Tag: Bible

1 John: Love One Another | 9-28-25

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Updated: 5/11/2026

Sermon Prep

September of 2025 was a brutal and horrible month all around in our community. One mom in our community ran away from her husband and took her kids without the husband knowing. Navigating that stressful family situation was already tough enough on it’s own. Earlier in the month, my older brother John flew out from Texas to Colorado to intervene on a friend who was potentially suicidal. That intervention of sorts did end up being productive and those two actually got to meet up with their old youth pastor, which was great on it’s own.

For me though and for our church immediately before this message one of our own passed away after shortly entering hospice care. Her name was Heidi Jean Foster and she was Julie’s daughter that for years fought cerebral palsy. She had decided on her own earlier in the month to skip another high-risk surgery and instead in her own words, “wanted to go home to run and see Jesus.”

Given her condition, her mental cognition was similar to a 5 year old and yet she was 44 years old. Before her decision was made to go home to be with the Lord, it was difficult for loved ones and medical staff to know what to do for her because of this fact, along with increasingly complicated procedures to keep her alive. But to respect her decision the wonderful medical care team, her mom Julie, Bethany, her sisters, and myself mapped out what end of life care would look like for Heidi. It was my first time doing that side of pastoral ministry, but I believe we made the best decision in how Heidi’s hospice care would carry her to her last day.

Heidi was born on September 10th, 1981 and died on September 28th, 2025. She loved her unicorn stuffed animal, Jonathan from our church who visited often, and of course puzzles. She was loved and to this day is missed by our whole community.

As a pastor, it’s never easy losing one of your own and for me this loss was the same. Given she passed away early Sunday morning everyone on our core team now knew and that factored into how I taught this message. Returning to preaching after 2 months off was nice to go with an easier passage of scripture.

1 John 4 is fairly straightforward, so when I’m given a more directly applicable message I like to find a new way to teach it and details that bring out the richer meaning of the text. In this case, I drew on cross references on how to love one another and a couple study Bibles I have on hand. In the end, I think it shaped up well approaching it from this angle. Here’s the YouTube recording and the my notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

  • Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.

Intro

  • Story of older brother flying out to CO last week, so that he can see old, family friend and help him.

Main Point

  • We are most like Christ when we love one another just as Jesus loves each one of us.

Love One Another | 1 John 4 (NRSVue)

“[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. [4] Little children, you are from God and have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. [5] They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. [7] Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. [11] Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. [14] And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. [15] God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. [16] So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. [17] Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. [19] We love because he first loved us. [20] Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”

  • This chapter has two halves → 1 John 4:1-6 (spirits test) + 1 John 4:7-21 (Christian test).
    • John contrasts biblical love with cultural norms of conditional and reciprocal relationships common in John’s day and unfortunately we still experience today.
  • Spirits test is the confession that Jesus is fully God and fully man (i.e. hypostatic union).
    • Inspired by OT method of testing prophets in Deuteronomy 13:2-6 and 18:15-22.
    • Potentially modified the secessionist opponents’ own slogan as the spirits test.
      • “John excludes the Gnostics, especially the Cerinthians, who taught that the divine Christ came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and then left him at the cross, so it was only the man Jesus who died.” –  NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids; Zondervan, 2020), 2220, note on 1 John 4:2.
  • 1 John 1:5 (light), 4:7 (love), and 4:24 (spirit) are Johannine formulas describing God.
    • The term Johannine scholars use to refer to John’s theology and writing style.
  • 1 John 4:13 implicitly defends the idea that salvation can’t be lost because the Spirit of God makes a permanent dwelling with those who humbly trust him with their life.
    • μένομεν (menomen) = we abide/dwell/remain; the “we” is God and us mutually.
    • Our assurance of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit himself dwelling within us.
      • “How can we know God lives in us? John gives a fourfold answer: (1) if we love one another (v. 12), (2) if we have been given His Spirit (v. 13), (3) if we can confess Jesus is the Son of God (v. 15), and (4) if we abide in the love of God (v. 16).” –  1 John 4:12-16 note, in The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Faith Edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1702.
      • All Christians behave like Christ, believe in Christ, and belong to Christ.

Why It Matters

  • God’s love is at its best and perfected when we love others as we’re told to do by God.

“[34] I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” –  John 13:34-35 (NRSVue)

  • God might be invisible, yet he’s seen when we love one another as siblings in Christ.

“[43] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”” –  Matthew 5:43-45 (NRSVue)

  • Love is part of the greater litmus test of whether or not someone is a genuine Christian.
    • Just as we need to have right belief (orthodoxy), we also need to have right behavior (orthopraxy) and right belonging (orthokoinonia). This is the test.

Power Text

  • Behavior: “[10] For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.” –  Ephesians 2:10 (NRSVue)
  • Belonging: “[24] And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” –  Hebrews 10:24-25 (NRSVue)

Outro

  • The spiritual journey requires all of you and the whole self as you walk the way of Jesus.
    • We do as he did and live as he lived, which includes loving our friends and foes.
      • So be like Christ and love not just your own world, but the whole world.

Final Thoughts

Surprisingly give the background for this sermon, the delivery and day of had lots of laughs. It was actually one of my funnier sermons by happenstance and not intentionally on my part. Although, I was a dick the way I handled baby Penny grunting which made Azzy laugh. It was fun and we all laughed, but I handled it wrong and misread the situation from the pulpit. Given preaching feels like mere minutes and is such a blur I missed that whole context altogether. But we made things right after service.

The sermon was very well received once I sat down to do Table Talks. I think it was a great sermon, but very trying times as everyone in church seemed to be going through something in September. Like life in general, a church community has ebbs and flows too.

There’s highs and lows in the life of a church, which this month was a low for us all. That low would bleed into the fall with my next topical teaching, but we’ll cover that in the next sermon recap. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Simple Grace: Glorification | 7-27-2025

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Updated: 5/8/2026

Sermon Prep

This was the third sermon in a row and I was feeling a bit exhausted from being so short-staffed while our team was out on the Taiwan mission trip. The tech once again wasting working and so only 18 minutes was recorded. I was just gassed from the month of July overall.

Work was going great, but overwhelming too as I was preparing to go on short-term medical leave for my upcoming hernia surgery in August. It was a lot and this flurry of things caught up to me on this message. On that note, here’s the YouTube recording warts and all, along with my message notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

  • Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.

Intro

  • Why I hate Subaru’s. When the coolant system set my car on fire and almost killed me.

“Grace is the free, unearned and undeserved favor of God given through Jesus Christ that pardons sin, empowers righteousness, restores relationships, and transforms the entire person. A divine gift and an active presence that renews the soul.” – Andrew Morrison, Reunion Church

Main Point

  • Lately we’ve talked about the spiritual journey (justification, sanctification; glorification).
    • Today we’ll learn how grace is fueled by the power found in Jesus’ resurrection. 
  • God’s grace doesn’t just save you from sin, but resurrects you into a new life with him.

Grace and Resurrection | 1 Corinthians 15:10-14, 17-23, 42-49, 57-58 (NRSVue)

“[10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed. [12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, [14] and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain…”

  • The Corinthians viewed their bodies and the physical at large as less than the spiritual.
  • Grace is the source of power for our good works and compels us to live like Christ.

“[17] If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. [19] If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. [20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. [21] For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, [22] for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. [23] But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ…”

  • No resurrection means no good news. Grace isn’t a vague comfort, but a cornerstone.
    • As Christians we believe in the bodily death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

“[42] So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the physical and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As one of dust, so are those who are of the dust, and as one of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the one of dust, we will also bear the image of the one of heaven…”

  • Grace empowers us as we’re made new now and anticipate what’s not yet in eternity.
    • In the same way, the Kingdom of God is both here now and not yet.

“[57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

  • Grace emboldens us to persevere knowing that our good works are never in vain.
    • We’re no longer victims to sin, but victors through Jesus’ resurrection power.
      • Saved from sin, but still dealing with the damage of our sinful decisions.

Why It Matters

“[7] But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. [8] We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, [9] persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, [10] always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. [11] For we who are living are always being handed over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. [12] So death is at work in us but life in you. [13] But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and therefore we also speak, [14] because we know that the one who raised Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you in his presence. [15] Indeed, everything is for your sake, so that grace, when it has extended to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. [16] So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. [17] For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, [18] because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” –  2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (NRSVue)

  • Without the physical resurrection of Jesus, the Christian faith is pointless and powerless.
    • Grace is a present power in weakness because the resurrection is active in us.

“[14] For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. [15] And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised. [16] From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. [17] So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” –  2 Corinthians 5:14-17 (NRSVue)

  • The resurrection doesn’t just change our destiny, but rather it re-creates our identity.

Power Text

“[1] What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. [5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” – Romans 6:1-5 (NRSVue)

Outro

  • We were blind, but now we see. Lost, then found. Dead to sin, yet now alive in Christ.

Final Thoughts

I don’t look back at this message fondly. I just remember the end of a long month covering for people and working extra hard, which impacted the quality of this message. It wasn’t a prep problem, but a performance problem in that I just didn’t preach all that good in my opinion. To me, it felt like quoting big blocks of text with little to no explanation and none of it flowed very well.

After this crazy month, I took a well-earned break to write more of my book and didn’t preach again for about 2 months. I also stepped back from serving altogether since I had to be bed-ridden for the first part of my hernia surgery recovery. The picture for this one came from a family fishing day in late August and that day I was a lot more relaxed. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Simple Grace: Justification | 7-20-25

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Updated: 5/5/2026

Sermon Prep

This was the midpoint of my trilogy on grace in 2025. The week before this message was on sanctification and the week after was on glorification. Thematically, this really should be the first of the trilogy but it all worked out. The through-line was there and had an overall arch I intentionally pointed out on each sermon.

Of the three sermons this was, like it’s placement chronologically, right in the middle both for quality and how long the sermon was ironically. As I went along I liked each sermon a little less and the length was shorter each time so interesting correlation there. This one isn’t a bad sermon, but it just wasn’t as good as the last one. With that, here’s the YouTube recording and the sermon notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

  • Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.

Intro

  • Have you ever not known who you are? EX: Jackie Chan’s Who Am I?

“Grace is the free, unearned and undeserved favor of God given through Jesus Christ that pardons sin, empowers righteousness, restores relationships, and transforms the entire person. A divine gift and an active presence that renews the soul.” – Andrew Morrison, Reunion Church

Main Point

  • Last week we learned about sanctification, but today will be about justification.
  • As Christians, you are not what you do but what Christ has done for you.
    • Justification is just as if you’ve never sinned. An identity status.

Grace and Identity | Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:1-10 (NRSVue)

“[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. [5] He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, [6] to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight [9] he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. [11] In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, [12] so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; [14] this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.”

  • The Ephesians were obsessed with how they were perceived in civic life, religious practice, and social status. Paul recenters their focus on God’s grace defining them.
    • The Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, was here.
      • Whereas Corinth was a melting pot, Ephesus was a spiritual epicenter.
  • Your identity in Christ isn’t achieved or accomplished, but an acknowledged status.
    • In the same way you’re like your parents, you’re also like Christ (i.e. Christian).
  • Sin separates us from God and his grace unites us back to him through Jesus’ sacrifice.

“[1] You were dead through the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. [3] All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else, [4] but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us [5] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— [9] not the result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.”

  • We are redeemed, being restored, and will be reunited to God in the resurrection.
    • In other words: we’re justified, being sanctified, and will be glorified.

Why It Matters

“[26] Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [27] So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:26-28 (NRSVue)

  • We’re so focused on building our own brand and image that we’ve forgotten that we’re imagers of God meant to represent him on Earth. Our identity has been damaged by sin.

“[17] So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! [18] All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. [20] So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” –  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NRSVue)

  • In Christ, this identity is redeemed and we’re being restored to his original design for us.
    • Jesus didn’t save us from our sin because he had to but because he loves you.

Power Text

“[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [15] For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” –  Romans 8:14-17 (NRSVue)

  • Our identity is a gift of God’s grace and has been given to us as children of God.
    • Grace redefines us as his children who are cherished, chosen, and loved.

Outro

  • “We give glory to God simply by being ourselves. God created us for union with Himself: This is the original purpose of our lives. And God is defined as love (1 John 4:16)… Our identity rests in God’s relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ.” –  Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2015), 34-35.
  • Who are you? A child of God who is loved and redeemed or a stranger at arm’s length?

Final Thoughts

This was a run-of-the-mill message on the shorter side that was right under 25 minutes. Like usual when you’re down volunteers and leaders, there’s lots of tech issues. The sound was bad. The set-up was stressful. Being short-staffed is always a race against time to make sure everything is set-up just well enough to keep the ship sailing.

But what I remember most now almost a year later is my baby girl sleeping on my shoulder before worship, which was emotional. I cried during worship and just took in the moment before I went up to teach. Not only was the cute and tender moment with my daughter enough to cry, but I think it was a way to calm my nerves from the morning set-up stress. Shane snapped this pic and texted it to me after service, so it made it even better because I had no idea he did that but I’m glad he did. It’s one of my favorite father-daughter moments captured.

Like last week, I continued hovering at each table instead of sticking to one Table Talk group. I don’t always do this, but when there’s enough leaders I prefer it. I get a lot of FOMO when I miss out on a good conversation at church. It was a good message that continued our trek through Shawn Reinsel’s Simple Grace book. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Simple Grace: Sanctification | 7-13-2025

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 5/4/2026

Sermon Prep

This was an insanely busy summer for our church given roughly 12 people were leaving for our Taiwan mission trip in July and that meant a lot was riding on those who stayed behind which included me. This time in particular was mostly leaders or faithful laity which left me with a couple core leaders to steer the ship for a few weeks. To take the pressure off of everyone, I volunteered to teach 3 weeks in a row and that was rough since work wasn’t slowing down either. In fact, it was my best month to date in the new role but the workload was a lot.

But before those 3 weeks in a row started, I began mapping out how to approach these sermons at the beginning of the month. I treated it as a trilogy since there seemed to be a through-line in the messages I was covering that spanned the spiritual journey. This one focused on sanctification, the next one justification, and then lastly glorification. That birds eye view helped me approach each message and tackle them one-by-one. We were also doing the sermon series through the Simple Grace book by Shawn Reinsel again so that familiarity was super useful too.

In hindsight, I don’t think my teaching thrives when I go back-to-back weeks, unless the series or section of scripture demands more attention. In this case the through-line made sense, but it revealed to me that I do my best preaching as a complimentary and occasional voice in our church. Not as someone who leads our church in God’s word and teaches on a weekly basis like most pastors do at most churches. I think I’m more in-line with a guest teacher or a leading a catechism/Sunday School. Anyways, here’s the YouTube recording and the notes for this message:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

  • Father God, lead us this morning as we search the scriptures. Thank you for your Son whose sacrifice is our salvation. Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. May you, Holy Spirit, dwell within us as you teach us today. Amen.

Intro

  • Story of defeating the Blazing Inferno Spider Mech in MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.

“Grace is the free, unearned and undeserved favor of God given through Jesus Christ that pardons sin, empowers righteousness, restores relationships, and transforms the entire person. A divine gift and an active presence that renews the soul.” – Andrew Morrison, Reunion Church

Main Point

  • Sanctification is the ongoing process of the Holy Spirit shaping the soul to be like Christ. 
  • The Spirit empowers spiritual growth by his grace alone through faith and good works.

Grace and Sanctification | Galatians 3:1-5 + Galatians 5:7-8, 16-25 (NRSVue)

“[1] You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! [2] The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? [3] Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? [4] Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. [5] Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by you doing the works of the law or by you believing what you heard?”

  • Paul was correcting the churches of Galatia who fell into legalistic works without faith.
    • Judaizers in Galatia taught that Christian growth required the Mosaic law.
    • Paul said “if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” – Galatians 2:21b (NRSVue)
      • See Romans 8:1-4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13 for more.

“[7] You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? [8] Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you… [16] Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, [21] envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. [24] And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”

  • The Galatians began to receive God’s grace through faith which inspired good works.
    • Over time, they fell into the lie that it was their good works that saved them.
      • Putting the cart before the horse thinking what enslaves them saves.
        • The Mosaic law doesn’t deliver us from sin, but damns us.
    • The law pressures us to perform, while grace produces good works organically.

“[14] What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? [15] If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food [16] and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?… [26] For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” –  James 2:14-16, 26 (NRSVue)

  • Our good works are a natural result of our cooperation with God’s grace as we trust him.

Why It Matters

  • Sanctification isn’t powered by our efforts, but by the Spirit who empowers our growth.
    • God’s grace doesn’t just save us from sin, but molds us to be more like him.

“[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’” –  Matthew 7:21-23 (NRSVue)

  • We’re children of God (justification), but overtime we become more godly (sanctification). Just as we go from infants to adults, sanctification operates the same.

Power Text

“[11] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, [12] training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, [13] while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. [14] He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” –  Titus 2:11-14 (NRSVue)

  • Christianity is relational, not ritualistic. There’s no formula. We just humbly trust God.
    • St Anthony the Great puts it best: “The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all… For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.” – “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life,” in The Philokalia: The Complete Text, vol. 1, trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware (London: Faber and Faber, 1979), 329.

Outro

  • Sanctification is the spiritual journey where we learn to not achieve, but abide in Jesus.
    • Justification is the beginning, glorification is the end, and sanctification is the path to get from one point to the other. The dotted line between A and B.
  • Like the Galatians, we get distracted and forget that grace got us here in the first place.

Your Sanctification Story

Who was I in 2017?Who am I in 2025?Who will I be in 2032?
20yrs old
Sin: alcohol, porn
PMCC, then LifeGate
Volunteer
Single, nokids
Anabaptist
Deconstructing faith
Content creator
Learned apologetics
Aurora, Colorado		28yrs old
Sin: anger, lying
Reunion Church
Pastor
Married, 1yr old baby
Protestant???
Reconstructing faith
SaaS sales
Learning history
Reunion, Colorado		36yrs old
Sin: pride, workaholic
New Church or RC???
Pastor???
Married, 1-4 kids
New convention???
Deconstructing faith
PT writer; SaaS sales?
Learn Greek/Hebrew
New place or state???
  • What’s your sanctification story? Where has God’s grace guided you?

Final Thoughts

After my first of three messages, the reception was surprisingly excellent and some people were saying it was my best message yet which is always encouraging. In my opinion, we also had some of the best Table Talks in our church’s history. What especially stood out was the sanctification story activity with a lot of people saying they loved it.

Great response overall. Even with what felt like half of the church was on the Taiwan trip, those who remained had a great Sunday service. Of the three messages in this trilogy, this was by far and away the best from my perspective and the congregation’s perspective. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

1 Corinthians: A Resurrection Hope Part 2 | 6-1-2025

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Updated: 5/3/2026

Sermon Prep

Like the previous post, the prep for this message was very thorough because I had weeks to get those sermons ready. With that, I approached both as one message in two halves and this second half focused on the hope we as Christians have in the resurrection. I was also researching and writing my book, so I knew I wanted to tie 1st Clement into this duology somehow deciding it’d be best here. I couldn’t find a good picture from this timeframe, so I added a picture of Part of my first Father’s Day which was a couple weeks later in June.

Another new thing I began doing with this message moving forward was including an opening prayer and I actually quoted 1st Clement in that prayer below. I think it’s a good practice to pray into a sermon and sets the tone that God is using me to speak to someone today. I am the tool that God uses to speak through and to others during the sermon, so I shouldn’t think of my role as anything other than that.

Sadly, most people who preach like me are self-centered and make the message about them. By praying first, it sets my heart and the hearts I believe of the congregation right to hear the word of God. On that note, here’s the YouTube recording and my sermon notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Prayer

  • God your name alone “is the source of all creation.” Would you speak through me, in spite of me, and beyond me. Make your dwelling within us as you teach us today. Amen. – 1st Clement 59:1

Intro

  • What if you knew what would be said about you in the future? -> Mrs Lyons prediction

Main Point

  • Last week we learned there’s many things to hope for, but we have a resurrection hope.
  • That theme continues in Part 2, along with what we do here on Earth impacts eternity.

A Resurrection Hope Part 2 | 1 Corinthians 15:34-58 (NRSVue)

“[34] Sober up, as you rightly ought to, and sin no more, for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. [35] But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” [36] Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen and to each kind of seed its own body. [39] Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. [41] There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. [42] So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the physical and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As one of dust, so are those who are of the dust, and as one of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the one of dust, we will also bear the image of the one of heaven. [50] What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [51] Look, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, [52] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. [53] For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. [54] When this perishable body puts on imperishability and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” [55] “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

  • The Corinthians, as we’ve mentioned in previous messages in this series, had a very low view of their bodies and didn’t think about the eternal consequences of earthly choices.
  • Allusions to creation (i.e. seeds, animals, birds, fish, stars; dust) | 1 Corinthians 15:36-49
  • The image of God is a title and to “be human is to image God.” (Michael Heiser, Unseen Realm) | 1 Corinthians 15:49
    • As imagers of God, that title has been distorted in sin and will be restored too.
  • Like 1 Corinthians chapters 1-3, Paul returns to the theme of comparing the natural (Greek: psychikos) and the spiritual (Greek: pneumatikos). | 1 Corinthians 15:44, 51-52
    • Like a cup casting a shadow, so the natural body is a shadow of the spiritual body.
    • To understand the resurrection, we need to understand creation and its restoration. Our bodies have a continuous purpose and yet change in eternity.
  • “We are born mortal; we then become sinful. Thus does death “sting” us before we die. Being a Christian is more than having one’s sins forgiven or being good; it is being alive. The law is not sinful, but it exposes sin. And, since it does not provide the power to obey it, it increases sinfulness in unchanged humans.” (Orthodox Study Bible) | 1 Corinthians 15:56
  • Christ’s resurrection is our motivation to do “the work of the Lord.” | 1 Corinthians 15:58

Why It Matters

  • “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” – C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
  • Life isn’t meaningless since you were made for the earthly and the eternal.
    • Have an ancient faith, not an 1800s one (i.e. Christian Science, JWs, LDS, rapture).

Power Text

  • What happened after Paul’s letters to Corinth? Did they do “the work of the Lord?”

“Take up the letter of the blessed Paul the apostle. What first did he write to you at the beginning of his gospel? Truthfully, he wrote to you in the Spirit about himself and Cephas and Apollos, because even then you had engaged in partisan strife. But that partisanship brought less sin to you, for you joined with reputable apostles and with a man approved by them. But now consider who has perverted you, and has lessened the respect due to your well-known love for fellow believers. It is shameful, beloved, extremely shameful and unworthy of your conduct in Christ, that it should be reported that the well-established and ancient church of the Corinthians, because of one or two people, is rebelling against the presbyters. And this report has reached not only to us, but even to those who have different allegiances from us, so that even blasphemies are brought upon the name of the Lord because of your foolishness, and you cause danger for yourselves.” – 1st Clement 47:1-7

  • The Apostolic Fathers were the 2nd generation of Christians taught by the apostles.
    • EX: George Lucas (Star Wars) and Dave Filoni (Clone Wars)
  • High probability (80-90%) that 1st Clement was written by Clement of Rome.
  • Don’t stop doing “the work of the Lord,” but continue to obey the Great Commission.

Outro

  • The disciples didn’t die for a lie, so why do you live as if the resurrection isn’t true?
    • Jesus believed you were worth dying for on the cross, but do you believe that your life is worth living for Jesus? Do you believe that all of this will be restored?
  • If you love Jesus, you will obey him. He created all things and he will restore all things.

Final Thoughts

Watching this one again just reminds me of the headache that this recording gave me when I saw how bad the video contrast was edited in post. At the time, we had someone who was eager and willing to help with our video but they lacked that editors eye for video. Because of that they were too eager to try to balance the color and messing with the lighting in post so much so that I look like an unholy ghost in this one.

It’s not a big deal, but at the time I was incredibly frustrated and tried not to say anything because they’re just a volunteer. Someone new to video editing doesn’t know that less is more or how to weigh how much time should be invested in a project. Knowing that and if this extra effort is worth it matters way more than trying to perfect a sermon video that will only get maybe 50 views online. Again, rookie mistakes and totally forgivable.

The feedback and Table Talks that followed for this teaching though were great. Lots of questions about the rapture, what resources did the Corinthians have, and other related topics from my message. In fact, I included the rapture in a list of wacky beliefs and was taken aback by how many people didn’t know that the rapture isn’t a Christian concept. They just had no idea and thought that was something all Christians believed, which was crazy for me to learn after the message was over.

My in-laws were so that’s always nice to have them there, especially since my wife wasn’t because she was sick. It’s always weird for me to go to church when she’s not feeling well, so having some family there was a welcome surprise. I think she stayed home with our daughter, while I went and preached this Sunday.

On the Tuesday after this message, the family I mentioned that eventually left our church permanently made their exit and attended for the last time that Sunday. Some weren’t surprised and honestly a little happy that the stick-in-the-mud husband was gone, but even with the constant disagreements over the years I never want anyone to leave when we’re not united. Leaving on bad terms is bad for everyone involved and isn’t what Christians should be doing.

In spite of how much they sometimes annoyed me with their complaints and incessant issues, I still love them and wanted them to at the least talk with us before they left for good. But instead the wife texted our lead pastor’s wife and that was it. We never got a chance to say goodbye and end on good terms.

Another open wound on a broken heart for me. So for me, it was a mixed reaction reflecting on this because that Sunday went fantastic and yet that Tuesday was infuriating. I hate when we break up the Body of Christ over stupid stuff. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

1 Corinthians: A Resurrection Hope Part 1 | 5-25-2025

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Updated: 5/1/2026

Sermon Prep

May 2025 was much more chill compared to April 2025. We had moved and been in our new place for a few weeks unpacking. We were out of our in-laws house on our own and my new role at my company was exciting to be doing something different. Life just made a lot more sense a year ago when we were freshly past the new changes on our plate. Above is a picture with two of my brothers who stopped by to see the new place shortly after the move.

Back to the message, it’s rare but does happen when doing sermon prep that a text necessitates a clean multi-part split. 1 Corinthians 15 is one of those texts that more than deserves space to learn from it and our leadership time decided just that. It’s different than when you’re preaching through a series and there’s overlap between chapters because in this case the content is the same. Both halves of this multi-parter are only about one thing: resurrection. The reason it justifies being a multi-parter is that there’s just so much to this text to cover adequately and that can’t be done well in one sermon. Heck, I could even see a church deciding to make this a 3 or 4 part mini series if they truly wanted to take their time. There’s just that much found within this extensive text.

Given life slowed down drastically after all the changes, I had most of May to navigate this 2-part teaching and didn’t feel any pressure to get it done in a timely manner. One of the few and far between opportunities where time was on my side. Like previous messages, my writing for my book and this 2-part sermon series had crossover so I felt even more prepared than normal to cover it too. Also, around this time we had difficulty with message recordings and this one just wasn’t recorded. Regardless, here’s the notes:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Why are you so happy and hopeful?

Intro

  • Story of presenting on the reliability of the Bible in college versus God’s Not Dead.

Main Point

  • 1 Corinthians 15 is the crescendo of Ch. 7-14 just as 1 Corinthians 6 was for chapters 1-5. 
  • There’s many things to hope for in life, but we have a resurrection hope in death.

A Resurrection Hope Part 1 | 1 Corinthians 15:1-34 (NRSVue)

“[1] Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, [2] through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. [3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures [4] and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [9] For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed. [12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, [14] and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. [17] If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. [19] If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. [20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. [21] For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human, [22] for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. [23] But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. [24] Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. [25] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death. [27] For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. [28] When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. [29] Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? [30] And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? [31] I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. [32] If I fought with wild animals at Ephesus with a merely human perspective, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” [33] Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” [34] Sober up, as you rightly ought to, and sin no more, for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”

  • Paul received the good news, which he then taught the Corinthians and they kept it.
    • “To receive” indicates this was an oral tradition passed down to believers.
    • That tradition is the Corinthian Creed (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), dated to the 30s AD.
  • In the Greek “one untimely born” means an abortion, miscarriage, and/or premature birth. So Paul is using this potential insult as a metaphor for his abnormal apostolic call.
  • Paul’s resurrection argument is in contrast to misconceptions about Jesus and the Trinity.
    • Scripture Argument (1 Corinthian 15:3-4)
    • Apostolic Argument (1 Corinthians 15:5-7)
    • Logic Argument (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
  • In the Old Testament, “the first fruits” were offered to God as foreshadows of future fruits (Exodus 23:16). Likewise, Jesus’ Resurrection is the first fruit of the resurrection of all believers (1 Corinthians 15:23).
  • “The end is the consummation of the Kingdom when Christ’s lordship over all will be fulfilled and He will offer creation up to God the Father (see Rom 8:19-23, 32-39). Although the Son (Verse 28) shares the same divine nature and dignity as the Father, He is subject to the Father because only the Father is the source of divinity. God being all in all refers to the common lordship of the Trinity over all things” – Orthodox Study Bible
  • In regards to “baptism on behalf of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:29), what’s most likely is:
    • The Corinthians were influenced by gnostics like Cerinthus or Marcion heretics.
    • There were unbaptised dead believers, so Corinthians got baptised for them.
  • Paul quotes Menander the Poet’s Thais (i.e. Pride & Prejudice BC) | 1 Corinthians 15:33
    • Great example of Paul using culture and scripture together to make a point.
  • Chapter 15 is like a mountain, in that it peaks at verse 34 and both sides build up to it.

Why It Matters

  • If there’s no resurrection, your faith in Jesus is hopeless yet we have a faith full of hope.

Power Text

  • Read 1 Peter 3:15b-17 (NRSVue)

“[15b] Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you, [16] yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. [17] For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.”

  • Be confident in the hope within you and live in the reality of Christ’s resurrection power.

Outro

Our hope is in the living and risen Jesus, so for us “living is Christ and dying is gain.” – Philippians 1:21 (NRSVue)

Final Thoughts

The reception to the message was warm, but nothing noteworthy. In fact, I thought I bombed when three new people walked out before Table Talks during my prayer ending the sermon. So it was encouraging when I got to those group discussions that everyone else seemed to like it. Looking back I still feel good about this one.

What was a standout moment was right before I got up to preach, my former disciple (and my favorite son in the faith) Josh visited by surprise. It was so cool to catch up and see that he now is a youth leader helping run the youth group at LifeGate Denver where I used to be serve as a youth leader in their youth group. Love that dude and really proud of him. God is going to continue to do great things in his life. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

1 Corinthians: For Gospel Sake | 4-6-2025

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Updated: 4/30/2026

Sermon Prep

This was a busy week, so not much prep time for this message. I was hustling work-wise to get onto the Customer Success team at my job and had recently had a coffee chat with the director of that department in late March. I think this chat put me top of mind for hiring in the April to May window given I was still the reigning sales rep in the department. From the get go at this company, I was hellbent on getting out of sales and into a different department so this was just my latest attempt to do just that. Those efforts eventually worked out later in April through the interviewing process and I finally did get that job in May of this year.

With that said though, I still had to work incredibly hard to maintain my top spot in the department until I had the guarantee I got the job and signed the offer letter. So I was slammed and I think personally if I recall packing as well since we were a month out from moving into our new place in May. Plus on top of all that I went on vacation in mid-April, hence the picture above only added to the stress too. Funnily enough, the start of the new job and the move happened I believe within the same week which was bonkers to be reminded about. Regardless, a chaotic time and any extra time I had was spent on this teaching. On that note, here’s the YouTube recording and the notes:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Missions meeting for Hungary-based Bartimeus Foundation w/ Tibor & Marta Miklos

Intro

  • I grew up around a lot of missionaries who gave it all for the sake of the Gospel.

Main Point

  • Paul builds off of chapter 8 and now applies those ideas to his approach to ministry.
  • We’re called to live character-forming lives, not comfortable or convenient ones.

For Gospel Sake | 1 Corinthians 9 (NRSVue)

“[1] Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? [2] If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. [3] This is my defense to those who would examine me. [4] Do we not have the right to our food and drink? [5] Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? [6] Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? [7] Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk? [8] Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? [10] Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. [11] If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we harvest material things? [12] If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. [13] Do you not know that those who work in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? [14] In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. [15] But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! [16] If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! [17] For if I do this of my own will, I have a wage, but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. [18] What then is my wage? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. [19] For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might gain all the more. [20] To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to gain Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might gain those under the law. [21] To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not outside God’s law but am within Christ’s law) so that I might gain those outside the law. [22] To the weak I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. [23] I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I might become a partner in it. [24] Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. [25] Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. [26] So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air, [27] but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”

  • A seal was a cylinder seal, signet ring or even a stamped imprint (1 Corinthians 9:2).
    • This was a way to prove that someone had authority over or owned something.
  • Paul had to defend his apostleship throughout his ministry years (1 Corinthians 9:3).
    • Who is an apostle and are they still around? → Skip Heitzig has some insights:
      • Yes and no because functionally apostles would be what we call missionaries, but authoritatively there were only 12 NT Apostles.
        • The 12 NT Apostles had to have been with Jesus during his 3 year ministry, performed miracles, and seen Jesus physically risen.
        • The 12 founded the Church with the Apostles’ Doctrine and The Didache shows how it was applied and taught in the 1st century.
  • Cephas was married and a few early sources say had children too (1 Corinthians 9:5).
  • Paul uses 6 different metaphors to defend the rights of an apostle in ministry.
    • Soldier, vineyard, flock, plowman/thresher, temple; altar. (1 Corinthians 9:7, 13).
  • Paul quotes Deuteronomy 24:4 to prove his point about receiving income for ministry.
    • Jesus has a similar response in Mark 2:23-28 about sabbath (1 Corinthians 9:9).
  • Paul gave up financial support to avoid stumbling Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:11-18).
    • Unlike other traveling teachers in Corinth who charged fees for their knowledge, Paul offered to teach for free and boasted that God provided in his career.
      • Tent-making was Paul’s trade and was common in Tarsus, Cilicia.
    • Paul received funding from the churches in Berea, Philippi and Thessalonica.
      • To start his missionary work, his home church of Antioch helped too.
  • Jesus gave this command to the 12 apostles and the 72 disciples (1 Corinthians 9:14).
  • Paul gave up his bodily rights for the sake of the Gospel too (1 Corinthians 9:19-27).
    • He gave up non-essentials, without compromising the Christian Essentials.

Why It Matters

  • Jesus said that whoever “does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:27 (NRSVue)
  • We have to count the cost knowing there’s more to life than just our liberties.

Power Text

  • Consider if letting go of your liberties and rights is worth it for the sake of the Gospel.
  • When practicing the way of Jesus, we find ourselves at a fork between needs and wants.

Outro

  • As Jesus once said, “many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14 (NRSVue)
  • Many aspire to follow Jesus, but few attain it due to the discipline and sacrifice required.

Final Thoughts

I’ve got to be honest. I hated the actual preaching of this message. It didn’t come together well, especially the beginning which was so cringe. I really dislike going into a message underprepared and this one suffered from it.

Yet like usual with preaching, when you hate how you did people will love it and vice versa. It’s rare that both you and the people like a message mutually. After I preached, I got compliments from multiple people that they really liked it and that was frustratingly refreshing.

It’s a tale as old as time. God takes what is an undercooked message and still uses it to reach others. That’s just how awesome God is in that he can take trash and make it a treasure. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

1 Corinthians: Live Free, Diet Hard | 3-30-2025

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Updated: 4/30/2026

Sermon Prep

Coming off the heels of the last message, I was very intentional in my prep to shorten my sermons moving forward. To avoid getting lost in the sauce and keep the main thing the main thing. So when it came time to preach this message, I gave myself some unwritten rules. First, I used to allow my sermons to extend beyond 3 pages to fit whatever the topic was for that message, yet with this one I intentionally kept it to strictly 3 pages. I also limited myself to 1 quote from someone outside of the Bible and also cut down on the biblical cross references too.

To this day, I still follow these unwritten rules when teaching and so much so that I have it down to a science. For instance, I know that for every page of written text in my notes, that’s about 10 minutes of preaching material. I use the exact same sermon framework every single time which our teaching team calls the Reunion Standard. I think this has helped me more accurately measure the failure or success or a sermon versus before I taught at Reunion Church when I would loosely follow a 3-point public speaking structure I learned in college from my Public Speaking class.

Lastly, between this message and the last one we were finalizing moving out of my in-laws place and for the first time having our own space as a family. Our baby girl was almost 6 months and God orchestrated this beautiful new place for us to live once I finally decided to be open to renting again. Weird how when we humble ourselves, God almost always has something for us. Either way, here’s the YouTube recording and the notes for this message below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • PMCC Thrive small group with Adam, Elijah, and Jeanette.

Intro

  • Learned the importance of loving others in spite of knowledgeable differences.

Main Point

  • A conviction is a moral belief and personal preference with spiritual significance.
    • EX: drinking, fast food, movies, music, politics, religion, smoking; social media.
  • The convictions of your faith matter, but unity among Christians matters more.

Live Free, Diet Hard | 1 Corinthians 8 (NRSVue)

“[1] Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. [2] Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, [3] but anyone who loves God is known by him. [4] Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists” and that “there is no God but one.” [5] Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— [6] yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. [7]  It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. [8] “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. [9] But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. [10] For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? [11] So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed. [12] But when you thus sin against brothers and sisters and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. [13] Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never again eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.”

  • Food in this context wasn’t just a meal, but was often sacrificed to idols and pagan gods.
    • Civic, religious, and social gatherings were all connected in Corinthian culture.
      • Business, networking, politics, and religion were one and the same.
      • Feasts or parties were where you wanted to be seen, where you would make business deals with patrons, and even socialize with friends.
      • A patron was someone who helped clients financially and legally by way of their influence, power, and wealth. Clients had to prove their loyalty. 
  • Some knew it’s just food, but not all so love vs belittling them (1 Corinthians 8:1).
    • God knows all things, so there’s no need to be a know-it-all to weaker believers.
      • Don’t just know about God, but be known by him and remain in him.
  • In verses 1, 4, and 8 Paul uses Corinthian slogans to explain his argument.
    • Verse 4 combines one of these slogans and Scripture (i.e. Deuteronomy 6:4).
  • Early Christian Creed (1 Corinthians 8:6)
    • A creed is the rule of faith and the symbol of faith. This means a creed is both a set of beliefs affirmed aloud and an outward action that brings us together.
      • A modern example would be singing worship songs out loud at church.
  • The phrase “is destroyed” can be translated as “destroys himself,” which is an indirect middle implying that weaker Christians bear some responsibility (1 Corinthians 8:11).
    • If a weaker Christian struggles with alcohol, then why are they at a bar?
    • Read Proverbs 7:7-9 (NRSVue)

“[7] and I saw among the simple ones, I observed among the youths, a young man without sense, [8] passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house [9] in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.”

Why It Matters

  • Their conscience matters more than your convenience, so use wisdom with convictions.
  • Sacrificing freedoms can save faith for weaker Christians. It’s us for them, not versus.

Power Text

  • Read Romans 14:1-3, 15-21 (NRSVue)

“[1] Welcome those who are weak in faith but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. [2] Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. [3] Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them… [15] If your brother or sister is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. [16] So do not let your good be slandered. [17] For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [18] The one who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and has human approval. [19] Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. [20] Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong to make someone stumble by what you eat; [21] it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.”

  • The strong-minded believed that those who thought they needed to observe food laws were weak-minded and looked down upon them as inferior for lacking knowledge.
  • There’s more to life than convictions, so build up the Christian who may be struggling.

Outro

  • Read Ephesians 4:1b-6 (NRSVue)

“[1] I… beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: [4] there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”

  • Let love guide your public decisions when exercising your convictions and rights.

“embrace a mutual unity in things necessary; in things non necessary liberty; in all things charity.” – Marco’ Antonio de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalato, Croatia

Final Thoughts

In retrospect, the changes I implemented in my sermon prep turned out great. The message flowed well and the congregation resonated with it too. Although I did have a major blunder by mispronouncing Shema as schema which was corrected later that day by my father-in-law Kenny. He knows a lot more Hebrew then I do and my notes just autocorrected the word and I didn’t catch it, so that was embarrassing.

It also was a huge benefit to this message in particular that I had recently finished the chapter of my book on convictions, so I was very versed in this topic. Overall, it was received well and the Table Talks were good. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

1 Corinthians: Lawsuits and Lewdness | 3-9-2025

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Updated: 4/29/2026

Sermon Prep

The week before I taught this message my Dad flew into town to see my brother and I, which is where this picture comes from up above. It was a good trip and we had a lot of laughs, but like usual there was family tension too. Then again, that’s pretty standard for most people when their family visits. It throws off the typical day-to-day norms for a bit. If I remember right, this tension was partially related to this teaching and the fact that boys will be boys.

As for the prep for the passage of scripture, I did a lot of research given the content and felt like every line of text was a tightrope I needed to tread carefully. One person I borrowed heavily from was Trent Horn, along with Wesley Hill and William Loader. I also leaned on David Guzik who I will intermittently rely on when I want to wrap my head around a particular biblical text.

I was still pursuing a role change at my company and wanted out of my current sales heavy role for a customer success role plus writing my book heavily on the side when I had the time. Like usual, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best at everything, which had taken it’s toll a bit in the spring of 2025. I was just so hellbent on getting out of outbound sales roles that have defined the majority of my career where you’re calling dozens to hundreds of people per day selling them something that they usually don’t want. I’m just not built for sales, so as long as I’ve been in sales I’ve tried to get out of it too.

I don’t remember how many weeks I worked on this one, but it was a long time to really make sure I did my due diligence given everyone has an opinion on this text. Quite a controversial text I might add no matter what you believe about it. Anyways here’s the sermon recording and here’s my sermon notes below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Story about brother bringing girlfriend to family reunion.

Intro

  • Today, most people care about the big 3: morality, politics; sexuality. This text has all 3.
  • Ch. 6 is the crescendo of Paul’s correction for the Corinthians to be set apart in Christ.

Main Point

  • For us, the message is the same: be united in Christ knowing the kingdom of God is here.
  • Living holy reflects God’s glory. By becoming like Jesus, we find a better way forward.

Lawsuits | 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (NRSVue)

“[1] When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? [2] Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? [3] Do you not know that we are to judge angels, to say nothing of ordinary matters? [4] If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? [5] I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one person wise enough to decide between brothers and sisters? [6] Instead, brothers and sisters go to court against one another, and this before the unbelievers. [7]  In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? [8] But you yourselves wrong and defraud—and brothers and sisters at that.”

  • The Corinthians took each other to court over trivial matters (1 Corinthians 6:1).
  • Vexatious litigation “is a legal proceeding that starts with malice and without good cause… [that’s] meant to bother, embarrass, or cause legal expenses to the defendant.” – Cornell Law School
    • Roman courts were notoriously corrupt in this shame/honor society, so the powerful could dominate the passive and powerless based on their influence.
    • A court jury was sport and 60yr old men served with 100s of people there.
    • “Why are you trying to find justice before those who are unjust before God?” – David Guzik
  • Christians in Jesus’ millennial reign will be appointed as judges (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
  • “[4] His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.” (Revelation 12:4a NRSVue)
    • We’ll be a part of the final judgement for angels that fell away from God.
  • Paul sarcastically quips if there’s anyone wise enough to judge (1 Corinthians 6:5).
  • Some commentators now see chapter 6 as a dia-tribal (i.e. an argument to persuade an opponent). This is signaled by the phrase “Do you not know” (ouk oidate/οὐκ οἴδατε):
    • EX: “the saints will judge the world?”, “we are to judge angels”, and “wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God” with more throughout Ch. 6.
  • Unity matters more than being right and destroying each other (1 Corinthians 6:7).
    • “Christians ought to be possessed of generosity, mercy, and forgiveness.” –  Orthodox Study Bible

Lewdness | 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NRSVue)

“[9] Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, men who engage in illicit sex, [10] thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

  • Corinthians believed everything would be destroyed and had a low view of their bodies. 
  • Paul reiterates the vice list from Ch. 5, but adds adulterers, men with men, and thieves.
    • We too have been justified, are being sanctified, and will be glorified.
  • There is a ton of debate about the terms that Paul uses here in 1 Corinthians 6:9.
    • The Mark 16 ending debate.
  • μαλακοὶ (Greek: malakoi) and ἀρσενοκοῖται (Greek: arsenokoitai)
    • Malakoi isn’t exclusively for homosexual, but a derogatory term meaning softies.
      • Could be male prostitutes or passive partners in same-sex relationships.
    • Arsenokoitai is a compound word and literally means “male-bedders.”
      • Also used in 1 Timothy 1:10-11 right after a reference to slave traders.
      • Paul invented this term as a way to clarify who he’s referring to, not to complicate or confuse his intended audience (i.e. Tuesday-Dummies).
        • Wesley Hill notes that arsenokoites has a “strong verbal connection to the Septuagint renderings of both Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, where both halves of the compound are used.”
  • The ancient world was not like our world and lines fall in very different places. Jews, Greeks, and Romans had different views of male same-sex relations.
    • “Roman law treated same-sex relations between citizens as a criminal offence, but tolerated it between a Roman citizen and someone inferior, like a slave or a foreigner. Romans sometimes deplored same-sex relations as a Greek disease and typically self-indulgent, to which Greeks responded by deploring the fact that Romans usually did not expect such relations to cease when a young man turned thirty… For Jews, including those who formed the Christian movement, same-sex relations were indications of the depravity of non-Jewish society. [Greeks approved of same-sex male relations under 30. They were seen to strengthen bonds between males and could be part of a mentoring relationship.]” – William Loader
  • 5 Views of Same-Sex Relations in the Bible
    • 1) Scripture does condemn same-sex relations.
    • 2) There was a ban on some same-sex relations, but it doesn’t apply now.
    • 3) Those who think there is an unqualified ban, but it’s archaic to apply that now.
    • 4) Scripture bans abusive same-sex relations, but not monogamous relations.
    • 5) Scripture doesn’t condemn same-sex relations.
  • Now this isn’t just a theology issue, but more so an interpretation issue when transmitting the original languages into English and understanding ANE cultures more.
    • Daniel B. Wallace has often said that “translation is a matter of interpretation.”
English Translation μαλακοὶ (malakoi)ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoitai)Translation Approach View on Sam-Sex Relations
Berean Study Bible (BSB)men who submit to or perform homosexual actsmen who submit to or perform homosexual actsFormal1
English Standard Version (ESV)nor men who practice homosexualitynor men who practice homosexualityFormal1
The Message (MSG)use and abuse sexuse and abuse sexFunctional4 and 5
New American Standard Bible (NASB)homosexualshomosexualsFormal1
New English Translation (NET)passive homosexual partnerspracticing homosexualsOptimal1 and 3
New International Version (NIV)men who have sex with menmen who have sex with menFunctional1
New King James Version (NKJV)homosexualssodomitesFormal1
New Living Translation (NLT)male prostitutespractice homosexualityFunctional2 and 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue)male prostitutesmen who engage in illicit sexOptimal2, 3, and 4
Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition (RSVCE) homosexualshomosexualsFormal1

Why It Matters

  • Who decides what the Bible means?
    • Apostolic tradition, the Pope and the Magisterium, scholarship, or you?
  • What did Jesus think about lawsuits and lewdness if he was just a man?
    • Now what if he was God too? How does that change our previous answer?
  • Read Matthew 5:39-42 aloud (lawsuits).

“[39] But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, [40] and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, [41] and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. [42] Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

  • Read Matthew 19:4-6 aloud (lewdness).

“[3] Some Pharisees… asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ [5] and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.””

  • Argument from silence to understand Jesus’ view on sexuality (i.e. John 21:25).
    • Agrapha: floating passages credited to Jesus by oral tradition (i.e. Acts 20:35).
  • We’re called to be Christ-like in body and soul.

Power Text

  • Do as Jesus did and live with eternity in mind, instead of just the earthly.
  • Integrity in your reputation and sexuality is one of the primary responses to God’s grace.

Outro

  • As the Holy Spirit’s temple, how we live directly impacts how others see God.
    • To be Christ-like means to become like him and live as he lived.
    • This is the way. Now go walk by faith.

Final Thoughts

Looking back at this one, I think there was great research here and yet it was a bad sermon. Not to say I did a bad job or anything in the delivery, but the main aim of preaching or teaching is clearly communicating a common theme. In this message, I got carried away with trying to do too much and the main point of the passage got lost in the sauce. By trying to teach so much in one sitting, our congregation was quite confused and that’s on me for failing to deliver. If people don’t know what to takeaway from a homily or sermon, then you’ve failed on the whole as a communicator. I should’ve broken this message into two 30 minute messages and taken my time with the text at hand.

In the end, by leaning into nuance showing all sides the message was too nuanced and didn’t clarify what we as the church believe. All of the extra detail confused several people and I had to send a private message clarifying to our leadership what we believed about this text. It also didn’t help that a family who did eventually leave our church entirely did so partially because of this message being so nuanced. It was just another straw on the camels back that eventually broke for them in the summer. That loss of members still makes me sad to this day.

For me, I took the criticism and decided from this point forward to only teach sermons around the 30 minute mark. Anything beyond that point I now see as getting stuck down rabbit holes and not keeping the main thing the main thing. With that said, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

John: God’s Work Revealed | 2-23-2025

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 4/18/2026

Sermon Prep

So this was a message I never planned on preaching at all and the only reason I did preach it was because there was a miscommunication of the sermon schedule we had internally among the teachers at Reunion Church. This sometimes happens where because the schedule is usually pretty fixed, we just assume week-to-week that everyone is going to do their part. But in this case I didn’t know that one of the teachers was going to be gone on vacation, so I had done zero prep for a topical teaching until Friday night after we spoke before their trip.

We were in the middle of our 1 Corinthians series, but sometimes to break up a series we will either have a guest teacher or a one-off topical teaching to help the congregation stick with a longer sermon series. In this case, Andrew assumed I knew I was teaching a topical yet we never talked until Friday afternoon so thank God we talked that day. If we didn’t, then we would’ve been in a really bad spot on Sunday if no one had prepared a message.

So when it came time to prep this sermon I only had Friday night and Saturday night to figure it out since I already had weekend commitments. That pressure and most importantly the Holy Spirit himself led me to eventually finding this topic to teach. I wasn’t planning on sharing this particular message, but it was fresh on my mind from a conversation I had with Josh about his son who has autism and how I had autism too. So I took an old blogpost on here called Alvin Plantinga + Autism plus some new material and created this message. Here’s the notes below and the YouTube video:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Story of autism diagnoses and losing the ability to speak at 4 years old for 10 months.

Intro

  • But not everyone with ailments, disorders, or physical pain is like me.
  • Most people are either born with or become physically disabled and stay that way.

Main Point

  • It’s one of life’s most frustrating mysteries as to why some suffer and others don’t.
  • With God, natural suffering and pain has a purpose. Without him, it means nothing.

God Be Glorified | John 9:1-7 (NRSVue)

“[1] As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. [4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [6] When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, [7] saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.”

  • Disciples asked a heady question, while Jesus cared for the suffering person (John 9:2).
  • He was born blind, so that Jesus would heal him and save his soul (John 9:3).
    • Alvin Plantinga argued that like the man born blind, we too have a sensus divinitatis (sense of God) that’s been damaged by sin and humanity’s fall from grace. In this way, everyone is disabled spiritually as we’re disconnected from God and struggle to see him. In desperate need of the Holy Spirit himself to dwell within us to restore that divine sense within our cognitive faculties.

Why It Matters

  • Read Psalms 139:13-16 aloud.

“[13] For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14]  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. [15] My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. [16] Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.”

  • There is intent behind how God chose to invent you. Not a mistake. You matter to God.
  • Read Exodus 4:10-12 aloud.

“[10] But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” [11] Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? [12] Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.””

  • Instead of asking “Why me?” which is self-centered, we need to always ask “What now?” which is God-centered. Your ailment isn’t an attack, but rather a humility opportunity.

Power Text

  • Read Romans 9:19-21 aloud.

“[19] You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” [20] But who indeed are you, a human, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?” [21] Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?”

  • God does what he wants because he is king of all of creation (i.e. Psalm 115:3, 135:5-6).
  • We need to humbly submit to God’s way instead of our way, even when we disagree. 

Outro

  • Read 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 aloud.

“[6] But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, [7] even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. [8] Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, [9] but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. [10] Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

  • Only by the Holy Spirit dwelling within you can you know why you suffer and its purpose.
  • Read Romans 8:9, 15-28 aloud.

“[9] But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him… [15] For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. [18] I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, [20] for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, [23] and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. [24] For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? [25] But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [26] Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. [27] And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. [28] We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

  • Some suffer because of God’s grand plan, original sin, or even to learn to trust him.
    • Job never knew why he suffered, but Paul did so answers aren’t guaranteed.
  • In the end God knows best, therefore in our suffering we can trust and rest in him.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, this is one of my best sermons. It’s ironic because some of my best messages tend to be completely last-minute and not very well prepared for whatever the case may be that Sunday. The reception to the message was very positive during Table Talks afterwards and we had a great conversation which Jonathan led that day.

Honestly, the best part was the following Sunday one of our new worship leaders who I didn’t really know beforehand said this message was for her. Meaning that God orchestrated things so that I would preach a message that she needed to hear that Sunday. Now that just shows how awesome God is that he would use me to do his work in the life of someone else. One of the rare times where God’s work is revealed. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. https://philosophynews.com/interview-with-alvin-plantinga-on-where-the-conflict-really-lies/