A Sermon based on from 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a I’ll love to tell you that I planned a 5-part series on the life of David and that we’re in week three of that series. The reality though is that for about 2 months I have been planning to go off-lectionary and preach a series on spiritual gifts. My hope is that we all might be able to see how the Holy Spirit has already equipped us to work for […] The post David and Bathsheba appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for Christmas Eve, 2017, based on Luke 2:11-12 What is the worst Christmas present you’ve ever gotten? When I was a little boy, I thought that pretty much every Christmas gift that wasn’t a video game or at least a toy was the worst Christmas present I’d ever gotten. To shirts, I’d say “Why?” To socks? “Are you kidding me?” To a book? Well, it could be worse… (It could have been socks). What about you? Have you ever […] The post The Christmas Present appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for December 24, 2017, based on Luke 1:26-38 Have you ever found yourself in way over your head? I know this is probably silly compared to some of your experiences, but it felt like a really big deal to me at the time. I played trumpet in the band in middle school. As we were all headed to high school the next year, we were supposed to go at a particular time to the high school to audition […] The post Overshadowed appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for December 17, 2017 based on John 1:6-9 When I was in middle school, our family had a vacation. At some point we made our way to a cave– we’ve been to several caves, but I can’t remember which one it was. We entered the cave via an elevator, and our guide promptly led us to a rather large open area. We spent a few minutes looking around, with the guide helping us to understand the various rock […] The post Testify to the Light appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

I’d like to speak this morning from the title: Get your feet wet Last week we spoke about Joshua, and how one thing that set him apart for leadership of the people of Israel was that he was filled with the spirit of wisdom. Wisdom was a primary trait that was going to enable him to lead the people out of the wilderness where they had been wandering for 40 years and into the promised land. So in today’s passage, […] The post Get Your Feet Wet appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

Walking on water: Reflections from a first-timer A Sermon for August 13, 2017 on Matthew 14:22-33 Thanks for inviting me here this morning. This really is a very interesting building you have here. We don’t really have anything like it where I’m from. Sometimes we meet in people’s houses, but a lot of the time we just meet outside. You look confused. Of course, I should introduce myself. My name’s Simon– well it used to be Simon, but now my […] The post Walking on water: Reflections from a first-timer appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for August 6, 2017 on Genesis 33:22-31 and Matthew 14:13-21   The disciples are ready to send the crowds away. Presumably they don’t want the hungry crowd to turn into a hungry mob. But Jesus quite casually suggests that the disciples don’t need to send them away. “You give them something to eat,” Jesus says. The disciples don’t have much to give. They’re pitifully prepared. All they have to offer is five loaves of bread and two fish. […] The post Kingdom Identity, Kingdom Walk appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for July 30, 2017 on Romans 8:18-39 We’ve arrived in the last section of Romans 8. We’re at the climax of chapter 8– the climax of the climax of the letter. These are some of the most beautifully composed truths in the whole New Testament. Paul, the writer of the letter, is bringing everything that we’ve talked about over the past 6 weeks together. The big concepts that we’ve been talking about in this series– justification, sanctification, assurance, […] The post But what about suffering? appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for July 23, 2017 on Romans 8:14-17 What evidence is there that God exists? Although some people take the existence of God for granted, for other people it’s not quite so simple. Broadly speaking, there are two types of evidence. The first is objective evidence. An example of objective evidence would be something like the historical evidence for God raising Jesus from the dead. Scholars can use all the tools of historical study to come to well established […] The post The Witness of the Spirit appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.

A Sermon for July 16, 2017 on Romans 8:1-11 How do you form a child who will live a good, moral life? I imagine that the vast majority of parents at some point ask themselves this question. What can you do? Well, there is obviously a place for rules. Black and white look a lot more gray up close than they do from a safe distance. In the heat of the moment, rules can be an essential tool to help […] The post Life in the Spirit appeared first on Lansdowne UMC.