Emmaus Road Church | Fort Collins, Colorado

Sermon Scripture: John 1:1-14

John’s account of the incarnation takes a radical approach, saying nothing of mangers, animals, shepherds or angels, rather talks of time and space, light and dark, heirs and servants, word and flesh.

When you read, or hear John’s incarnation account, it causes you to begin asking questions, and these questions are so important for us, because they generate something very important in us, WONDER.

This is our challenge this Christmas, to live and breath the WONDER of God with us, Emmanuel, Christ our savior.

Sermon Scripture: Luke 4:14-21, Isaiah 61:1–4

Love is our culminating Advent theme as Jesus, God with us, enacted the power of love to bring freedom, restoration, and healing to all who would receive it.

As Jesus takes the mantle of love upon himself, he does so in a very specific way. Once again fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 61, Jesus reveals what the power of love unleashed in our world can do.

It became the manifesto of Jesus’ own ministry, and it shows us, as followers of Jesus, what our lives should look like.

Sermon Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10, John 15:9-17

Happiness and joy are often considered interchangeably, but they are actually two completely different things. The key point being that God promises joy, but he never assures happiness.

We might look on these promises about God’s power to heal with cynicism when we see them in light of life as it stands today. Here, now, we see much evidence to the contrary as wars, violence, pain, disease and famine define our current reality, and even believers find it difficult to envision that they are on the road to a fully and completely healed creation.

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 1:18-24, Luke 1:11-20, Luke 1:26b–38

When Heaven speaks it can be quite an unsettling experience. There is a reason that every time an angel shows up in scripture the command is, “Peace be with you.” It’s because angels are not of this world, and very likely their proclamation is about to turn your life upside-down!

May we receive the peace of heaven that surpasses all understanding, and guides us into faithful obedience to God’s work and will in our lives, that we may too be blessed servants of the Lord who has come to bring hope, peace, joy, and love to our world.

Sermon Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-18, Isaiah 2:2-5, Romans 8:18-26, Psalm 37:3-5

Celebrating the life of Christ through the Christian Calendar and intentionally celebrating the season of Advent with hope and expectation allows us to rearrange the sacred back to the center of our lives.

What Advent does is it point the unresolved hopes that we have in our hearts toward Jesus. It invites us into a beautiful dance of hope fulfilled and hope yet to come.

May we continue to hope and chase after the desires that God has placed on our hearts by being God’s faithful people and enacting our hope through daily moments of prayer, love, and sacrifice.

Sermon Scripture: Colossians 1:11-20 (NLT)

In honoring Christ or King and his good Kingdom we consider what Jesus is looking for in his followers.

He is looking for people like you and me who may not have it all figured out, but who recognize that their source of hope in this world comes from the love and mercy of Jesus who met us in our darkest of hours and saw us through the long watches of the night.

May we live out the questions that we carry, not feeling less worthy for their existence, but emboldened that modeling the life of Jesus, even with questions in hand, is the best way to honor the rule and reign of Christ Jesus in our world.

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35

Jesus seems to be dividing those who hear about the hopeful, redemptive Kingdom of God into two categories: those who receive and those who reject. How can we protect ourselves from falling into the folly of the rejectors?

We must be diligent at keeping our eyes and ears open to the simple truth of God which the Holy Spirit reveals to us, while working hard to identify and reject our blindspots in thinking. We must continually be course correcting to ensure we are not becoming misaligned from the teaching of Jesus.

Sermon Scripture: Matthew 13: 44-46

Join us as we  delve into the layers of meaning found in the parables of the Treasure and Pearl.  Each layer reveals a new understanding of God’s truths and issues a call to action.

Sermon Scripture: Matt. 13:31-33

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a seed, or a measure of yeast, it is imperceptible and much of its growth is unseen, then seemingly overnight you see the tree or the risen dough.

We have all heard of the compound effect, or the butterfly effect. This idea says that small, seemingly insignificant forces can have dramatic effects when compounded over and over again. Jesus implies this is one way the Kingdom works.

As we embrace the Kingdom of Heaven in and around us, may we be faithful small beginnings and diligent in nurturing its growth.

Sermon Scripture: Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43 NRSV