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2004 Sermons
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Date
|
Scripture |
Quote
|
Pastor
Jami Fecher |
| 12-19-04 |
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Matthew 1: 18-25 |
This is a genesis! A New Creation!
There is a long line of “begats” to establish Jesus’
Jewish
pedigree.
“Son of David, son of Abraham.” as vs.
1 says,
He is IN history,
but he is not OF history.
In Jesus something altogether different is happening.
This is a big claim!
Can you even believe it?
Can you believe that God is doing a new thing in
this little baby? |
| 12-12-04 |
Third Sunday in Advent
Matthew 11: 2-11 |
Understanding why the Gospel is a
scandal
and why Jesus is an offence
is essential for understanding, in depth,
what it is to be a Christian.
It is essential for Christian maturity.
A lot of scripture will make very limited sense
If you don’t understand why Jesus is a scandal.
If you begin to see what a scandal Jesus is
or why someone might rightly be ashamed of the Gospel
scripture will start to make profound sense. |
| 12-05-2004 |
Second Sunday in Advent
Matthew 3:1-12 |
John appeared…out of no where…in
the wilderness.
What Matthew wants us to know with these words
is that, while it is not exactly fairy tale “once aupon a time,”
it is mythical moment when John appeared in the wilderness.
John appeared at a kyros moment.
Kyros is a Greek word for time that means
just exactly the right time. |
| 11-28-2004 |
First Sunday in Advent
Matthew 24:36-44 |
Our Lord is extremely clear about
our need
to pray for his coming.
In the prayer he taught us the most important thing
is for us to know that God is our heavenly Father.
“Our
Father Who art in heaven”
Then we pray that we would properly honor God
as our God and Father.
“Hallowed be thy name”
The way we honor God’s name properly
is by praying for the coming of the kingdom
“Thy kingdom
come.”
How do we bring honor to our heavenly Father’s holy name?
By praying for the coming of God’s kingdom. |
| 11-14-2004 |
Twenty-Fourth Sunday
In Pentecost
Luke 21:5-19 |
If you think about it,
all the big church words have to do with the future:
hope, creativity, love, faith, redemption,
forgiveness of sins, salvation,
resurrection from the dead.
All these words indicate the opening up of a future.
Not just any future, God’s future.
A future that is life rather than only death.
A future that is open, rather than simply a dead end.
Such an open future,
a future that holds life, rather than only death,
is God’s future. |
| 11-7-2004 |
Twenty Third Sunday
In Pentecost
Luke 20:27-38 |
Many people, and perhaps you’re
one,
approach the scripture and ask the question,
how is this relevant to my life?
Many preachers think that is an important question.
They want to preach in such a way
that scriptures come alive!
They want scriptures to be relevant
to the lives of the hearers. |
| 10-31-04 |
Twenty-Second Sunday
In Pentecost
Luke 19:1-10 |
For Christians the message “Jesus
Saves”
is really no joking matter.The Christian sons and daughters
of Christian moms and dads have been
publicly fed to lions
because they steadfastly clung to the
confession: Jesus Saves. |
| 10-24-2004 |
Twenty First Sunday
In Pentecost
Luke 18:9-14 |
The love offered you and me today
comes in the form of a harsh story
from the mouth of Jesus.
I say it is harsh because there are two men involved
and a crisp, clear, distinction is made between them.
There are no gray areas or ambiguities in the story.
It is simple, straightforward and somewhat harsh.
Oddly, although it is harsh and has no middle ground
It proclaims God’s grace and mercy
in no uncertain terms. |
| 10-17-2004 |
Pentecost 20
Luke 18:1-8 |
God has a message for you today.
“Pray!
Pray and don’t give up!”
God says, “I want you to speak to me.
I want to listen.
I want you to listen to me.
I have love messages for you to hear.
I want you to pour out your heart to me.
like I have poured out my life for you.
Pray, my people, and don’t give up!
Pray because you need to pray.
Pray, because it will keep you in touch
with the source of your life, ME!
Pray, because it will tune you in to
what is deep and good, ME! |
| 10-03-2004 |
Pentecost 18
Luke 17:5-10 |
That’s how God treats us.
We are like that slave.
God honors us so much, it is embarrassing.
It is not fitting to our status before God to be so honored. |
| 9-
26-2004 |
Pentecost 17
Luke 16:19-31 |
The Bible is not a magic book dropped
from heaven.
It is more amazing, subtle and wonderful than that.
In the Bible, God speaks to you, personally,
in a tailor made way to the person you are. |
| 8-15-04 |
Pentecost 11
Luke 12:49-56 |
Bible interpretation becomes Bible
management.
This kind of Bible interpretation
(which is really Bible management) comes from a modern,
irrational belief
that a thing is only true
if it is manageable and acceptable. |
| 8-08-04 |
Pentecost 10
Luke 12:32-40 |
This is the message the Son of God
comes from heaven to
bring us, God’s message:
“I love you so much you can’t
believe it.”
Literally, God loves you so much you can’t believe it!
God loves the person you are,
the individual you are,
the person who has your thoughts and your history. |
| 8-01-04 |
Pentecost 9
Luke 12:13-21 |
Today Jesus speaks.
Who will listen to what he says?
Who will stop what is going on
in their head and heart and listen?
I’d like to say, when Jesus speaks people listen. |
| 7-25-04 |
Pentecost 8
Luke 11:1-13 |
Many people have expressed to me
with frustration and disappointment
the difficulty they have praying.
They try to pray but it does not turn out as they expect.
Jesus’ first disciples shared the struggle.
That is why they made the humble request
for Jesus to teach them. |
| 7-18-04 |
Pentecost 7
Luke 10: 25-37 |
God is eternal.
Mortals are not.
Jesus tells his disciples that far more important than the
power they are able wield, is their relationship to
God, the Source
and the role they are being chosen to play in history.
Except for a tiny little part at the end
this is not a private conversation.
We should imagine this scene happening in a public place,
with people listening in to hear the teacher. |
| 7-11-04 |
Pentecost 6
Luke 10:38-42 |
It is not God’s reality that
is imaginary.
It is my reality that is imaginary!
It is by God’s grace alone that God
shines the light of the truth into my darkness
so I might awaken from my illusion
to the reality of God’s love for me in Jesus Christ. |
| 7-04-04 |
Pentecost 5
John 8:31-36 |
It truly takes a strong country to
allow
Christians to gather for worship
to allow us to express ourselves at our deepest core.
Because if we are true to our God,
we can never be truly nationalistic.
The nature of our God demands that we value nothing
as highly as our God.
Our God commands a loyalty deeper than nationalism.
Any competing loyalty is idolatry. |
| 6-13-04 |
Passionate Spirituality/Inspiring
Worship
Romans 12:1- 3, 9-18 |
German theologian Christian Schwarz
researched congregations all over the world
and discovered these 8 characteristics
present in healthy, growing, congregations,
regardless of size, denomination,
or location in the world.
Most striking to me however, is that when people tell me
what they long for in a congregation
it is basically these characteristics. |
| 6-06-04 |
Loving Relationships/Holistic
Small Groups
Holy Trinity Sunday
John 14: 6-21 |
The focus for today’s sermon
is loving relationships
in the community of the Church.
This is the fifth installment in a sermon series
on the eight characteristics present
in healthy growing congregations. |
| 5-23-04 |
Gifts Oriented Ministry
Ephesians 4:1-13 |
In my view Gift-oriented ministry
is the foundation
of all the rest of the characteristics
of healthy, growing, congregations.
It is the key to understanding for today
what the Reformers from Luther’s day
were getting at in articulating
the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.
The priesthood of all believers, emphasized that lay people
are connected to God through Jesus Christ alone,
and NOT through the clergy. |
| 5-23-04 |
Relational Evangelism |
The point is, for a congregation
to do its job
it needs to evangelize.
That is the purpose of a congregation.
It is the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ.
And the data shows that growing, healthy, congregations
do their evangelism in such a way
that it relates directly to the needs of the people
they serve. |
| 5-09-04 |
Empowering Leadership
John 21:1-17 |
Today we are looking at empowering
leadership.
Empowering leadership is a term
borrowed from the business world.
It means that one person takes the lead
in helping to build up
the confidence and competence of another.
An empowering leader
is not content to be at the head of the pack,
not content be the boss,
make the big decisions,
and have others simply do her or his bididng.
An empowering leader is not content to have others admire
her or his abilities. |
| 5-02-04 |
New Wine 5/2/04
Mark 2:21-28 |
What God is up to is ever new.
The reality to which we are called is not a static,
set in concrete reality to which we conform,
like round pegs and square holes.
It is a changing, growing, living, reality
in which God is bursting forth
with new configurations
new adaptations, new ways,
to include and embrace the whole world
in God’s love.
It is the new wine of the new creation in Jesus Christ.
The old has passed away.
Behold all things are new! |
| 4-25-04 |
Easter 3 2004
Acts 9:1-19 |
Christian faith, is the word that
describes
the whole relationship of a human person
to God through the Crucified and Risen One,
Jesus Christ,
Faith does not show itself as only one kind of experience.
Faith encompasses the whole breadth and depth
of a person’s life who encounters
and is in relationship to Jesus.
It is a trap to point to only one thing and call it faith. |
| 4-11-04 |
Easter Sunday 2004 |
I often ponder how odd it is that
I believe Jesus is resurrected.
It does not seem likely.
I am normally so skeptical and suspicious.
The resurrection certainly does not fit
with what I normally call and experience
as reality. |
| 4-04-04 |
Palm Sunday 2004 |
Peter is epitome of fickle and weakness,
So we will look at him in this story.
As we look at him, keep in mind,
he arose to be the leader of the church.
He was leader BEFORE the stories were written.
These were told about him in light of his leadership. |
| 3-28-04 |
Lent 5, 2004
Colossians 2:8 - 3:4 |
For the past 4 Sundays I have been
asking the question
Why is it worth it
to invest your money, your time, your energy, yourself
in Christian community at all
and why in Gift of Grace in particular.
There are plenty of other ways you can use
your time, money, and energy.
Why invest it here? |
| 2-29-04 |
First Sunday in Lent |
In the service for baptism, the person
being baptized
renounces the devil and all his empty promises.
If the baptized person is unable to do this
(because of being too young or something)
the Church does it for her or him.
Really that is the main point,
that the whole community of the church renounces
the devil and all his empty promises. |
| 2-25-04 |
Ash Wednesday
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10 |
It is a shame that Christian teaching
has often given the message
that feeling bad is the goal.
I feel sad that Christian teaching has sometimes
sounded as if feeling rotten about myself
is a sign of spiritual health.
I am sad that sometimes the Christian message could
be summed up on a bumper sticker that says,
“Save the planet,
kill yourself.” |
| 2-15-04 |
Epiphany 6
Luke 6:17-26 |
The good news of Jesus Christ is this
(if you can believe
That God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
King of the universe
and judge
became the beautiful, wonderful, human person, Jesus.
This wonderful person, lived His life on this earth
in a radically unusual way.
He did not use His wonderfulness or His power
for the sake of making Himself popular;
loved and admired by all.
He did not use His power to make His own life
comfortable and
He did not feather His own nest.
He did not force His own way.
And most important of all,
He did not insist on being RIGHT! |
| 2-08-04 |
Epiphany 5
Luke 5:1-11 |
This story of the great catch of fish
also has different levels of meaning.
On the obvious literal level
The Simon Peter and Zebedee Brothers fishing company
has just finished the a disappointing night of fishing,
having caught nothing.
They are washing out their nets when a crowd of people
gather around Jesus “pressing in on him”
(meaning they are badgering him)
that He might preach to them word of God.
Since the fishing company’s boats are right there
Jesus borrows Simon Peter and his boat
and Jesus tells Simon to push off a little way from shore
so Jesus can preach from the boat. |
| 1-25-04 |
Epiphany 3C |
The story before us today is important
because
it is a story of Jesus’ mission
and self-understanding in a nutshell.
So, it has something to say to us about our mission
and our self-understanding.
To begin with, and most important,
it is a Spirit filled and Spirit powered
mission and ministry |
| 1-18-04 |
Epiphany 2C
John 2:1-11 |
Because when the Bible talks about
the “third day”
it is not so much referring to the
1st ,2nd or 3rd 24 hour period.
The 3rd day is an idiom, meaning the “right time”
the “right moment”
In the Bible major things happen on the third day.
The people of Israel met God on Mount Sinai
on the third day
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
So, when the story starts out “On the third day… “
you might be on the edge of your seat, saying, “what?
What happened on the third day?” |
| 1-11-04 |
Baptism of Our Lord
Luke 3:15-18, 21-22 |
Note: Often used ironically, implying
an assumption of superiority.
The reason I knew that Microsoft’s definition
was not exactly right
is because growing up in the church,
listening to lots of sermons and prayers,
I learned that one of the main ways God expresses
God’s absolute love for us
is that God condescends to us.
That is, God waives the privilege of rank or dignity due God;
God accommodates GodSelf to us, God’s inferiors.
That is what the birth of Jesus is about.
That is what the doctrine of the incarnation is about:
That God loves us so much that God condescends to us
and becomes a human being
` for the sake of our salvation.
Literally to condescend is to come down with.
Descend means come down.
The prefix con means with.
In the Nicene creed we say:
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, |
| 1-04-04 |
Second Sunday of Christmas |
For Christians, statements like, Jesus
is Lord and King, Truth,
Light, and Grace,
are not only factual statements.
The things we say about Jesus
are the profoundest confessions of the deepest heart.
He is not only God, in some general sense.
He is my God
(with the Father and the Spirit)
The God of my heart and yours. |
| 12-21-03 |
Fourth Sunday of Advent |
Luke says (vs. 1) he is writing his
story about
“the things that have been fulfilled among us”
Luke says God has patiently waited
for just the right time
to bring about the promises God made to Israel.
That is what fulfill means.
God promises and then acts at the right time
to bring about God’s promises. |
| 12-14-03 |
Third Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:7-18 |
The sermon today is about repentance,
therefore, it is only for people who believe
there is room in themselves for improvement.
Because repentance is about changing,
changing ones heart, one’s behavior,
one’s orientation toward God
and neighbor and even self.
So if you want to hear and understand today,
you have at least a small belief
that there might be room
for some improvement in your life,
that there might be something God could work in you
that would improve you and the world. |
| 12-07-03 |
Second Sunday of Advent
Luke 3:1-6 |
Luke wants us to know that
God works the way God chooses to work
IN and among the history of this world.
That means God’s work is real,
It is what we call real.
It makes a difference.
It is not only spiritual work,
work that takes place only inside people,
and somehow outside time and history.
It has observable connections with
recognized human reality |
| 11-30-03 |
First Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 33:14-16 |
It is especially apparent how out
of step we are at
Christmas time.
Advent is four weeks that leads up to Christmas,
but is NOT the Christmas season
If you look at all the Santa Clauses
and Christmas stuff in stores,
you surely know that NOW is the Christmas season
for our culture.
We are so out of step that our Christmas season starts
on Christmas and lasts 12 days after.
Just when everybody else is done with it,
we are just getting started. |
| 9-28-03 |
Pentecost 16
Mark 9:38-50 |
Jesus is a liberal,
if by liberal we mean that He was broadly welcoming
the concern that liberal means wishy-washy
don’t really believe in or trust God’s absolute claim
that there is no, NO—anything goes
or that God’s No doesn’t really mean no
God is a push over,
does not get angry
and does not run out of patience
That God does not really judge
or punish sin
There is no hell |
| 9-21-03 |
Pentecost 15
Mark 9:30-37 |
Somehow Jesus teaching, like the story
for today,
has been twisted
to say we ought NOT try to be great.
It is as if the disciples should be ashamed of themselves
for discussing who is greater
as if Jesus teaches them that it is
the wrong thing to think about!
It does not show proper humility.
Sometimes the Church has seemed to say
“you have a moral
obligation NOT to be great,
because Jesus didn’t come to save great people
but lowly humble people;
just like Jesus did not come for the rich, but only the poor.” |
| 9-14-03 |
Pentecost 14
MARK 8: 27-38 |
One way we listen to Jesus is not
necessarily good,
even though it is the most natural thing in the world for us.
We listen because Jesus is an authority.
He has a big name.
As Peter says in the lesson, Jesus is the Messiah.
So, when He offers teaching we tend to listen
get a hold of what He says,
and appropriate it to our lives
That way things will be better for us
because we will be doing the right thing. |
