Series: Epiphany

Sermon Date: February 23, 2025

Luke 5:27-32 (after Jesus healed a leper, and a paralytic; about which the church complained)
“²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” ²⁸ So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. ²⁹ Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus at his house. Many tax collectors and other people were eating there, too. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus’ followers, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”

John 12:23-26
“²³ Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed. ²⁵ Those who love their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will keep true life forever. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.”

Sermon Date: February 16, 2025

Fences; Fortunes; Faith

Aaronic Blessing
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Sermon Date: February 9, 2025

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Luke 7:2-9
“² Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” ⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹ When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

John 1:27
“… even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Philippians 1:27
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel …”

Colossians 1:10
“… so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God …”

Revelation 5:8-10
“⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, ¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Isaiah 25:1
“O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

Luke 18:10-14
“¹⁰ Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Isaiah 43:1-3a
“¹ But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. ³ For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.”

Sermon Date: February 2, 2025

God gave Jeremiah and each of us something more precious than an exhortation to stoic perseverance. He promised His divine presence. Jeremiah 1:4ff: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. So do not be afraid, for I am with you”.

Isaiah 43:1-3a: “He who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'”

This divine promise required the audacity to believe that the Sender knew just who He was sending, that His message lives independent of the messenger, and that His presence gave perspective to our many conflicts. Like Moses, Isaiah, and Paul, Jeremiah learned to resist the negative voices from within and the bitter conflicts from without. To stay focused on God’s promises and fulfillment in Messiah Jesus; Emmanuel.

Sermon Date: January 26, 2025

Open your bibles to Luke 4:16-22; Matthew 5:1-10; Hebrews 2:14-15; 4:14-16

We speak to how, when, and why Jesus speaks to our lives today.

Sermon Date: January 19, 2025

John 2:1-11

“¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

Sermon Date: January 12, 2025

Jesus’ Baptism, a model for our discipleship life mission.

Sermon Date: January 5, 2025

Epiphany = Manifestation: Magi; gentile scientists, bring gifts to the child Jesus.
Gold = for a King.
Frankincense = Spice for the Priest.
Myrhh = burial spices.
Only recorded in Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon Date: February 4, 2024

2 Corinthians 4:1:

“It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up.”