Highway Sermons

A heart of gratitude turns us toward God, who is the giver of good gifts. This is seen in an account of ten healed lepers. One — a Samaritan — literally turns towards Jesus as he returns to thank his healer for the gift of being healed. The Samaritan does so with abandon; “He threw himself at Jesus’ feet” (NIV). This account serves as inspiration for not only how one can express thankfulness, but also when we can express gratitude to God. There’s something important about thanking God for his good gifts in the moment.

God made us in his image and this includes our physical bodies. We are invited to both care for and love our bodies, even in their imperfections and hurts, because they are the tangible image of God in us.

Most of us go through life unaware or out of sync with our internal world. Today we'll be talking about way we might learn to be attentive to God's voice in the everyday moments.

Our culture begs a relentless cycle of consumption, performance, and achievement. We can become preoccupied by what we need to do, have, or be in order to be loved. These stand in the way of rest. Because rest is counter cultural (especially in the Bay Area), intentionality is vital to true, meaningful rest. The Hebrew concept of shavat, “to rest,” is connected to a larger biblical vision for the restoration of all things, including individuals (Deut. 5:14), the land (Ex. 23:11), and social structures (Lev. 25). Rest fosters restoration both within us and also through us.

Come the good or the bad of any current political situation, our ultimate hope, and our truest reality, is that Jesus is Lord.

How can we hope to discern truth from lies, or stay immune to deception in our age? Working to stay rooted in Jesus is the call of scripture and what it is that will give us firm ability to stand in reality.

Is it possible to live out the value expressed in the book of James to be "quick to listen and slow to speak"? Explore this challenge as Pastor Cris Otonari shares helpful tools to help us honor God and care for one another in all conversations, and especially around difficult topics.

How to be citizen of heaven while engaging in the world?

Jesus proclaimed the "good news" of God's Kingdom - a reality available here and now, not just after death. In the early days of Christianity, believers risked persecution by declaring "Jesus is Lord" instead of "Caesar is Lord," a political statement affirming their primary allegiance to God's Kingdom over any earthly nation or leader.

As followers of Christ, we engage in politics because policies affect people. Loving our neighbors means caring about issues that impact their lives. But our approach is unique: we start with our sphere of influence, recognizing that while we may not change national policy, we can significantly impact our local communities.

In the political arena, we're called to advocate for others first, following Jesus' example of servant leadership. We're to be a paradox, not partisan - caring deeply about issues while remaining non-anxious, flexible in our political stances but unwavering in our Kingdom values.

Reflect:

How can you bring "up there, down here" in your daily life and community?

In any and every political divide or disagreement, the call of Christ remains on his followers to love our enemies.

What does it mean to live a life of authenticity? What does that kind of life look like in light of what our scriptures reveal.