“Persistence Pays” is a sermon interpretation of Mark 7:24-37.  The persistence of the Greek woman pays off!  She has a sick kid and she will not give up until she gets help.  Any parent can relate to the determination of getting help for one’s child.  
It is that kind of persistence that is needed in [...]

Theme:  Fishing for Christ
How did Peter and Andrew, James and John, become good fishermen for Christ?  Like Peter, we need to learn to fish for people.
We discover that the principles for good fishing are the same principles involved in good evangelism or fishing for Christ. 
What are some of the marks or characteristics of a [...]

Theme:  giving all your gifts to God.
Every January we approach the story of the three Wise men, bringing gifts for Jesus. What gifts do we have to bring the Christ child?
What are the gifts that God has given to you?  They are your talents, abilities, aptitudes, events that have happened to you.  These have shaped [...]

Theme:  Christ has identified himself with the poor and needy and we will be judged on how we respond to his need.
The people of the nations will be gathered before him, and he will divide the people into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put one group [...]

 
Where is God revealed?  Where does God hide…  the joy of children, nature, the cross of Christ?
One of the first lessons that grows out of this parable is the awareness that our God, the true God, the one God who created the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who raised Jesus [...]

Theme:  God has given everyone a cluster of gifts and talents.  God’s gifts are always generous regardless of the size.
Here in my hand, I have a bare stem from a grapevine; it has three grapes on it.  You know when you see this stem that it is an anomaly.  You know something is wrong with [...]

 Jesus liked to tell stories or parables from real life. Jesus never quoted the religious philosophers of the day nor the leading rabbis from the temple in Jerusalem.  Jesus chose the stuff from everyday life. composed his memorable stories.
Weddings were part of every day life. Weddings were familiar territory. Everybody loved weddings and everybody [...]

Theme:   Just as there is fake jewelry, Jesus says there is “make believe” faith too.
Hypocrite. We all know the word, “hypocrite.” What is a hypocrite? A phony. A two-faced person, pretending to be a friend but is really an enemy in disguise.
A hypocrite is a pretender, pretending to have love for you [...]

You will notice that these doors are essentially useless without the two hinges, one on the top and the other on the bottom of the door.  Without the two hinges, this door just doesn’t work; it isn’t very useful; it doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.  For these doors to operate correctly, they [...]

“Render to the Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” 
It’s still a long time until April 15th and I don’t mean to remind you of that prematurely but did you know that April 15th is not only income tax day, it is also the day the Titanic [...]

Theme:  Finding excuses to avoid fellowship with God.  
First and foremost, the purpose of this text is to be aware that to be a Christian is like being invited to a wedding feast.
People are always making excuses why they do not want to be part of God. People are always making excuses why [...]

Theme:  Paying the rent by living a moral, righteous life.
What did Jesus mean by this parable that he told against the Pharisees?
The renters were the Pharisees who didn’t want to pay the rent and acknowledge that God was the owner of the vineyard and expected a rent payment. The Pharisees [...]

Theme:  Jesus desires a “change of heart” in making a difference in a messed up world.”
We all have had these experiences, where the promises far exceeds the performance, where people say “yes” too easily and then don’t follow through.  Isn’t it aggravating when people say, “Yes, yes, we’ll do it!” and then don’t follow through.  [...]

Jesus’ parables are never about church. Not one parable of Jesus is about church. Not one parable is about candles, canticles or choirs. Not one of his parables are about preaching, pews, or processionals. Jesus’ parables are from everyday life. They are from the market place, the farm, the family. Well, today’s parable is about [...]

Jesus came to teach us the language of love, and the language of love is always the language of forgiveness.
Jesus came to teach us that we are called to forgive seventy times seven, infinitely. Jesus came to teach us to break our cycles of revenge. Jesus came to teach us to forgive [...]