Woodbury Church of Christ Sermons

Resisting a culture that is amusing us to death. 

We've all played the "Oh, you think you have it hard?" game. Struggle and suffering are part of the human experience. We all will struggle and we will all suffer, what we believe and how we respond to it, will make all the difference.

(Apologies for some of the audio issues) Sure, the resurrection is a big, outlandish, hard-to-believe claim. Yes, a lot of people struggle to believe. The truth is - your doubt can bring you to the living Jesus. 

In chapters 10-12, John uses Jewish holidays of Hanukkah, Passover, and the Triumphal Entry to show us Jesus is bigger than we may think.

Join us as we secure the right equipment to explore the weird and wonderful Gospel of John. 

When it comes to God, we only have two choices, resistance or repentance. 

More than anything else, God loves to welcome lost people home. In Jesus' most vivid and emotionally compelling story, we get a glimpse into the the very heart of God.

The most important thing we can ever do is help someone take their next step closer to Jesus.

Luke includes Jesus' "synagogue sermon" where the other writers did not. Why did he include it here at the beginning of Jesus' ministry and what was the message?

It's such a counter-intuitive, upside-down, backward truth that people, though they think it sounds nice, have a next to impossible time actually living it. Yet, Jesus said it was THE way to life.

There's a huge phenomena in faith that we don't talk about. When we are trying to walk by faith and things get more murky, confusing and difficult. It's not just that we're tempted to give up, the circumstances make us wonder if we SHOULD give up. How do we learn to hang in there, even when things are confusing?

The Gospel of Jesus doesn't sound like good news to people who think they can handle life on their own. But it sounds like GREAT news to people who, through trial and error, have realized there really is only one way.

As we end the book off Matthew we take a look at Jesus's great commission and how we cannot assume others know Him!

Too often we present the Gospel just as forgiveness, which is true but it's not the entire truth. Like a rowboat with only one paddle, preaching half the Gospel sends us in circles, never really moving forward. What are we missing?

Most of us could recycle our New Year's Resolutions every year. There's something about change that is so hard it feels impossible. But there is a way to write a better story for our lives. As we explore the Gospel of Matthew, we'll catch a glimpse of a better story for our lives.

Nobody was apathetic about Jesus. Some were compelled, some were repulsed but nobody ignored Him. What was the difference between the ones who were drawn to Jesus and the ones who were driven away?

Joy is a discipline, you have to light the fire before you feel the warmth. But once the flame of joy is lit it glows bright. The arrival of Jesus brings joy to the world!

Before joy is an experience, it's a discipline but joy MUST account for pain and sorrow. If our joy can only exist in the absence of suffering, it's not true joy.

We want joy to just happen but the Bible the Bible teaches us joy is something that won't just happen, it must be fought for.

Being fully known is hard, choosing to invite God into our life is joyful.

Life is hard and even the strongest often need to be encouraged to keep going.

Every big challenge in life requires a why. What is your big why?

We think we're blessing the nations when we give generously...and we are, BUT we too often fail to acknowledge the blessings we receive when we dig deep and give.

Today we will look at the peace and rest we can find in the Lord!

At nearly 80 Daniel is still having to face life or death decisions to live his faith. To find the fortitude to carry on we can't look at the lions, we have to turn our eyes toward God.

In Babylon it can feel like things won't actually change, that the bad guys will keep winning and the good guys will stay in exile. But the reality is there will be a reckoning.

For SUPERNANZA 2024, we will look at Luke 15 and study the idea of celebration found in the Lord!

It's not healthy for humans or humanity to think we're the center of the universe. The lesson of humility is one of the hardest we'll ever learn.

How do we push forward when it feels like everything is pushing us backward?

Determination requires anticipation. Where do we get the fuel to keep going, particularly when we're pressured to quit?

Christian engage the culture, without conforming to the culture, to transform the culture for it's good.

What if the worst thing that could happen happened? What do we learn about ourselves and God through intense difficulties?

We have big opinions and there's no shortage of controversies for everyone to have big opinions about. Jesus doesn't just teach us what to think, he models a WAY to engage in the constant controversies we're surrounded by.

Today we honor all our graduating seniors!

Ok, there is little more emotionally charged, confusing and divisive than the conversation of sex and gender in our current cultural moment. The beating heart of the debate is how best to love and support those who experience incongruence between their biological sex and feeling of gender identity. How can we be Jesus-like as we wrestle with this important topic? 

How should we respond to others? Jesus was Grace and Truth. We need to accept people where they are-just as Jesus did. It is more about our hearts than it is their sin.

This might be the toughest topic in our current cultural moment. The loudest voices expressing the most extreme opinions aren't usually very helpful. Most of all, it's not simply an abstract topic or issues, it's about how to reconcile some challenging verses with people we love. How do we navigate Scripture, culture and our command to love?

The Bible keep using this phrase, "sexual immorality." It sounds passé if not regressive and often discarded. The question we should be asking is, have human ideas of sexual ethics really made life better for everyone? 

The concept of sexuality is absolutely dominating our popular culture. It's clearly a powerful and, if misused, dangerous spiritual matter. The good news is that no matter how deep our brokenness, confusion, or pain, God provides redemption and goodness.

With rates of anxiety skyrocketing, it's been called an "age of anxiety." While a diagnosis of anxiety and Scripture's definition of worry are different and have different solutions, they both disrupt shalom. We can't worry our way to peace. So, what do we do?

The idea of sharing our faith makes most Christians break out in a cold sweat of anxiety. But what if we've got it all wrong? What if we're not trying to convince someone we are right but rather just participating in what God is doing?

Today is Father's Day and we will focus on the role of Father as well as the role of spiritual mentor. God wants us to be intentional about providing spiritual direction. How do we do it?

How big is the gap from Sunday to Monday? In God's mind there is no division between the sacred and the secular. Who are we working for? No matter where we work, our attitude should be that we are working for God's glory.

God is on a mission to create shalom in the world, you play a role. It can feel overwhelming but in a lost and broken world, God has a plan.

God is on a mission to create shalom in the world, you play a role. To make any impact requires a huge shift in your identity. You are on Mission!

God, from the beginning, has been doing work in the world, and He invites humans to participate in a real and necessary way.

Jesus revealed truth to the world. We love learning truth but we don't always do a great job of living truth. How can we move from information to conviction?

Jesus revealed truth to the world. So, why are there so many disagreements and divisions among people who claim to follow Jesus?

Jesus didn't claim to know truth, he claimed to BE the truth. How do we think about truth in a modern, scientific and secular society? What does that mean for modern truth claims? You might be surprised.

In Romans 6, Paul brings two groups together unifying them and encouraging them to remember their commitment to join Christ in baptism.

Sometimes we make simple things complicated. Jesus's baptism teaches us that Baptism can be simple.