Month: June 2015

Sermon: “The Cost of Arrogance”
Theme: Samson did not recognize that his strength flowed from his relationship with God, and this forced a journey of restoration.
Purpose: The congregation will understand that our power and strength needs to come from our relationship with God.
Scriptures:  Judges 16:4-22 Samson falls in love with Delilah and she betrays him.
Matthew 10:16-22, 34-39 Jesus warns the disciples of betrayal, and rejection, that those who will follow have to set relationship with God above all else.
Questions:
Why do we retell the story of Samson and Delilah, especially to children, when it is a story of such deceit and bloodshed? Was Samson just not very intelligent in his relationships or was God in some way using his lack of ability to restrain himself? What does it mean to be so personally devoted to God as a Nazerite? How is it that some people are so focused on personal devotion that they are not able to see what impact their decisions have on others? How can God use such a violent and unrestrained man as Samson? Was it a good thing that he killed so many Philistines? What is with the conflict between the Philistines and the Judean people? How has our view changed of how to bring peace?

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Sermon: “On the Way to Nineveh”
Theme: The sin of Jonah was to treasure his resentment more than God.
Purpose: We become aware of how we justify our hostility and resentment in place of faithfulness to God.
Scriptures: Jonah 1:1-6, 1:15-2:10 Jonah is swallowed up by the Whale and spewed out.
Matthew 7:21-23 Some will say they are faithful but will not act in the knowledge of God.

Questions:
What is the difference between having “strong convictions” and being stubborn? Jonah’s prejudice against the people of Nineveh got in the way of his relationship with God. Do we ever do that? Are there times when our unforgiveness, prejudice, or other grudges make want to defy God’s direction to us? Why did God use such extreme means to return Jonah to the path He had set for Jonah? Was that for the benefit of Jonah or for the Ninevites? Why did God choose Jonah even though God knew Jonah hated the people of Nineveh? Are there ever times God will call us to go or do things so that our attitudes will be changed?

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Sermon: The Lions You Will Face
Theme: Daniel’s decision as to how to live his life meant that he was in danger of losing it.
Purpose: To see in Daniel’s story that he had to choose what manner of life he was going to live, and to claim a life that is full rather than one that complied with other’s expectations.
Scriptures:  Daniel 6:1-28 Daniel thrown in the lion’s den.
Romans 8:31-39 What will separate us from the love of Christ?

Questions:
What is the cost of our being faithful to God and true to ourselves? When are we tested and tried, to prove what we believe and to hold fast to our values? What kind of person never has their values or beliefs tested? What is the difference between holding true to our beliefs or values, and being stubborn as we refuse to question or to grow? How do we learn to be people who know what to hold fast to, and where to compromise? What are the values that we will never compromise upon?

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Sermon: “Broken Stories from Broken Lives”
Theme: The gift that God gives us of the bible is a human glimpse into what is divine, the gift of the knowledge of God in particular times and circumstances.
Purpose To introduce the bible as a human and divine description of God’s love and presence.
Scriptures: John 1:14-23 Jesus, the Word Made Flesh, is known first through Isaiah, Elijah, and other Old Testament prophets.
Hebrews 11:3-13 The faith that began in the Old Testament fulfilled in Christ.
Questions:
Why do we need to have the Old Testament? Why do we tell the Old Testament Stories to our children? Do the stories really mean what we think they mean? How do we deal with the way in which people saw God in parts of the Old Testament? Should we eliminate the stories that include violence and ways of thinking we now know to be destructive? What can we learn from these stories?

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