Sermons

Palm Sunday

On the night Jesus was betrayed, He shared the Passover meal with His disciples. While they were eating, He inaugurated what is commonly referred to as "The Lord's Supper," "The Eucharist," or simply, "Communion." The simple elements of bread and wine reveal what makes Christianity unique, namely, the body and blood of God's Son Jesus Christ.

When someone says, "I need a little R and R," they usually mean "Rest and Relaxation." That is certainly a good idea and the Lord delights to give rest to those He loves. But, there is another R and R that the apprentice of Jesus should consider, "Repentance and Refreshment." We don't normally put those words together but Peter did and we'll see why...and hopefully we'll have continued appreciation for how this works this morning...and throughout the week!

When we read Acts, it is often hard to remember that we are reading the on-going work of Jesus through His people in the power of the Holy Spirit. We can get preoccupied with the descriptive and miss the prescriptive. We can become enamored with the miracles and miss the meaning.

In 1989, Dr. Stephen Covey wrote a book titled, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." It was a National Bestseller and had a number of follow-up works with the same ideas in mind. The book was rooted in "character ethics" rather than the "power of personality" because Covey maintained that who we are becoming is ultimately more important than what we accomplish. He was right, not because original but because he agreed with the smartest Person who ever lived.

Habit 2: "Begin with the End in Mind" is a good way for us to come to the Communion Table on January 1, 2017. Do what you do, "In Remembrance of Christ."

The big day had come! Elizabeth was going to give birth to a son. There was so much they knew...and so much they didn't know. There is a common theme about what Mary, Elizabeth and Zacharias did know...they knew God was/is full of mercy and tender compassion. We cannot understand the Advent of our Lord without understanding this reality.

We love stories. We tell them, we listen to them, we laugh and we cry. The greatest story is a true one. It is a colossal work of non-fiction. It involves the creation of the universe, the reason for suffering and frustration, a Hero who suffers to make it all right and conquers our greatest enemy. It's a long story and all of us are part of it...the last chapter hasn't been written yet but some of the best parts are what we enjoy in the Advent Season.