Guerrilla Christianity

Sermon #430

In the conclusion to our series, God with Us, we are looking at the Transfiguration of Jesus.  The Transfiguration marks the end of the season after Epiphany and points to the beginning of Lent which starts this coming Wednesday.  This event, which is recorded in three gospels plus Peter's second epistle, and alluded to in John's gospel, left an indellible mark on the three disciples who were there.  What we see from Mark's gospel is the point of view of Peter at the Transfiguration, and what we can learn is that when God shows up in the person of Jesus Christ, we must listen to him, and we can know with assurance that what he says is true. 

This sermon was recorded in the Hudson UMC parsonage on Valentine's day, 2021, as we in South Jersey had experienced an ice storm and the in-person service was closed.

Mark 9:2-9

Recorded at Hudson Parsonage on February 14, 2021 (Originally published February 15, 2021)

S.D.G.

February 11, 2024

Old Testament: 2 Kings 2:1-12

Psalter: Psalm 50:1-6

Epistle Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:2-9

Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

S.D.G.

Sermon #264

This episode was recorded at Hudson UMC in 2018 but was never published.  We apologize for the poor sound quality.

Isaiah prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem at a time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered and exiled by the Assyrian empire.  Isaiah's prophetic vision promised the same fate would befall Judah and Jerusalem if they did not discontinue their idol worship.  Ultimately, the southern kingdom of Judah would fall in 586 to the Babylonian empire.  Yet even before that occurred, God through Isaiah was promising restoration for those who are faithful to Him.  Our faith can be tested by our circumstances, but when we persist in our faith, God will carry us through.  God is not like idols made by men; he is powerful to save.

Recorded at Hudson UMC on February 4, 2018 (Previously unpublished)

S.D.G.

Sermon #590

As we continue to follow Christ in our Epiphany series, we see Jesus healing many and casting out many demons.  Then early in the morning, he goes out to pray.  It might surprise some to know that Jesus prayed to the Father.  Yet what we see in Jesus' model of prayer for us is that prayer, communication with the Father, was a priority for Christ.  He rose early in the morning to pray.  He got alone with God the Father.  He prayed before great ministry and after great spiritual victory.  In Jesus we see our Good Shepherd showing us how we are to pray, and we can learn much from him.  

Mark 1:29-39

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 4, 2024

Watch on YouTube

S.D.G.

Sermon #429

We are a society of instant gratification.  We see what we want, we desire it in our hearts, and we get it.  We are the Amazon Prime free overnight shipping give it to me now generation.  But these things that we acquire do not satisfy that deep longing in our souls.  The French mathemetician and theologian Blaise Pascal tells us that it is because we have an infinite void in us that can only be filled with the infinite - that is, God himself.  And Ecclesiastes tells us that God puts eternity in the heart of people.  So the thing that we are seeking is God.  Yet in today's lesson we will find that it is not so much us that are seeking Him, but God who seeks us.

Mark 1:29-39

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on February 7, 2021 (Originally published February 11, 2021)

S.D.G.

February 4, 2024

Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalter: Psalm 47:1-11, 20c

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:29-39

Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

S.D.G.

Sermon #263

We are three weeks into our series "When God Speaks."  So listen up (Are You Listening?).  God has a clear message to us.  But now we come to an important instruction left to the people of Israel (and to us) about speaking in God's name.  When someone speaks in God's name, how do we know that it is really God's word?  Well in order to know that, we need to know the nature of God.  And so we hear a word from Moses in Deuteronomy, a dire warning for those who would speak in God's name and a good word for those who would receive it.

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 28, 2018 (Originally published February 17, 2018)

S.D.G.

February 2, 2024

Old Testament: Malachi 3:1-4

Psalter: Psalm 84

Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 2:14-18

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:22-40

Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

S.D.G.

Sermon #589

Today we are looking at Jesus preaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, and the astonishment of his hearers, that he teaches as one with authority and not like the scribes.  Suddenly there is an interruption to the service; a demon-possessed man confronts Jesus and Jesus casts out the unclean spirit.  What does all this mean for us today?  First, that Jesus performed miracles such as this to demonstrate that he has the authority by God to speak to the scriptures.  After all, it was ultimately God himself who is the author of scripture.  And secondly, that there is a spiritual battle being fought over the souls of people even today, and that every affliction which the modern world has termed a disease or some sort of chemical imbalance has at it's root a spiritual element as well.  

Mark 1:21-28

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 28, 2024

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S.D.G.

Sermon #428

Here in the 21st Century we have seen an onslaught of attacks against the Bible and its authority.  But what we see in the reading from Mark today, as Jesus taught in the synagogue from God's word, is that God's word is the ultimate authority, because it is God speaking directly to us.  In God's word there is an undeniable power that transcends mere words on a page.  The Bible is the most read, most widely distributed, most translated book in human history, and it has been supernaturally preserved in its entirety because it is what it says it is: the word of God.

Mark 1:21-28

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 31, 2021 (Originally published on February 3, 2021)

S.D.G.