Year: 2016

When I Need to be Reminded:

Have you ever forgotten a critical piece of information when you needed it the most? An important phone number, perhaps, or a password or even a name. Studies tell us that during a crisis the part of the brain that deals with memory gets a reduced amount of blood flow thus leaving us with lapses in memory. It is during these times when we need one another to help us remember what God has done for us.

Chaplain Darren Beachy160828_001

Sermon:           “Who Should Do We Want to Be When We Come Home Again?”

Theme:            The purpose of spiritual growth is to become someone who lives in the fullness of the grace and love of Christ, and enjoys the gifts of that maturity and love.

Purpose:          The congregation will recognize that mature Christianity is shown in our relationships and joyful living in fellowship with one another.

Scriptures:       Psalm 137:1-4 The lament of the people when they were in captivity in Babylon.

Colossians 3:5-17  Put to death what is destructive within you and clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Questions:

What makes us feel “at home?” What enables us to feel that we belong? In what ways do we want our home to be shaped by the presence and love of Christ? In what ways do we want our relationships to be clothed in kindness, compassion, and patience? In what ways are we prepared to allow our pilgrimage to strip us of the unforgiveness, hostility, and fear that separate us from God? In what ways do we truly want to come home as different people than how we left? What are the ways in which we need to grow in relationship with one another so that we may be whole?

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Sermon:           “Not from Around Here”

Theme:            As Christians we live by values that do not blend with the culture and often cause us to feel alienated and alone, but that is how we testify to Christ’s love and justice.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to be peaceable and compassionate rather than angrily seek to get their way.

Scriptures:       1 Peter 2:11-25   You should live as aliens, living peaceably and enduring hardship

Luke 4:14-30       Jesus was not accepted when he returned to Nazareth.

Questions:

Do we consider ourselves as “strangers” and “aliens” or do we think of ourselves as people with rights and entitlements? Do we treat the people around us as fellow travelers? Or do we think of ourselves as belonging and others as not belonging? What is the cost to our relationship with God when our identity takes on the values of the world around us? Do we like the values of the culture around us at this time? Do we want to be shaped by our knowledge of God or will we allow the attitudes and beliefs that surround us to form our faith?

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Sermon:           “Knowing God Through Those Around Us”

Theme:            On our pilgrimage we come to know God through the people whom we meet along the way, both those whom we are called to serve, and those who serve us.

Purpose:          The congregation will be conscious of how their relationships with the people around them shapes their relationship with God.

Scriptures:       1 John 1:1-10  We fellowship more than just with other people, but with God in our conversations with other people (light and darkness).

Matthew 22:35-40      We learn the law of God in context of loving our neighbor, and of faithfulness to God.

Questions:

Is our faith journey a solo or do the people whom God places around us matter? Can we have healthy spiritual growth without healthy relationships with family, friends, and other people of God? In what ways is growth in Christ dependent on our growth in relationships with others? What role does forgiveness, acceptance, and love for others play in our relationship with God? In what ways do we need to be conscious about growing in our relationship with Christ in order to be healthy and the people who are around us?

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Sermon:           “Amazed by the View”

Theme:            God gives us moments which put our pilgrimage into perspective so that we may be better prepared for hardships and expectations which are to come.

Purpose:          The congregation will put spiritual high experiences in perspective rather than constantly gauging their faith by experience.

Scriptures:       2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Paul speaks about his powerful spiritual experience coupled with his unanswered prayer.

Mark 9:1-10    Disciples encounter Jesus transfigured before them.

Questions:

Should we rejoice and take joy in those moments when we recognize how far we have come in our growth in faith? Is it false pride or giving praise to God when we appreciate the growth and maturity that has developed in our lives? How do we balance appreciation of the spiritual highs that we have known, with dedication to faithfulness regardless of how we may feel at the time? How do we respond to our “mountain top” experiences? Who can we talk to about the wonderful moments when we have felt God’s presence? What difference does it make to our life in Christ as we recognize and appreciate those joyful and uplifting experiences?

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