Real Peace. Real People.

This sermon is a teaching on the above verses. It exposits the text under the theme of God’s grace, looking at various teachings as it does so. Included in the sermon are teachings on the natural human condition, what Christian conversion entails, and the role good works play in the life of the Christian.

Paul has a strong theme of praise running through this section. To what may it be compared? A faucet, a river, or a geyser? This sermon worked through the teaching in this Scripture to show how praise erupts in the life of the baptized, a geyser of praise to God!

This sermon takes on two miracles of Jesus at once. Through comparing and contrasting the characters in the two stories, we can discern that the stories hinge on the timing of the miracles. Briefly, the timing of the miracles appears to be wrong. So what can we learn about God’s timing as we watch God take his sweet time in both cases?

Guest Preacher, Pastor Paul Bourman, brings a message to Peace.

With some of Jesus’ stories, we have to ask: what does this mean? We have to spend time shoveling out all the meaning from the stories. However, with some of Jesus’ stories, we must ask a different question. This one: what does this do to us? These stories fall into the latter category. They work on us to dismiss in us the stories of the rocket ship and the black thumb.

Peace has turned a corner in its life. This sermon moves the third commandment into the life of Peace to explain why now is the chosen time to return fully to its ministry, having gone through this time of Covid. It looks at the tension between the third and fifth commandment and God’s good purpose in giving us the commandment: to give us Christ.

The first Sunday in the second half of the Church Year is called Holy Trinity Sunday. It is the Sunday where the church asks its most vital question: who is God? This sermon answers that question. As it does, it pushes back against many of the beliefs that today’s people mistakenly harbor about God. Psalm 29 shows us that God is more than we think, giving us an experience of him.

Looking for the Holy Spirit in this Psalm is a little bit like playing Where’s Waldo. He is hard to see. He does not show up until verse 30. Why is it, then, the tradition of the Church to look at this Psalm for Pentecost? It may not offer a story of tongues of fire or the blast of the sound of a violent wind, but what it does do is provide the deeper, profound renewal that the Spirit gives. This sermon explores two “p’s” of renewal from the Spirit: playfulness and prayerfulness.

The Festival of Ascension of our Lord is in some ways a festival of images. We see Jesus ascend into heaven. That was not for him a physical necessity. It was for us a demonstration, a sight, of a great spiritual truth. Jesus is on high reigning for us, the Church. This sermon walks through the titan, Psalm 68, to get a sight of the various images of the ascended Lord to see what they mean for us today.

Christians are the original biographers. Why? God knows that that life stories give examples and inspire. This sermon looks at the story of Barnabas to encourage God’s people today. It makes three specific applications of his story for today’s believers to be encouraged in Christ and encourage each other.