Guerrilla Christianity

Sermon #510

We now shift our attention to the southern kingdom of Judah and the major prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah prophesied at the same time as Amos and Hosea, yet his audience was found in the king's court in Jerusalem.  He was affluent and well educated.  Perhaps it is for this reason that so many of his prophetic visions were quoted and alluded to in the New Testament in regards to Jesus Christ.  Yet even though he had a position of influence, he was also willing to clearly and courageously deliver God's message to the people - a message that was not a word of praise, but of judgment.  In prosperous and stable times, the religion of Jerusalem had become mechanical and loveless.  God used Isaiah to call the people to a deeper relationship with him, a life of obedience and devotion rather than meaningless religious rituals.

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Recorded at Hudson UMC on August 7, 2022

S.D.G.

Sermon #509

Through Hosea the prophet, God speaks tenderly even to the people that he will soon displace for their infidelity.  Just as Hosea redeemed his unfaithful wife and paid off her debt, so God does the same for us through the blood of his son Jesus Christ.  Though the religions of the world tell us what we must do in order to gain the attention of whatever deity we worship, Christianity stands alone in that God gets our attention by what he has already done for us, in what we could not do for ourselves and what he accomplished for us.  Even as God was telling the northern kingdom of Israel that they would be sent into bondage in Assyria, he was already laying out his plan of restoration, before they were exiled.  In all of this, we see the incredible and steadfast love of God on full display.

Hosea 11:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 31, 2022

S.D.G.

Sermon #345

Bearing fruit is what we as Christians are called to do. God does not save us by our works, but he saves us for good works, and so if our lives in Christ are not bearing fruit, then we are, as Jude says in today's reading, twice dead trees plucked up by the roots. It is a sobering charge and it gives us a reason to examine our own lives and ask this vital question: how is my life in Christ bearing fruit?

Jude 12-13

Recorded at Hudson UMC on July 14, 2019 (Originally published July 15, 2019)

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S.D.G.

Sermon #344

In today's lesson from Jude, we are shown how we can determine if modern interpretive "revelation" is from God, and whether we should believe it or not. We are also shown, in the contrary behavior of the "dreamers" of Jude's time, what we are not to do, and given practical application as to what sort of behavior that we, as Christians, ought to engage in instead. Though written nearly 2,000 years ago, Jude's letter still holds true and offers us wisdom we can apply in our own lives, and this is true of the entirety of the Bible itself.

Jude 8-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 7, 2019 (Originally published July 10, 2019)

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S.D.G.

Sermon #508

Today in our series "Prophet Margins" we begin by looking at the life of Hosea, who was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel just prior to the Assyrian exile.  God used the life of Hosea as an illustration of God's relationship with His bride, Israel.  Hosea was to marry a prostitute and to name his children prophetic names that would point to the exile.  Ultimately, Hosea's wife Gomer would be unfaithful to him and leave him, just as Israel has done to God.  But Hosea would do something remarkable, in that he would purchase his wife's life back from the man to whom she owed a debt.  Despite her infidelity he would continue to show her love, and that is what God did for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Hosea 1:1-11

Recorded at Hudson UMC on July 24, 2022

S.D.G.

August 14, 2022

Old Testament: Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalter: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:49-56

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 #353

Welcome to Season 7 of Guerrilla Christianity! By God's grace we will continue to proclaim the good news to a world in desperate need of it. As we begin our seventh season, we also continue our series based on the book of Jude. We look at the modern objection to the concept of hell that the sins we commit are not so great that they deserve eternal punishment. In verses 5 through 7 Jude gives us Old Testament examples of rebellion against God. The Israelites sinned in setting up idols in place of God. The angels sinned seeking unnatural relations with human women. Then men sinned seeking unnatural relations with angels. Is there no end to rebellion against the God that made us? We'll see how obedience to God is in fact freedom - freedom from bondage to sin and death.

Jude 5-7

Recorded at Hudson UMC on June 30, 2019 (Originally published July 4, 2019)

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S.D.G.

Sermon #342

The greatest attacks on the church of Jesus Christ come not from outside of it, but from inside.  It is not the world and its pagan, Godless ways that we as Christians must battle, but false teaching from within.  And so Jude, wanting to write a letter celebrating the common salvation he shares with other Christians, instead felt the urgency to fire off a letter inciting the church to "contend for the faith."  In today's message we see that what Jude's audience was contending against is not so unlike the things facing modern Christians, and we look at the difference between legalism and license, and where the true Gospel of Christ falls between them.

Jude 3-4

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on June 23, 2019 (Originally published June 25, 2019)

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S.D.G.

Sermon #507

As we continue our exposition of Amos' prophecy, we come to the fourth of his visions - a basket of Summer fruit.  The word for Summer fruit in the Hebrew sounds very much like the Hebrew word for "the end," and so God through Amos is using a pun to declare that the end is here.  The judgment of God will fall upon Israel, and yet, through it all God is using his judgment to draw the faithful to himself.  What we see in God's judgment is that there is no loss of control in his emotions.  God is not overtly angry or seeking revenge against his people.  Instead, he uses the judgment as a way to turn the hearts of the people back to himself - and we see that God desires repentance rather than atonement.  

Amos 8:1-12

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on July 17, 2022

S.D.G.

August 7, 2022

Old Testament: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Psalter: Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:32-40

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.