We all fear something, don’t we? As a matter of fact, we’re all born with fear—a very human feeling… Part of that is a mechanism that God has given us to protect ourselves; we call it the instinct of self-preservation. Admittedly, that mechanism can be helpful in dangerous situations. Unfortunately, all too often our instinct of self-preservation is coupled with our instinct of sin. And, in situations where fear gets the best of us, we all have a tendency to do the wrong thing—to react in inappropriate ways… It’s a...
By David Busker MARK 14:27-52 (Use 32-41) This lenten series that pastor Rom is doing is from Adam Hamilton’s book “24” which is a takeoff on fox tv’s show called “24” in which each season is a 24 hour period in the life of terrorist hunter, Jack Bauer. Adam Hamilton’s book is about the last 24 hours of Jesus from the upper room to the cross. The show “24” is filled with edge of your seat excitement and you can hardly wait to see what comes next. This series is...
Today, we begin a journey through the last 24 hours of Jesus’ earthly life. As many have witnessed, it was 24 hours that absolutely changed the world… Where once there was a void of love, now LOVE entered in… Where once we were unable to relate to God, now we can walk closely with our Creator through faith… Do we need reminders that this has happened—reminders of what God did for us through his Son, Jesus? Well, in short: Yes! We’re human beings! And, because we are, redundancy is a...
What difference has Jesus made in your life? What difference has Jesus made in our lives? I could have just titled the message tonight “Why am I a Christian?” … because that’s really what I want to speak to for the next few moments… Have you ever asked yourself that question before—for those of you who’ve accepted Christ into your life? Why are YOU … a Christian? If you can answer that, you’ll know without question what difference Jesus has made… To be perfectly honest with you, my reasons for being...
I shared a little story about miracles with the Staff this week … and I’d like to share it with you, as I begin today. From the little book, “God’s Never Failed Me, But He’s Sure Scared Me to Death a Few Times,” comes this story: There were two nuns who were delivering medical supplies to a nursing home when their car ran out of gas. They searched the car for a gas can, but could only find a bedpan. The sisters walked a half mile to the nearest gas...
[audio:http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/pastor/sermonbrowser/?download&file_name=02-07-2010-MissionARevolutionOfGrace.mp3] So, what is grace to you? What is God’s grace in your life? I’ve shared the acronym before for grace: God’s Resources At Christ’s Expense. But, how does that play out in real life? Listen to our scripture lesson for today … and see God’s grace in action… “Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, he saw a tax collector, named Matthew, sitting in his office. He said to him, "Follow me." Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s...
[audio:http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/pastor/sermonbrowser/?download&file_name=01-31-2010-JesusMessageOfOffense.mp3|width=90%] Back in Matthew 4:17, Jesus began to share the message that said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is near!” In response to that, those who were following him began to ask him about what qualifications they would need to be a part of such a kingdom. That’s when he started into his sermon—the Sermon on the Mount, in answer to that question. Beginning with those Beatitudes (i.e. ‘Blessed are…’), Jesus began sharing with them how they should live, in order to qualify for a kingdom like his, by letting them know how...
Audio: [audio:http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/pastor/sermonbrowser/?download&file_name=01-24-2010-BeatitudesLuckyaretheUnlucky.mp3|width=90%] Today, we move from ‘who’ Jesus was to the more specific ‘why’ of Jesus’ coming to be part of our history… And, we’re going to do that through the study of Jesus’ own words—his own teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. We’re going to look at those “Blessed are” sayings called “The Beatitudes”… Listen now to our scripture lesson for today, from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5 [remember, Chapters 5-7 are the Sermon on the Mount], beginning with the first verse … from The Message… “When...
[audio:http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/pastor/sermonbrowser/?download&file_name=01-17-2010-TheFifthGospel.mp3|width=90%] I was absolutely floored this week when one of my colleagues made this statement in an email: “I don’t think the world needs Jesus. I think the world needs compassion and justice, sometimes named ‘God’ – and for some that connection happens through Jesus. I think most of us can’t take Jesus, frankly. We accommodate the Gospel and Jesus’ witness. I think the world might need people who have a servant heart as Jesus did; people who pursue their spiritual life as Jesus did … people who welcome all as Jesus...
[audio:http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/pastor/sermonbrowser/?download&file_name=01-10-2010-BirthGodCametoVisit.mp3|width=90%] Bethlehem is the place—of all places that God could choose to enter into our world—where God became a part of our history! It’s there that the story begins, with the birth of God’s son, Jesus. And, it’s there that our understanding of who God is begins as well… Who is this Jesus? Why is it so important that we come to know him … and deeply? What difference will it make in our lives? Just listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say to a church, not unlike ours—the church at Colossae…...
