Munger Place Church - Dallas, Texas

All of it is a gift.

What else can we do but say, “Thank you thank you thank you!”?

Preacher: Andrew Forrest
Occasion: Christmas Commitment Sunday 2021

Hope is necessary for life.

It’s hope that makes it possible to get up tomorrow morning, put your feet on the floor, and take a step.

Hope is the belief that in the end, everything is going to be okay, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

We need hope, and Christmas provides it in surprising ways, as surprising as the gifts the magi brought to the holy family.

Christmas is proof that God is still working, just as he promised through the prophet Isaiah.

And hope is why NOW is the time for God’s people to build houses, start families, and plant trees.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11

References: "The Divided State of Our Unions: Family Formation in (Post-) COVID-19 America” [October 2021] 

I learned this week that the key to understanding Romans is to read it backwards.

When you start at the end, you see that Paul really wants for the Romans is unity.

Unity wasn’t any easier 2,000 years ago than it is today.

Which doesn’t make it any less important.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest
Scripture: Romans 16

I don’t like it when people tell me what to do, but nevertheless I’m going to do just that:

I want you to pick just one of the pieces of advice Paul gives in Romans 12 and put it into practice this week.

Everyone wants to know God’s will for his or her life, and Paul provides a way to find it.

Paul also gives the church a way forward, too.

It worked 2,000 years ago, and it will work today.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

Scripture: Romans 12

1. The imperative to tell the Good News to the people in our lives is the same as it’s been for 2,000 years.

2. And yet in our current cultural climate—so called “Negative World”—it’s difficult to know how to actually share our faith without turning people away from Christ.

Here are some ideas.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest
Scripture: Romans 10:11-15

My wife asked me this week, “What have your learned?”

Time is so precious, and life is so short: I want to be sure I reflect back on time that passes.

So, as we celebrate our 11th birthday at Munger, I’m thinking back over these past 11 years.

This is what I’ve learned.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

Scripture: Psalm 1

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

This is my definition of suffering:

Living through bad circumstances that you are unable to change.

These days, we face two HUGE problems with regard to suffering:

1.  It is inevitable in every human life.

2.  Contemporary American culture has absolutely no idea what to do about it.

Guess what?

God’s word has a way forward for us.  Turns out the Apostle Paul knew a lot about suffering, namely that, in Christ,

SUFFERING leads to

PERSEVERANCE which leads to

CHARACTER which leads to

HOPE which does not disappoint.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

Series: Romans

“Judge not, that you not be judged.”

“Who am I to judge?”

Yeah, well:

This week I want to tell you why George Washington needs to face judgment.

Actually, I want to tell you that it’s a good thing and a healing thing for George Washington to face judgment.

More than that: I want to tell you why God’s judgment is actually a good thing for all of us.

In fact, the reason our politics are so bitter is because we no longer believe in divine justice.

But divine justice believes in us.

And that’s a good thing.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest
Scripture: Romans 2:1-4

I know why we want to stay in the center of the herd—after all, it’s the early Christian that gets the lion.

The herd gives us a (ultimately false) sense of safety, and in a world of howling jackals, we need all the safety we can get.

And yet.

In spite of our almost overwhelming sense to stay squarely with the herd, the Apostle Paul’s words to the Roman church have the same urgent clarity today as they had 2,000 years ago:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”  (Romans 12:2.)

As we begin our study of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, this is where we should begin:

With the expectation that the safest and best place to be is where the Lord leads us.  And the Lord is leading us not to conformity with the world, but rather transformation through the Spirit.

Let’s go.

Preacher: Andrew Forrest

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

References:

--Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart https://amzn.to/3l6pTiA

--from the Dallas Morning News: "With COVID deaths among pregnant people increasing, here’s what expectant Texans should know” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/09/30/three-things-to-know-about-covid-19-and-pregnancy/