Author: Kim Braatz

Sermon: “Sick with Envy”
Theme: Envy kills us by constantly robbing us of our ability to see or appreciate the image of God within us.
Purpose: To see that a healthy self-image begins with practicing kindness and acceptance of others.
Scriptures: Matthew 20:1-16 Parable of the Laborers in the vineyard.
Galatians 5:16-21 Do not gratify the flesh and give into the works of the flesh.

Questions:
How does envy make us sick? How is our ability to love and accept love affected by envy? What is God’s desire for our self-image? How is envy an attack both on others and on our souls? In what ways is envy a lack of trust in God? How do we deal with our envy? What is the source of our emotional attacks of envy? How can we reduce our envy?

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Sermon: “Be Angry, but Do Not Sin”
Theme: Wrath is when we allow our anger to run our lives, define our relationships, and destroy our ability to grow in love and fellowship.
Purpose: The congregation will become sensitive to the destructive power of wrath and practice the discipline of releasing hostility through patience.
Scriptures: Ephesians 4:26-5:2 Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Be angry but do not sin.
Matthew 5:21-26 Do not be angry with your brother or sister or be prepared to pay the judgment.

Questions:
Is there a difference between wrath and anger? What happens when we are hostile and angry for a long period of time? What affect does our anger have on our relationship with God? What affect does our hostility have on the people who are near us? Can we actually control our anger? What do we have to do in order to be people who have a healthy relationship with our anger?

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Gluttony vs. Temperance (Moderation)
Sermon: “Never Enough To Fill Us”
Theme: Gluttony is the sin of using something tangible such a food or possessions to create feelings of being worthy, and valuable. Gluttony causes us to starve to death spiritually while being smothered and buried physically.
Purpose: The congregation will understand Gluttony and will begin to see the patterns in themselves so that they may be free.
Scriptures: Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus.
Galatians 5:1, 13-15 Be free, do not use your freedom for self-indulgence.

Questions:
What causes us to become gluttonous? What happens when we begin to try and fill the void in our hearts with meaningless things? How do we address the sin of gluttony in ourselves before it kills us? How do we move forward to drawing our value and purpose from our knowledge of Christ and our meaningful relationships? What is temperance and how do we really use it as a spiritual discipline to bring growth and healing in our lives?

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Sloth vs. Commitment
Sermon: “Love and Serve”

Theme: God calls us to commit our way to serving Christ and to be willing to use our time to glorify God.

Purpose: The congregation will understand that serving God is not about “looking busy” but about discerning the will of God and living by that will.

Scriptures: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Those who will not work should not eat, but do not tire of doing what is right.
Matthew 7:21-29 The house that is built on the rock as opposed to building on sand.

Questions:
What is sloth? Is it possible to be busy, and doing a lot of things, but at the same time not using your time in a healthy manner? In what ways is sloth destructive? Why are we always too busy to serve God? Why is sloth a problem in terms of enabling us to grow in our faith? How do we learn to practice service and submitting our time to God? Why is it some who think they are doing many things that are important find out that they are actually serving their own ego and not serving Christ?

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Pride vs. Humility

Sermon: “Destructive Pride” 8:00 Baptism

Theme: The sin of pride is to place our own will above God’s and in that way to destroy our relationship with God.

Purpose: To examine what it means to be humble versus what it means to be absorbed with our own will.

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 8:2-5, 12-14, 17-19 Warning against the destructive power of Pride.
James 4:5-12 Humble yourselves and banish pride so that you may be close to God.
Mark 7:18-23 It is from within the heart that evil intentions come.

Questions:
What is the difference between having a good image of yourself, and the sin of pride? In what ways does pride actually hurt anyone else? What does humility have to do with a healthy self-image and healthy relationships? How does pride make it impossible to trust and appreciate God’s presence? What are the destructive powers of pride in the world around us? How are arrogance, selfishness, and unforgiveness related to the sin of pride?

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Lust vs. Chastity

Sermon:  The Destructive Power of Lust

Theme: We destroy our relationships through lust when we reduce another human being from being the “image of God” to a commodity, property, or something that functions only for our gratification.

Purpose: To sensitize the congregation to what makes a “monster” and to recognize the significance of what sin does in our lives.

Scriptures:  Matthew 5:27-30 Everyone who looks with lust has already sinned in their heart;
James 1:2-4, 12-17 Temptation is not to ruin us, but to teach us wholeness.

Questions:
What is lust really? In what ways is it destructive to see people as property or as tools for our own benefit? Is lust destructive if we just “keep it to ourselves?” Or does lust create a monster within us, that damages relationships and causes us to be in conflict with God? What does it mean to practice “chastity?” Is chastity more than just keeping our minds off of things we shouldn’t think about? Does chastity have more to do with having a healthy view of the people around us?

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Installation of Officers at both services.
Sermon: “The Light has Come”

Theme: God has given us light so that we may dwell in joy and to walk in confidence.

Purpose: To call the congregation to appreciate the light and see themselves as those who bear the light to all times and places.

Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1-6 Arise, your light has come.
Matthew 2:1-12 The visit of the Magi

Questions:
Which power do we tend to believe in: The force of a ruler like Herod that can bring death upon those who threaten him? Or the power of God shown in the life of a Messiah who promises peace upon all of the earth? What difference does it make that we worship the Messiah who was a refugee from his own land? What does God intend for us to do with the light that we have received from God? How do we shine that light when we see so much cruelty and violence in the world? What does it mean for us to “go home by another way?”

Click HERE to listen to the message from January 4, 2015