of trying to put new wine into old skins - it doesn't work because the new isn't the same as the old.  It's still wine, but to enjoy it, you need a new skin.  We often try to confine our reception of God to our old lives or our current belief systems - when Jesus is inviting us into something completely new!  Everything we are and do is reshaped by what he is bringing - it conforms to him, not the other way around.  And this is most powerfully seen in how he bring salvation.  It's not through all of the old ways we thought, but he's doing something new...  

Text:  Jonah 1:1-17Title: Running from GodTheme: Jonah attempts to run from God - and in so doing, tests God's patience. He sins against God by doing the exact opposite of what he asked...  God deals with this sin in a unique way: He exposes it, He reveals consequences for it, then He swallows it...  This is a picture of how God deals with our disobedience.  We'll use the story of Jonah 1 to help us come to terms with our own sin and discover what God does about it.

1 peter 1: 3-5

Text: Matthew 28: 16-20Title: The Great Commission - Where It All BeganTheme: Jesus gives His followers a new calling on their lives - they are sent out to make disciples by baptizing and teaching others what Jesus has taught us. A promise is given at the same time - Jesus will be with us always. 

Triumphal Entry - Pastor Afam Ikanih - Mt 21:1-11

You Are The Christ  - Mt 16:13-20

 Matthew 10:1-15"God's Kingdom in Your Hands"Theme: Jesus sends the disciples out to deliver the kingdom of God into people's lives - heal people, cast out demons and share a msg of Peace. 

Text: Mt 8:5-13Title: Simple FaithTheme: As Jesus begins to act on the authority that he spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount, he does so among both Jews and Gentiles - and here, Matthew highlights the faith of an outsider as even greater than that of the insiders. As Jesus unpacks what the Kingdom of God is all about, Matthew is helping the readers see that's not just about the Jewish nation, but it includes the Gentiles too - and might even be better received and understood by the outsider!

Matthew 5:13-16 Salt and Light

Key to teaching: Giving away is the antidote for materialism - we are more blessed to give than to receive - it is a joy to be able to participate in the Kingdom of God through the gifts that God gives us. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Hebrews 11:13-16; 12:1-2

Using the Parable of the Talents, we will discuss these 2 key points: 1) God owns everything and we are His stewards and 2) My heart always goes where I put God's money. While we are here on earth, we're giving the opportunity to invest in the things that God would invest in - and let our hearts follow our investment in the eternal Kingdom of God.

Text: Matthew 6:19-21, 24; Matthew 13:44

Galatians 2:20

Text: Isaiah 40:1-5In this passage we have a message of comfort for God’s people in their hurting. The delightful truth of these verses is that the Lord is FOR his people. And if God is for us, who can be against us? (cf. Romans 8:31). God’s plan will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven!

Text: Isaiah 35:1-10Theme: Isaiah paints a picture of rivers filling deserts, of blindness seeing, deafness hearing, lameness walking... God coming to bring life and strength and renewal to worn out things, tired things, weak things = Jesus did this when he healed, taught, encouraged, loved and served - AND he continues to do it for us today - AND he will do it in an eternally tangible way someday when he returns. We will really focus on the idea of Jesus coming to bring Strength to weak knees and salvation to the anxious...

Text: Isaiah 11:1-9God's Word gives hope that there is still life in the midst of death. Out of the stump of Jesse a shoot will come forth. Jesus fulfills this prophecy in Isaiah 11. His victory through His death and resurrection bring peace to God's creation today in a spiritual reality, and Jesus will come again to fully bring to reality the promise of Paradise restored.

Text: Isaiah 9:2-7 "On those dwelling in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone! ... For to us a child is born and to us a son is given..." Talk about good news in dark days! What brings joy in the midst doom and darkness? The promise of new days ahead - the promise of light and victory - the promise of an end of the darkness... This is what God has spoken - this is what God has done - and this is what God will do in even greater ways yet to come.

Disruption is a guarantee in life - it's unavoidable. How we react to disruption, however, is a decision we make. Jesus invites us into a life of obedience, and it is always disruption that moves us along this path. In the New Testament we can learn from both Peter (Luke 5:1-11) and the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). Main Text: Luke 5:1-11 Other Texts: Matthew 19:16-30; Matthew 16:24-28; John 20:24-31

Jesus didn't have to touch the man - he could have just spoken words, but in touching him, he sought to heal more than just the outside condition, but to heal the condition of his heart - the loneliness and isolation and despair the man had been living in for years - isolated from family and community. Before he is healed, Jesus touches him - Jesus enters his 'space' as is, then heals him there.... Matthew 8:1-4 / Mark 1:40-45

In these challenging times, it seems that we have lost the art of having hard conversations - or any conversations at all with someone who thinks along a different path that our own. This "Cancel" culture has created amazing division among people in our world - enter, Jesus. Through His sacrifice, he has made from 2 people, 1 people, joining together what could never be brought together otherwise. And we, as Image Bearers of God, have the opportunity to join Jesus in "tearing down the wall of hostility" by relearning how to have loving and open conversations that create more unity that ever. What stands out as Good News these days? Another opinion expressed with hell-bent passion? No - what people experience as good news is someone who is willing to meet them where they are, hear what they have to say and love them anyway - right where they are. This is Jesus. He came to serve, not to be served - and we follow in His footsteps. Texts: Matthew 20:20-28 / Luke 22:24-30 [Who Is The Greatest] Supporting texts: Eph 2:13-16 [killing hostility]

As we continue in this sermon series of exploring how Jesus meets us in the mess, we dig into the topic of anxiety and depression and hear the words of Jesus discuss worry in the famous passage from the Sermon on the Mount. These verses come immediately after Jesus instructing his listeners that we can't serve two masters. In this context, we should not have a divided heart (serve two masters) when it comes to what our hearts are focused on. We are invited to let the Lord be the primary pursuit of our heart. Not only does the Lord provide for all our needs, he provides us with our identity, as well. In Christ, we are children of the Heavenly Father and, as such, can trust our Father to care for us completely.

Text: Psalm 2Title: The Messiah PromiseTheme: In Psalm 1 we see the emphasis placed on the Torah - God's Law. In the next introductory Psalm (Psalm 2), the emphasis is on God's Messiah, His Anointed One, and His kingdom. Here we have a poetic retelling of 2 Samuel 7 and God's promise of the Messiah. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 give us a context for reading the rest of the Book of Psalms - a context of Torah and Messiah. This context is still one that we live in today as we strive to follow God's commands, forgiven and redeemed by His Son.

Text: Psalm 1Title: RootedTheme: As a tree is planted by streams of water... we'll use this first Psalm to give a big picture of the Psalms in general and to teach the value of being rooted in God's instructions and presence and Word - What it produces in our lives and how it leads us in the right path.

Text: 3 John 1-15Title: Fellowship is KeyTheme: John is praising Gaius for his willingness to welcome the traveling brothers and sisters who are working to share the Gospel - even though He doesn't know them. Diotrephes, on the other hand, is reprimanded because he's just thinking about himself... This gives us a good platform to discuss what Fellowship is all about in the church. John talks Fellowship all over the place in his first letter - and even highlights this in his recordings of Jesus' teaching (Jn 17 and other). We'll use this text as a springboard to talk about what fellowship is all about, from a biblical perspective.

2 Jn 1-13 PA - "Walking in Truth AND Love"

Text: 1 John 5:1-21Title: Being an OvercomerTheme: John gives a simple understanding of the purpose of his writing: To know we have eternal life - which gives us new perspective on our current life: that we have overcome the world by faith in Jesus, the Son of God. We'll look at how we are overcomers in this world - not as absent observers, but as active participants in the life of Jesus as we continue to follow his instructions to Love...

Text: 1 Jn 4:1-21Title: This is Love

Text: 1 John 2:15-27Title: Treasures in HeavenThemes: temporal vs. eternal; Jesus is the Christ; lust, envy & pride;The following verses will be read.1 John 2:15-171 John 2:21-23Matthew 6:19-21Matthew 4:8-10

Text: 1 John 2:1-14Title: Actions Speak Louder than WordsTheme: As we abide in the love of God, there is a natural outcome that occurs: that love is shared with others. If we are having a hard time loving someone in our lives, it might be because we're having a hard time letting God love us (or letting that love penetrate deep in our hearts). If we know God's love, and it is setting roots into our hearts, then we will naturally love others - even the ones who are hard to love.

Text: 1 John 1:1-10Title: God is LightTheme: John uses the themes of light and darkness to describe who God is and what our relationship with Him is like in Christ. He connects these to the themes of truth and lies, as well.

Text: Proverbs 31:25-31Title: A Spirit of WisdomTheme: Pentecost and Psalm 31 come together: As the proverb describes the wisdom of a woman who is led by the Spirit and Fear of the Lord, so we can also see a picture of what a church looks like who is led in the same way. As the "bride of Christ", the Proverbs 31 woman is not just a description of a single woman, but the church collectively as we live in relationship with our bridegroom, Christ. We'll use this Sunday to celebrate Pentecost (the giving of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church) as we see the fruit of the Spirit expressed through description of the Proverbs 31 woman.

Title: Character is KeyTheme: As we read through the various Proverbs, we cover topics on Money, Talk, Decisions, Parenting, Trust, Honesty... At times it feels like there is no rhyme or reason to it - but as you look through the themes that are found, a common strand begins to stand out: Wisdom is focused on Character as Key - the instructions found in the book of Proverbs are less about curbing action, and more about shaping character. God is concerned with the transformation of our hearts - not blind obedience. As our character is shaped to look more and more like God's, so do our actions - quite naturally. Where the heart is, a life will naturally follow.

Text: Proverbs 3:1-12Title: A Relationship that Leads to WisdomTheme: Working from Pv 3:5-6, we will introduce Proverbs, Solomon and the Big Idea of what wisdom is all about. It's not simply a matter of knowing more information, it's all about a relationship - a relationship with Wisdom Himself (Jesus) - and surrendering our hearts to His.

Text: John 21:15-19Title: Past Forgiven for Future PlansThemes: Peter denied Jesus three times, and now the Lord restores Peter by inviting him to declare his love for Jesus three times. Peter is thus forgiven by Jesus of failing Him in his pride and weakness. The forgiveness is implied in the commands given by Jesus to "Feed my lambs."Similarly, Jesus offers forgiveness to us for the times we have failed to follow Him. He offers forgiveness for a past that we would just as soon forget. In our forgiveness, we are freed for a new life of service to the Lord.

Text: John 20:19-29Title: "[Not] Seeing is Believing"Theme: In the days following the resurrection, the disciples were trying to put the pieces together to make sense of this new reality they were living in. As Jesus would show himself to them and share insights with them, their faith and confidence grew - with the exception of one: Thomas. It wasn't until 8 days after the resurrection that he finally surrendered his heart over in faith - but not until after Seeing it with his own eyes - like the others. To this, Jesus says, "You believe because you have seen - Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." That's us! We are blessed when we walk by faith not by sight. We'll talk about what it means to believe in - and walk in - faith in the resurrection of Jesus.