Guerrilla Christianity

January 23, 2022

Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Psalter: Psalm 19

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:14-21

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.

In this message from Acts 26:28, Wesley brings to light the state of the almost Christian, and contrasts it with what it means to be altogether Christian.  Wesley is not timid in his words, nor is he speaking from a point of moral high ground, but rather he is warning his listeners from the depths of his own depraved experience.  He recognized in himself the very faults he was illuminating in the former while also giving testimony to the path laid out to arrive at the latter state.  Wesley's words are at once convicting and encouraging.  While we draw breath we are not yet hopeless before God, and thus he (Wesley) hopes to awaken those who slumber in the mere form of religion into the love of God shed abroad in their hearts.  

Acts 26:28

Preached at St. Mary’s, Oxford, before the University, on July 25, 1741.

Recorded on January 18, 2022

The Almost Christian - Wednesdays with Wesley Podcast

The Almost Christian - Full Sermon Text

S.D.G.

Sermon #150

None of Jesus' miracles occurred prior to his baptism in the river Jordan, and today we are looking at the very first of the miracles that he performed - turning water into wine.  Temperance arguments aside, ultimately there were two primary reasons for this being Jesus' first miracle.  First, he was showing the people who he was, his "credentials" if you will, by performing an impossible task - changing the chemical composition of water into wine, displaying his mastery over the elements of nature.  Second, he was turning the enslavement to ritual legalism into a celebration of joy.  And of course, John himself tells us that these miracles are recorded so that we may believe today.

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 17, 2016 (Originally published January 25, 2019)

S.D.G.

Sermon #318

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church, he gives us perhaps the best and most comprehensive list of spiritual gifts that God gives to believers for the building of His kingdom here on earth.  Today as we look at these gifts, we see how each gift is uniquely gifted and used for different purposes, and we also ask the question: what spiritual gifts has God given to you, and are you using them to glorify God?  

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 20, 2019 (Originally published January 21, 2019)

S.D.G.

Sermon #479

This week we begin our journey through Paul's letter to the church in Corinth in earnest, and we begin by looking at some of the spiritual gifts that God gives to the body for the building of the body.  Many Christians are confused about this, but Paul spells it out clearly, that the gifts of the spirit are for the benefit of all, not just for some; and also that not all the gifts are given to all believers, nor is there any one gift that is given to all by which we can identify true faith.  Instead, God gives to one a particular gift, and to another person something different, so that we can work in union with each other to benefit the whole body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 16, 2022

S.D.G.

January 16, 2022

Old Testament: Isaiah 62:1-5

Psalter: Psalm 36:5-10

Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Gospel Lesson: John 2:1-11

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 #149

In the Bible there is not one recorded miracle that Jesus performed prior to his baptism.  Baptism for Jesus marked the beginning of his earthly ministry, and for us as Christians it marks the beginning of our walk with God.  God knows us intimately before we know him - we call this "Prevenient Grace."  So baptism is less about what we do and more about what God does in us.  

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 10, 2016 (Originally published January 23, 2019)

S.D.G.

Sermon #317

For those of us who preach from the Lectionary, there is a danger of letting certain days on the church calendar become routine.  But there is nothing routine about the Baptism of the Lord, which all four of the Gospel writers recorded for our benefit.  Indeed, it is one of only a few events that is recorded in all four Gospels, and that alone should tell us that it is something extraordinary.  On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we look at the baptism of Jesus and what His baptism says about ours - whether we were baptized as adults or children.  And we are invited to remember our baptism and rejoice in knowing that God has loved us even before we knew Him.

Luke 3:15-22

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 13, 2019 (Originally published January 14, 2019)

S.D.G.

Sermon #478

On Baptism of the Lord Sunday we commemorate both the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and the remembrance of our own baptism into the body of Christ.  And so we begin a new series for the season after Epiphany in which we will be examining the first letter of Paul to the church in Corinth to see what it means to be members of the body of Christ.  Today, however, we are looking at Luke's account of the baptism of Jesus, and we see that in His baptism, Jesus identifies with sinners like us, and in our baptism, we identify with a righteous and holy Christ.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Recorded at Hudson UMC on January 9, 2022

S.D.G.

January 9, 2022

Old Testament: Isaiah 43:1-7

Psalter: Psalm 29

Epistle Lesson: Acts 8:14-17

Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:15-17,21-22

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.