This sermon was preached at a 1:00pm service Vienna Baptist because wind-storms had caused the cancellation of all activities at FCPS schools. Unfortunately, the recording was not through our normal sound system and is distorted with background noise. Jesus challenges the disciples as he fortells the destruction of the Temple. How can this be? Who […]

Lily Thompson & Caren Appel-Slingbaum share what God has done in their life and why they are ready to be Baptized

The religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus doesn’t evade the question, he overturns it–challenging their view of Kingdoms and inviting all to come and be a part of his upside down Kingdom by giving themselves wholly and completely to God.

During his final week, Jesus is teaching daily in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Chief Priests, threatened by his Kingdom message, question his authority. Jesus responds to their challenges with wisdom and clarity, but they refuse to listen because they have built their lives on another authority and are not open to the work of […]

Entering Jericho and on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus meets a Blind Beggar and a Tax Collector named Zacchaeus. One is the poorest and the other the richest, one oppressed, the other an oppressor, both are outside of the community, both want to see Jesus. Jesus stops for both of them and offers them his […]

A Rich Ruler who has obeyed all the Commandments asks what he must do to to inherit eternal life. Jesus says he must sell All he has, give the money to the poor, and come and follow him. The man goes away sad for he was extremely wealthy. What is the issue with money and […]

“When will the Kingdom come?” is a question the Pharisees ask Jesus. It is a question Christians have been asking more frequently for several decades. Jesus answer is the Kingdom is in your midst–it is right before you–in me, Jesus. In Jesus, God came to inaugurate his Kingdom. And, He is coming again to judge […]

Jesus’ parables redraw the circles of who’s in and who’s out–as he causes his listeners to examine the state of their heart. In the parable of the shrewd manager, a man facing the loss of his livelihood is commended for forgiving the debts of his master’s debtors and ingratiating himself to those people–revealing Jesus Kingdom […]

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus tells the story of a Father with two sons, the younger of whom disobeys and rejects him but at the end of his rope returns and experiences the Father’s loving embrace. The older son does everything the Father says but only to inherit the Father’s stuff, he […]

If Jesus came to reveal God to us, what does the first Christmas tell us about who God is? God’s visit in the person of Jesus shows us that He willingly enters the Mess of humanity and lovingly lifts the Lowly.