Year: 2017

The way in which money decides what we think about ourselves.   “moolah”

Sermon:           “Cash Cows”

Theme:            Money becomes an idol which can dominate our hearts, lives, and thinking.

Purpose           To create an altitude of freedom from money.

Scriptures:       Ecclesiastes 5:10-20    God has given wisdom in taking pleasure in what we do for labor and be in relationships which are healthy.

Matthew 6:19-24        You cannot serve two masters, where your money is, there your heart will be also.

Questions:

What does it mean to be a “lover of money?”  How does our relationship with money affect our way of seeing ourselves? How does our feelings about money affect our spiritual life? In what ways do we seek to serve money and to serve God?  How do we go about the process of putting our money in service of God? What role does sacrificing our feelings about money have in developing our healthy relationships with God and the people we love?

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“Cow-nt Your Blessings”

Sermon:           Slaves to Golden Calves

Theme:            We become slaves to those things that become more precious than our relationship with God.

Purpose:          To make the congregation aware of the condition of being slaves to possessions.

Scriptures:       Exodus 20:1-6 You will have no other gods or idols.

Luke 18:18-30  The story of the wealthy young man.

Questions:

What does it mean to put God first in our lives? In what ways are we prone to make idols to replace God?  When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell everything, was this a command to us all or an invitation specifically for this particular individual?  What would have happened if this young man had embraced Jesus’ invitation? What is meant by the “iniquity of parents” carrying out to three or four generations but blessings going to the thousandth generation?  How do we embrace the gift of living free of slavery to our possessions and enjoy our possessions in a healthy way?

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Sermon:           “Chewing the Cud”

Theme:            We create idols that enslave us and separate us from God out of our loss of direction and need for control.

Purpose:          The congregation will begin to be sensitive to the idols we have created.

Scriptures:       1 Corinthians 10:14, 23-24, 31-33      All may be lawful but not all is right.

Exodus 32:1-6,            Moses is with God, and the people form a Golden Calf.

Questions:

What is an idol?  How is it that we make things so important that they get in the way of our relationships?  Why is it we never have time to pray, to worship, or to reach out in love? What has happened so that our priorities have lost the focus on knowing God? How would our lives be different if we focused our time and energy in ways that supported our health and knowledge of God?  In what ways are the sacred cows running our lives?

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Sermon:           “Sent With God’s Spirit”

Theme:            We are given the power of God’s own Holy Spirit so that we may have the power to accomplish what we are created to fulfill.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to see themselves as empowered by God and to use that power.

Scriptures:       John 20:19-23 The Resurrected Jesus shows himself to the disciples and sends them with peace.

Acts 2:1-21      The winds of Pentecost turn fearful disciples into bold people to share the work of God to all of the world.

Questions:

What difference does the Holy Spirit make in our lives today? What difference does having power from God make for those who are moving or going through major changes in their lives?  What difference does it make to us that we are empowered and commissioned by God?  How do we tap into that power from the Holy Spirit?  As our young people graduate, how are they like the disciples, being empowered to go new places and speak new languages?

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Sermon:           “To Know and Be Known by God”

Theme:            Our relationship with Christ is an active relationship that shapes us through love into people who live joyfully as Christ’s disciples.

Purpose:          The congregation will move from an intellectualized relationship with God to a moving relationship which will challenge sacrifice and growth.

Scriptures:       John 14:15-21  Jesus said: “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Jesus will send us the Advocate to guide us.

Acts 7:22-31    Paul’s sermon to Athens – God invites us to a relationship of knowing God rather than worshipping mystery.

Questions:

What does it mean to know Christ? The Apostle Paul spoke to the people in Athens about the mystery of God, but also spoke about knowing God? How do we go about coming to know God? In what ways do we learn to love God by loving one another? In what ways is our ability to know God dependent on our willingness to love the people around us? In what ways does the lack of love in the world cause God’s presence to be invisible to much of the world? In what ways are we involved in a relationship of spiritual life with God rather than focused on our building, structures, or programs?

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