Author: Kim Braatz

Sermon: “For Such a Time as This”
Theme: If we will hold fast to our faith, God will place us in circumstances where we can be used.
Purpose: To focus on developing courage and trust in God, even in the face of threats or loss of control.
Esther Struggled with choice between power and royalty, to do the right thing.
Scriptures:  Esther 2:9-11, 17-18; 3:12-14 Esther becomes queen, and finds herself needing to take the risk of interceding on behalf of her people.
                             Philippians 2:12-18 We are called to serve, holding fast to the Word and trusting.

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Sarah, Faith when life is out of control.

Sermon: “Faith When We Are Out of Control”
Theme: Sarah continued on, though she had no control over the situations in her life, and though she did not trust God at His word, she was still blessed by God.
Purpose: To understand faith is about being willing and offering ourselves to God, not being perfect.
Scriptures: Genesis 18:1-13 The Lord Appears to Abraham and Sarah, Sarah laughs at what is prophesied.
Hebrews 11:8-16 By faith, Abraham and Sarah were able to pursue their “homeland” and to see promises fulfilled.

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Moses Started out a “Basket Case” and struggled with what God wanted of him.
Sermon: “Moses: Called, but Not Qualified”
Theme: God accomplishes through us, not by our capabilities or by our luck, but by God’s intention and miracles.
Purpose: To learn to be faithful first, and then worry about the works that are at hand.
Scriptures: Exodus 4:10-17 Moses complains that he is not able to fulfill what God is asking of him.
Romans 8:26-30 God works through our weakness, we are destined to success.

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Elijah the Prophet Struggling with personal weakness and faith.
Sermon: “Weary and Faithful”
Theme: Elijah struggled with anxiety, fear, and was overwhelmed – God gave healing by giving him meaningful work to accomplish.
Purpose To see in Elijah that God equips even those who are suffering mental illness and terrible anxiety to be a part of the work of God’s grace.
Scriptures: 1 Kings 19:3-16 God speaks to Elijah in the midst of his despair.
Romans 8:31-39 Our outer nature is wasting away but we are renewed from within.

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Sermon: “Together, We Will Make It”
Naomi and Ruth Creating a New life out of ruin.
Theme: Practicing acceptance leads to strength and the ability to overcome loss.
Ruth 1:3-5, 14-22 “Your people shall be my people”
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 We are confident; we walk by faith and not by sight.
Purpose: If we will be open and accepting we will experience the love of God in relationships that sustain us;

Also:  “Souper Bowl of Caring”

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Isaiah the Prophet The Mission of an unpopular message (what is success?)
Theme: We cannot measure success or what it means to be effective on the standards of the world but have to measure it on the basis of faithfulness.
Purpose: A challenge we all face is to take joy in faithfulness and choose carefully how we measure success.
Sermon: “Isaiah the Prophet” The Mission of an unpopular message (what is success?)
Isaiah 6:1-12 Isaiah’s Call
2 Timothy 4:1-5 Preach the message in season and out of season
Questions:
Was Isaiah successful in proclaiming God’s word because he was persistent in it or because he was faithful to the message? Why proclaim a message that no one wants to hear? What is the purpose of faithfulness if it isn’t going to make things work out for us? How do we know when we are preaching an unpopular message and when we are just being unpleasant ourselves? What do we need to sacrifice in order to be effective in sharing the message of God’s love? Are there people in our lives (family, close friends) to whom we cannot effectively be the conduit of God’s messages? Are there people who close their ears and refuse to listen today?

An Unpopular Message – Click here to listen to the message