Guerrilla Christianity

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.

January 28, 2024

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Psalter: Psalm 111

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:21-28

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 #262

God calls to us but he does not reveal his message to us until we are ready to listen.  So what is God's message to us?  All throughout the Bible, God has a single message that repeats over and over again, and that is to turn away from our sin and turn back to him.

Jonah 3:1-5,10

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 21, 2018 (Originally published February 13, 2018)

S.D.G.

Sermon #588

[This sermon was preached on Facebook Live from the Hudson UMC Parsonage Office, due to icy conditions in Salem County, on January 21, 2024.]

As we continue our "Following Christ" series and exposition of the Gospel according to St. Mark, we come to the calling of four fishermen, a familiar account in which Jesus says to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."  Not only do we see the immediacy of the response to follow Jesus, we also see an example and pattern to follow in evangelism.  After all, the first directive in the call to discipleship was to make more disciples (fish for people).  And so we see how we are to both cast our nets and mend our nets, and how we can do that in a world that is resistant to the gospel message.

Mark 1:14-20

Recorded at Hudson UMC Parsonage on January 21, 2024

Watch on YouTube

S.D.G.

It's hard to believe that this is the 500th episode of this little podcast called Guerrilla Christianity.  As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Arlington, TX, on a training trip for Amazon, and I thought it would be a good idea to commemorate this event with a special episode in which I pontificate, ruminate, and reflect upon eleven seasons, ten and a half years of ministry, and five hundred episodes of preaching the gospel.  

Recorded at Residence Inn, Arlington, TX on January 21, 2024

S.D.G.

Sermon #427

As we continue to look at the ways that God interacted with us through Jesus Christ, we come to the missional calling of four disciples who previously were not learned Biblical scholars but fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.  This calling is different from the calling we saw last week in that last week's calling was to discipleship, and this is a calling that is giving these men a mission and a task to complete - that of fishing for people.  And what we see in this narrative is that, as fishers of people ourselves, we are called to cast our nets often for a catch, and to mend our nets often so that they can be effective at bringing people to Christ.  

Mark 1:14-20

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 24, 2021 (Originally published on January 25, 2021)

S.D.G.

January 21, 2024

Old Testament: Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Psalter: Psalm 62:5-12

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:14-20

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 #261

We are starting a new series for the season after Epiphany (2018) and looking at the Old Testament texts for insight into When God Speaks.  We begin with the story of a young Samuel who was called upon by God to deliver a message to the High Priest, Eli, in a time when Israel was on the cusp of falling into apostasy.  But sometimes we can hear without listening, and so we ask the question, When God Speaks, Are You Listening?

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 14, 2018 (Originally published January 26, 2018)

S.D.G.

Sermon #587

As Christians, we know that we are called to evangelize.  Jesus gives us the Great Commission in Matthew 28, to go make disciples of all nations.  What is so intimidating for Christians in this post-modern world is that we are often afraid that we don't know enough to debate someone into believing in Jesus Christ.  But what we see in today's reading from John is that we don't need to have all the answers to all the objections.  We simply have to say to people, "Come and see for yourself."  And when they encounter Christ for themselves, they find themselves invited into a saving relationship with Jesus, and it's an invitation that is impossible to resist. 

John 1:43-51

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 14, 2024

Watch on YouTube

S.D.G.

January 14, 2024

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Psalter: Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Gospel Lesson: John 1:43-51

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.