Luke 5:17-26 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Our bodies are fragile. We get sick. We die. It's a part of life. But, the Scriptures reveal that these realities are not God's intention for us. We are broken, in part, because human beings are enmeshed in sin. Jesus reveals that it is God's desire to repair the brokenness of our bodies, but he also reveals that the repair of our bodies involves the repair of our relationship with God. In this sermon we will explore the connections between sin and brokenness, and how individual acts of healing are signs of God's restoration of all creation to relationship with him.

Luke 7:18-23 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Wholeness is God's intention for us. And, when John the Baptist doubted whether Jesus was the Messiah, God's anointed Savior, Jesus asked John to consider what he saw happening through Jesus' ministry. John and all the people saw wholeness and healing. If we ever doubt whether God is at work in our world, we need only look to places where we see lives being restored, people being made whole, and sins being forgiven to see God at work. Jesus, in fact, calls us to participate in this work.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The powers of evil enslave. This is a perennial reality of life under the sun. But, the God of Heaven, who has created and called all flesh to serve him, will not tolerate his people serving any other pretender to the divine throne. Yahweh is a God of deliverance. The story of deliverance is a central story for the Jews, and it is for us, too. Deliverance is our story, and it should define our lives, our hopes, and our relationship to God.

Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The Bible's story begins in darkness and it ends in the full light of God's presence. Life and peace and shalom replace dark chaos. This same story plays out on Easter. The women go to the tomb in darkness, but they encounter the light of salvation. The promise of Christ is that those who walk in darkness will see light; they will have hope; they will have joy.

Lk 19:28-40 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | In the years since the return from exile, Israel had resolved not to fall into the same patterns of unrighteous living that had led to the exile in the first place. They retrenched into the holiness code and wound up in the same place as they had been before the exile: their religion was a hollow commitment to outward practice, but devoid of any spiritual engagement with the God who desperately wanted their hearts. Jesus provided a new way--a relationship with God that was personal and a discipleship that was based on a religion of the heart. Because of Jesus, we have the power to fulfill God's purposes and live under the divine reign.

Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | One of the surest signs of God's reign is a community living under the unity of the Holy Spirit. God's table provides not only the sign of this reign but also a means to share in it. The Lord's Table stands in contrast to the division and enmity that had existed between God and humans and within the human community from the moment sin entered into the world. It reverses this tragic reality and it enables us to anticipate the eternal communion of God's heavenly kingdom.

Daniel 3:1, 3-6, 8-18 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Israel was exiled in Babylon as judgment for their sin. Yet, God relented from his wrath and resolved to redeem them. But, the people of Israel were up against impossible odds. Their redemption would come because "God is able." Israel had come to feel like victims; God was able to bring them victory. Their victory would come through renewed faithfulness to God who had saved them from Egypt and would now save them from exile. No matter how fierce our foe or how deep our despair, God is able to save.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | The powers of evil enslave. This is a perennial reality of life under the sun. But, the God of Heaven, who has created and called all flesh to serve him, will not tolerate his people serving any other pretender to the divine throne. Yahweh is a God of deliverance. The story of deliverance is a central story for the Jews, and it is for us, too. Deliverance is our story, and it should define our lives, our hopes, and our relationship to God.

Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | One of the surest signs of God's reign is a community living under the unity of the Holy Spirit. God's table provides not only the sign of this reign but also a means to share in it. The Lord's Table stands in contrast to the division and enmity that had existed between God and humans and within the human community from the moment sin entered into the world. It reverses this tragic reality and it enables us to anticipate the eternal communion of God's heavenly kingdom.

Lk 19:28-40 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | In the years since the return from exile, Israel had resolved not to fall into the same patterns of unrighteous living that had led to the exile in the first place. They retrenched into the holiness code and wound up in the same place as they had been before the exile: their religion was a hollow commitment to outward practice, but devoid of any spiritual engagement with the God who desperately wanted their hearts. Jesus provided a new way--a relationship with God that was personal and a discipleship that was based on a religion of the heart. Because of Jesus, we have the power to fulfill God's purposes and live under the divine reign.