Guerrilla Christianity

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

S.D.G.

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.

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on January 13, 2019

S.D.G.

The text this week, while familiar and well-known, seems like an odd choice for the first Sunday after Christmas. After all, we just celebrated the birth of Jesus and saw him laid in a manger three days ago, and already we are taking a glimpse at his life as a twelve year old boy. This is another of the narratives in Luke that we have heard over and over again since we were children, and it seems like we have probably picked through it so much that there is nothing left to learn from it. Yet as we will see today, God's word has many layers and uncharted depths that we can return to time and time again and still glean new truth for our present-day lives.

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 27, 2015

S.D.G.

We are all searching for something. The question is, where are we searching? When we search for truth are we searching Google, or are we searching in the pages of God's word? When we search for meaning are we searching in the world, or are we searching for meaning in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ? We come to a familiar story of Jesus in the Temple, and we find ourselves asking the question: If I am searching for satisfaction in life, why am I searching anywhere other than in our Father's house?

Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 30, 2018

S.D.G.

There is nothing at all remarkable about the birth of Jesus. No chronicler stood by to record the exact day and time of his birth. No human herald declared it in the streets of Jerusalem. Certainly very few even noticed that this child was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger with the animals, born of meager means, born to unremarkable parents. And yet we still celebrate this birth two thousand years later, and that is because this unremarkable birth was more remarkable than any other birth in the history of mankind. Of the billions of people who have been born and died in the history of the world, this is the only birth we celebrate year after year for millenia. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful! Counselor! The mighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace!

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 24, 2014

S.D.G.

I found it interesting that Christmas fell on a Sunday in 2016, but what may have been more interesting is the reaction many people had to having service on Christmas day. My rebuttal was usually in the vein of, "Well, if you don't want to come to church on Christmas, then don't." That might seem a bit blunt, but honestly, we as Christians are challenged to a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ than simply indulging in the gluttony of Christmas gift-giving. After all, what gift could possibly top the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus? None that I can think of. Through the opening stanzas of John's gospel we hear the incredible truth that Jesus is God, and that God became flesh and dwelt among us. It's a startling revelation that, once we as Christians fully understand it, we are never the same.

Text: John 1:1-14

Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 25, 2016

S.D.G.

On Christmas we often give gifts and receive them. As children the joy is in the receiving, but as we grow older the joy is more and more in the giving. Yet Christ tells us we need to receive the Kingdom of God like a little child. How can we get back to that place where we receive the gift of God in Jesus Christ with the joy that exhausts children to the point of passing out? When Christ shall arrive, will we greet him like the shepherds, or shall we slumber on like the peole of Bethlehem?

Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 24, 2018

S.D.G.

On the fourth Sunday of Advent our focus is on Peace. Micah's prophetic vision for Judah was that a new king would rise from Bethlehem, and that he would not simply be a leader for Israel but for all the world. Seven hundred years later, Mary would be the fulfillment of this prophecy and would go in anxiety to her cousin Elizabeth, already six months pregnant with the baby who would become John the Baptist. In welcoming Mary she gives her assurance that God will do what he has promised. We can welcome those who are feeling anxiety, sadness and loss in what should be a joyous season, and we are filled by God's Spirit to do just that.

Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 23, 2018

S.D.G.

The third Sunday of Advent is about Joy. Today's gospel from the Lectionary might seem to be one that is not very joyful. John's sermon in the wilderness by the Jordan starts with the words "You brood of vipers!" Not exactly very joyful words. Yet as we will see in this week's lesson, sometimes the good news seems so much better in light of the bad news. And we also find that the bad news often compels us to cry out, "What, then, should we do?"

Text: Luke 3:7-18

Recorded at Hudson UMC on December 13, 2015

S.D.G.

Often when we respond to God's invitation of a relationship with Him, our first response to all that God has done for us is: What can I do? Sometimes when we feel a sense of obligation, the question becomes: What do I have to do? These are both questions that the people of Judea - both Jew and Gentile, religious and apostate - brought to John the Baptist in the wilderness. On this third Sunday of Advent, we also look at the joy we celebrate when we consider all that God has done, all that he is doing, and all that he will do for us in the future.

Text: Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Luke 3:7-18

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on December 16, 2018

S.D.G.