Tag: Jesus

Luke: Exit Stage Left | 2-5-2023

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/12/2024

Sermon Prep

After a month of being at this new job, I was getting the swing of things. It was a lot of work. In hindsight, I never truly felt I got it when it came to this job.

The knowledge-base required was a lot and I just never figured it out to be frank. At the time, I really liked my job but with self-reflection I’ve come to see how much my pride to provide for my family in the midst of a company acquisition had a grip on me. That fearful, fight-flight-freeze framework where I just went after the highest paying job and not what God wanted me to do in my career.

It’s one of those seasons where I don’t know if it was sin, but it was stupid to chase money to provide for my family and save for a house one day. In this season, I was preaching to myself through this series because I was center stage. My efforts and works to will life into a more controlled state versus what it was just a month ago desperately job-hunting afraid of getting fired or let go.

The godly and right thing to do is to step aside and be humble in the presence of Jesus. I don’t have any control of my life. I don’t dictate what happens to my family. And yet, God is always there for us and he will always give us a second chance when we approach him with complete surrender. He makes all things new. With that, here’s the notes for this message.

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Rush at Red Rocks
    • What’s your favorite concert?
    • Who was the opener? The first act?

Intro

  • John the Baptist was the opening act.
    • Jesus was the headliner.
    • Setting the stage for the savior.
  • Exit Stage Left
    • An orderly and uneventful departure, timed so as not to detract or distract.

Transition To Main Point

  • John the Baptist exited stage left, so that Jesus could take center stage.

Main Point

  • Luke 3:1 | Shows Theophilus when this all took place in history (i.e. AD 26-29).
  • Luke 3:2 | The inciting incident
    • Like Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist wandered in the wilderness waiting for the next word of God.
      • See Exodus 3 and 1 Kings 17
  • Luke 3:3-6 | Old Testament fulfillment and symbolism
    • Jordan River = entry to Promised Land
    • Baptism = temple practice of full immersion that took someone from impurity to purity.
    • Taken together, John invites the Hebrews to renew their vows to God as the New Covenant people under grace, not law.
    • This revival set the stage for Jesus.
      • “See the salvation” -> See Jesus
        • Jesus translates to Yahweh saves.
  • Luke 3:7-14 | The Message
    • Salvation is from the shed blood of Jesus, not the sacred blood of Abraham.
      • True repentance is a public confession followed by continued trust in God.
    • Salvation is always belief before behavior.
  • Luke 3:15-17 | The Messiah
    • Mistaken for messiah like Judah the Hammer.
    • Purify the impure that repent of sin.
    • Judge all, but separating people by those who accept grace and those who reject it.
      • Political undertones here too.
  • Luke 3:18-20 | Setting the Stage
    • This was over a good span of time.
    • Herod puts John the Baptist in prison for calling out his divorce to marry his daughter-in-law and Josephus wrote “the great influence John had over the people.”

Why This Matters

  • John exited stage left story-wise, so that Jesus could take center stage next.
    • He’s rarely mentioned after this chapter.
  • Back then like now, the world’s broken.
    • The arrival of Jesus introduces us to a permanent and restorative justice.
  • The topic of baptism invites us to the idea of restarting and having a new beginning.

Final Thoughts

I loved preaching this message and the reason being is that I love John the Baptist! He’s one of the most interesting figures in all of history. Last prophet of the Old Covenant, best friends with Jesus and yet baptizes him, along with being a precursor to the Desert Fathers who would arrive later on in history. I could go on and on about John the Baptist because he just brings a unique insight to both life right before Jesus and right after when Jesus arrives on the scene.

The execution of this message benefitted from my zeal for this topic too. My enthusiasm just beamed from my sermon delivery this Sunday and I remember one of our members mentioning that after the service. Personally, I was also just in a great emotional mood with my Dad flying into town the Thursday after this teaching to spend the weekend with the Colorado family. Anyways, this was one of the good ones. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Reunion Church

Luke: Exceeding Expectations | 1-29-2023

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/12/2024

Sermon Prep

Now that it’s almost 2025, looking back at the beginning of 2023 is really interesting. It was the first full calendar year of marriage for my wife and I. We had our own place and finally had a flow to our daily routine as a couple, yet that wasn’t without its hiccups. Below is how this month was for us when I journaled the day of this sermon:

“I’m not good at change. Whether bad or good, change is always incredibly difficult for me. The last two weeks have been hard for Glory and I. With the new job… I’ve had to make drastic adjustments to my schedule. Now I wake up at 4:50am and drive 30min to Nik’s gym and then to work, along with the hour to commute home. It’s a long day that ends at 6pm where I’m finally home to relax for a few hours. It’s brutal some days, but in the long run the discipline is good for me.”

What I failed to mention was that I kept working once I got home combing through medical textbooks I bought to learn my new job. Glory was doing her own job hunt trying to find something new to do too. She was emotionally ready to move-on from her family’s nonprofit, but in retrospect not really since she still works there as of this writing. I think she felt more-so guilty that all of our finances were on me now and wanted to contribute more too.

Between the events of my last sermon and this one, we had lots of other changes happen in life as well. My younger brother, Corban, moved back to Colorado from Tennessee. Glory’s sister ended a years-long relationship with her then boyfriend. Our church’s truck was totaled, which made set-up and tear-down that much more difficult in the middle of winter. Lastly, a young man who was homeless and attended our church died of hypothermia sleeping outside on a cold night in December. The changing of seasons it seems had an effect on not just us, but the community we lived with at large.

It’s in light of these changes and the expectations for what 2023 would be, that I shared this message. I must say, the contrast between my confidence in teaching through Ecclesiastes versus Luke was night-and-day. This series was much more up my alley given it was a character study on Jesus and there’s always something to be found when studying our Lord’s life. With that backdrop, here’s my notes:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Becoming an uncle.
    • How it changed me and my family.

Intro

  • Luke begins his gospel account with 2 key moments: announcement and arrival.
  • These 2 themes run throughout Luke.
    • Luke 1 = Announcing the king
    • Luke 2 = Arrival of the king

Transition To Main Point

  • The king’s arrival both exceeded expectations and extinguished them.

Main Point

  • 1) Announcement
    • Modern messiahs (i.e. Herod the Great, Judah the Hammer, etc.) have had a lot of expectations put on them, but they can never meet them as just men.
      • The same was true of Jesus’ time.
      • There were many previous messiahs, but none of them saved the world.
    • John the Baptist’s role was to announce King Jesus to the world.
      • He’s like the hype man of Jesus.
      • He set the stage for the savior.
      • Final old covenant and Old Testament prophet.
        • Story-wise, his death is a turning point.
  • 2) Arrival
    • Bethlehem was brutal.
      • Roman rule set up crosses of resistance.
        • Horse thieves, murders; revolutionaries.
      • As Jesus’ family arrived to get registered, they would’ve seen these crosses.
    • As a boy, Jesus acted in command and with an awareness of who he was.
      • This put tension between his family.
      • Joseph’s absence in Luke theories:
        • 1) Died when Jesus was young.
        • 2) Emotionally absent.
        • 3) Omitted by Joseph’s request.

Why It Matters

  • Jesus exceeded and extinguished expectations.
    • Exceeded = Grace, wisdom, love, and healing.
    • Extinguished = Not rich or warrior king.
  • Not the king they wanted, but needed.
    • Back then, the Hebrews wanted a lord.
    • Today we want a savior, but not a lord.
      • Jesus will always be lord and savior.

Final Thoughts

As one of the first messages within the study on Luke, I’m quite proud of the delivery here. The same can be said of the messages I shared in this timeframe for this series. I just had an assurance in knowing this material and learning as I taught that was different then Ecclesiastes where I was speaking on things I didn’t truly know yet. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Reunion Church

Ecclesiastes: Aging is Meaningless | 11-27-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 7/27/2024

Sermon Prep

Like usual, both good and bad things happened in November of 2022. On the good side, my wife and I moved into our very own apartment on November 12th. It was amazing to have that apartment for the 13 months that we did. To have our own home that’s just for us was something special. It was a 3rd story apartment facing south where you could see Denver and the surrounding mountains. Brand new too, so we were the first to live there and we absolutely loved it.

On the bad side, my job hunt was beginning to get exhausting because I didn’t get any bites. What made matters worse was that on the next day after preaching this sermon, our VP of Sales who internally steered the ship at the company I worked at was unexpectedly fired without warning. For context, this person was the most influential person in our company until the acquisition began to take place earlier in the summer. If anything, this was a cleaning house situation which meant my team was next.

Oddly enough, as my wife’s season of mourning the move away from home and her panic attacks ended around mid-November my life became the living hell next. In retrospect, these first few months of marriage truly felt like a refining time in life. Testing us and our trust in God, which is always good.

In regards to my sermon prep, I don’t think there was all that much to it given how distracted I was at this time. I remember my best idea was referencing the new Lightyear movie as my sermon analogy for the opener. If that’s the best you’ve got for a sermon, then you’re in trouble.

Sure, examples can be good starting points but I had no reference for growing old spiritually. I was 25 and newly married, so life overall was new and exciting in spite of the testing God had us go through. One of my worse messages for sure, but here’s the notes either way.

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Lightyear: Buzz blasts through time to save best friend, but misses his life.
    • Time dilation speeds up time.
    • In my own life, I’ve experienced this.

Intro

  • Read Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14

Transition To Main Point

  • Aging is meaningless without Jesus

Main Point

  • 1) Enjoy life as God intended (Ecc. 11:7-10)
    • Verses 7-8
      • Life is a good gift, but very brief.
      • Days of death outweigh days of life.
    • Verses 9-10
      • Enjoy life now, not later.
      • Avoid evil because God will judge.
  • 2) Live with God before you age out (Ecc. 12:1-7)
    • Verses 1-7
      • If read all at once, text leaves you out of breath. Life runs-on like sentence.
      • Turn to God before time runs out.
  • 3) Trust God as your life-support and light.
    • Only God can bear the weight of your brokenness and save you from sin.
    • There’s your stupid way and then there’s God’s wise way.

Why It Matters

  • With Jesus, growing old has meaning.
  • Aging isn’t something to be avoided, but something to be accepted in humility.

Final Thoughts

At this stage, I was just grateful to get this over with if I’m being honest. Preaching was the last thing on my mind. I was distracted and not ready to talk about the passing of time. The inevitable and all of its deep themes when it comes to becoming older. I’m glad I got to preach and was also glad that our study in Ecclesiastes was ending. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Angus MacLane. 2022. Lightyear. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Ecclesiastes: Wisdom in a Meaningless World | 11-6-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 7/21/2024

Sermon Prep

I’m usually not one for the charismatic wing of Christianity, but on October 31st of 2022 I journaled a prophetic dream I had the night of the 30th. I’ve had dreams from God like this before, but very rarely. Maybe less then a handful of times in my life where I see what will happen and yet it feels like déjà vu all at the same time.

In this dream, here’s what I remembered and jotted down on Halloween morning:

“Had a beautiful dream this past night. Glory and I were in a hospital. She was in the bed restfully watching me cradle our newborn daughter, Willow. I was standing and rocking her to sleep. As I did that, I sang her a lullaby. It went like this:

My Willow bee, my Willow tree.

Dancing in the wind with me.

Then the dream abruptly ended. It felt so real. I can’t wait to dance with my Willow.”

Fast forward to now and my wife is nearly 28 weeks pregnant with our baby girl who is due October 17th. It’s almost to the day that God gave me that initial dream 2 years ago. It’s so strange seeing how things have played out so far and we cannot wait to meet our baby Willow.

In the everyday of this season, we had immediate big changes in life too. On November 1st, we signed for our very own apartment for just the two of us. We didn’t mind having my best friend Daniel be our roommate, but we needed our own space for our own family and found one.

It’s ironic posting this given the nature of the world right now and how foolish everything seems. I remember this was one of those messages where I felt foolish for trying to tell everyone what wisdom was in life. What would a guy like me know about wisdom when I haven’t wised up myself? Regardless, here’s the notes I had for this one below.

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • CFS story of terrible writer succeeding
  • Dropped out to help youth group; gave up
  • The fool prospered, but the upright lost

Intro

  • Read Psalm 92 out loud together

Transition to Main Point

  • What’s wisdom in a meaningless world?

Main Point

  • 1) God has a design for everything
  • Read Ecclesiastes 10:2
  • There’s a right and wrong way to life.
  • Read Ecclesiastes 7:12
  • “Privilege isn’t money, it’s info.” – Nathan Smith
  • Wisdom is knowing God’s design and living well within that way of life.
  • 2) Sin leads to brokenness/meaninglessness
  • Read Ecclesiastes 7:29
  • All people have chosen evil over good.
  • Read Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
  • No good you do can overcome an evil world.
  • 3) The Gospel is the answer
  • Read Ecclesiastes 9:13-16
  • This passage parallels the life of Jesus.
  • Wisdom is a person and we trust him.
  • 4) The Gospel allows us to recover and pursue God’s wise design
  • Read Ecclesiastes 8:12-13, 15
  • Evil will have its end eventually, so live well within God’s wise design.

Why It Matters

  • The Gospel is our guide to a good life.
  • For those of you who don’t know it:
  • 1) God made everything good.
  • 2) We made everything bad.
  • 3) Jesus has made and will make everything better.
  • 4) Now we believe in what Jesus did and trust him with what he’s going to do for our best.
  • In order to live by God’s wise design, we have to accept the Gospel.
  • Once accepted, you’ll find the right way and a wise life.

Final Thoughts

Conceptually, I see what I was going for here. The ingredients are there for something interesting, yet the mixture is a bad batch. I often do that when I don’t know what I’m talking about, I go broad with the vague concept and only reach a few. But if I went specific with the idea and really lean into the applicability of it, then many would have been reached by this message.

Like with any communication, universal appeal is found in the specific reveal. Again, I just wasn’t at a spiritual maturity to share this message and provide that specific reveal of truth. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Community College of Aurora, Lowry Campus

Ecclesiastes: Money is Meaningless | 10-30-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 2/19/2024

Sermon Prep

My Glory admiring God’s creation in Winter Park, CO.

As alluded to in the previous Ecclesiastes sermon reviews, work was beginning to get tense. To get away from both my work and other frustrations in life, my wife Glory and I went on an impromptu weekend trip to Winter Park, CO the weekend before I shared this sermon. That getaway was huge in resetting ourselves from the hurry of life.

What made the trip even better was how empty the town was because ski season hadn’t started yet, so it was fairly vacant the whole trip. Since the honeymoon it was our first getaway too, which also made it special for us. Overall, leaving the hustle of the everyday and just running off to the mountains is a fantastic way to care for your soul.

On this message, the actual prep I think was better with a clearer mind. Throughout this whole holiday season work was a major stressor, but there were times when it winded down a tad. This week of prep was one of them and that was very beneficial. With that, here’s the notes for this sermon:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Disney day with Glory (i.e. Princess and the Frog)
  • Tales of the Jedi was so dope
  • Tiana = waitress saving for restaurant
  • Prince Naveen = cut off from fortune
  • Get married and open restaurant
  • Money motivates a lot of our life.

Intro

  • Read Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, 5:10-6:12

Transition To Main Point

  • Money is meaningless without Jesus.

Main Point

  • Pursuing purpose in money is meaningless.
  • You’ll never have enough (Ecc. 5:10)
  • You’ll attract freeloaders (Ecc. 5:11)
  • You won’t sleep well (Ecc. 5:12)
  • You’ll hurt yourself (Ecc. 5:13)
  • You’ll never be totally secure (Ecc. 5:14)
  • You’ll leave it all behind (Ecc. 5:15-16)
  • You’ll be a miserable person (Ecc. 5:17)

Why It Matters

  • Meaningful relationships (Ecc. 4:7-12)
  • Friends (Ecc. 4:9-10)
  • Family (Ecc. 4:11)
  • Co-workers (Ecc. 4:12)
  • Contentment and joy in God’s gifts (Ecc. 5:18-6:9)
  • Knowing Jesus (Ecc. 6:10-12)
  • Money only has meaning when we invest in those things that have eternal significance.

Final Thoughts

Of the 5 sermons I did in this series on Ecclesiastes, this is my favorite. I think it went the best out of this batch. The structure is a bit odd, but pretty decent message that is conveyed well throughout. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. John Musker & Ron Clements. 2009. The Princess and the Frog. Walt Disney Productions.

Ecclesiastes: Justice and Politics is Meaningless | 10-16-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 2/3/2024

Sermon Prep

Similar to the previous sermon I shared, this was a season where it’s a more melancholy time compared to the mountaintop experience of the honeymoon high. Again, lots of great and good changes happened in this time too. We were apartment shopping and began getting ready to move, which was amazing! We were in the beginning stages of our marriage and that was wonderful as well. I was in a men’s morning small group with my father-in-law that I loved.

And yet the work environment was escalating. Around this time we had a meeting with a C-suite executive at my former company and that permanently muddied the waters of trust. It was one of those meetings that was supposed to reassure people they weren’t going to be let go in the New Year and yet afterwards everyone had the same thought: we’re being laid off next year.

What only added to the distrust was the mixed messaging we heard from those in higher-up meetings and what was told to us directly. Rarely was it the same thing we heard. This was a long month for me.

Now back to the sermon prep, I think all of the sermons from this series in particular feel surface-level. None of them I think were good messages and I think with hindsight I can now see why. For starters, I wasn’t invested and diligent enough to grasp these Scriptures fully. I was too invested in saving my skin in the final quarter of the year and overwhelmed by the pressures of the season to be faithful in this area.

The other reason is more forgivable and that would simply be a lack of life lived to exposit these critical passages in the Bible. How can your average 20-something American preach on the meaninglessness of life? I was barely 25 then and as I’m almost 27 now, I don’t know if I can properly express what one of the wisest men on Earth meant when he wrote these things.

Lastly, I’m a meditative teacher. I can’t pray, prep, and present a sermon within a small window of time. I’m not gifted like other preachers in that way. I have to dwell and remain with a passage of Scripture before I ever share it. Otherwise, I never get to the meat of the message. Speaking of meat, here’s the notes from this sermon:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • I love political ads. They’re so fun.
  • We live in an unjust society with a political system poisoned by the power-hungry.

Intro

  • Read Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3, 5:8-9

Transition To Main Point

  • Justice and politics is meaningless without Jesus.

Main Point

  • Justice is meaningless
  • Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
  • Life isn’t fair, but we know it should be fair.
  • We’re just like animals
  • Ecclesiastes 3:18-22
  • In the animal kingdom, the law of the land is reciprocity and revenge.
  • We want what’s just for me, not justice.
  • Politics is meaningless
  • Ecclesiastes 4:1-3, 5:8-9
  • We were made for the Garden of Eden, but live in the Garden of Gethsemane.
  • Broken order bleeds chaos.
  • Checks and balances enables oppression.

Why It Matters

  • Without Jesus, chaos cannot be brought to order and wrongs cannot be made right.
  • With Jesus, we can make sense of justice and politics in our world.
  • Read Isaiah 55:6-9, 57:15b.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts… I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the Spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 55:6-9, 57:15b (See also Psalm 103:11)
  • Today, Jesus is gentle and lowly to those who suffer in our broken world.
  • One day, Jesus will judge evil and the wicked as he commands chaos into order.

Final Thoughts

Given the current political climate and polarization in the world, a sermon like this just doesn’t cut it. Yes, there’s good stuff here and yet I wasn’t empathetic enough to those who have been harmed by systems that suppress them. I didn’t take the care again that these messages require.

This series isn’t my favorite that I’ve been apart of at Reunion Church, although I remember our Table Talks going great so there’s that. But even in my nitpicking, the message was shared and that’s what ultimately counts. Not my feelings but rather my faithfulness in sharing God’s word. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.pexels.com/

Ecclesiastes: Your Dream is Meaningless | 10-2-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 1/20/2024

Sermon Prep

Often times people describe the honeymoon phase as carefree and pure bliss. A short period of time where everything is perfect and nothing can go wrong. I think that Glory and I first experienced this during our dating and engagement days. Then that phase ended just over a month after our honeymoon. Never felt anything quite like that time in my life and I will always treasure that time with my Glory.

Once that mountaintop experience ended reality set in not just of ourselves, but of life overall. Not that life has been downhill since then, but rather that my wife and I entered a new phase: lament. Around mid-September of 2022, life pivoted from joy to lament. Not just for us, but others very close to us too.

For us, I grappled with how to comfort my wife’s panic attacks that didn’t just happen daily, but multiple times per day. It was emotionally brutal. I failed to understand the extent of what it meant for her to mourn moving away from her childhood home and family to be with me in our new home. Here’s an excerpt I wrote in my journal about this season:

“At a loss on how to help. How to help. What to do. Just defeated. Pretty tired too. There’s been a lot of late nights like this one. I’m worn out. Body aches. Mind races. Just drained. I relate to today’s Psalm a lot [Psalm 88]. It describes what I can’t. I’m so tired. God, help us to rest in you.”

Beyond my wife understandably feeling homesick after the honeymoon phase, other things brought about this tough timeframe. Two women within the span of a week were raped in our community. Decades-long friendships ended between people we knew due to evil in-fighting and gossip. On top of that, my once steady job was beginning to crumble as layoff rumors swirled due to an acquisition. It quickly shifted from cherished days to chaotic ones seemingly out of nowhere.

It’s with this backdrop that our church began a new series in the book of Ecclesiastes. Starting a series on the meaninglessness of life was quite good timing on God’s part. Exploring the emptiness of the season during what should the happiest time of the year leading into fall and the holidays. With that all in mind, here’s the notes from my sermon:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • 1940s vs Disney+ Pinocchio.
  • Pinocchio is a retelling of the prodigal son.
  • Self-indulgence isn’t fulfilling; sacrifice is.

Intro

  • Read Ecclesiastes 2

Transition To Main Point

  • Pleasure, wisdom; work are meaningless without Jesus.

Main Point

  • Pleasure is meaningless (Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
  • Wisdom is meaningless (Read Ecclesiastes 2:12-17)
  • Work is meaningless (Read Ecclesiastes 2:18-23)
  • Contentment is meaningful (Read Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

Why It Matters

  • Nothing created can fulfill you.
  • Comforts can’t conform your heart to be like Christ, but the challenge of change will.
  • True joy is in jagged transformation.
  • There’s a purpose to life’s greatest pursuits.
  • That grand design is to enjoy the things of Earth with Jesus.
  • Life is pains and pleasures, but Jesus is our joy.
  • He makes the mess make sense.
  • Creation was intentionally untamed.
  • “We’re not made for Disney World” as Peter Kreeft put it, but rather for the Garden of Eden.
  • The adventure God has for us is this: he creates, we cultivate.
  • Your aim in life should be to embark on the adventure God has for you.
  • Now go and wander with the way-maker.

Final Thoughts

This one is a step above my last sermon for sure. I think with everything that was going on at the time, I leaned into the seriousness of it all a bit more in the delivery of the message. The ending wrap-up is messy and needed some refinement, but I remember the sharing of the sermon being good. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske. 1940. Pinocchio. Walt Disney Productions.

BLESS: Listen | 7-24-2022

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 1/19/2024

Sermon Prep

Taught this one less then 2 weeks from my wedding day. Like the past few sermons from the summer of 2022, nothing mattered except my wonderful wife-to-be for me. Lost in the rush of young love and the hustle of planning our so close, yet so far wedding day.

Looking back on these final days pre-marriage, my emotional and mental state was a flurry of mixed things. Highs and lows all at once. After nearly a month of not journaling, I wrote to God some of my thoughts after a panic-attack I had in my room that night. This was the Friday before this sermon:

“I feel so immensely alone tonight. I’m writing this after getting home late and breaking down in tears. I cried for over an hour. Something triggered me after the movie with Glory’s siblings. Just seeing the history and love there made me feel the way I do now. Lonely. Sad. Tired. All the changes that have stripped me of control. The absolute exhaustion of this phase in my life. The lack of order. The rapid-fire nature of this time provides me no time to breathe. To be still. To rest in the arms of God. I want to be held. I need it. A break. A true sabbath for my weary soul. I want to be proud of the work I do at my job again. Haven’t felt that in months. I want to be proud of my efforts in ministry. I’ve let a lot of people down there. Proud of my progress in the gym. Feeling useless and weak there. I don’t eat consistently or sleep consistently. It’s always too little. For someone who has so many good things happening, I still feel alone and isolated. Overwhelmed and afraid. I should be happy, but I’m sad. My mentality doesn’t match the mood. I wake up with anxiety. Always behind on something and running late. Not completing things. Ready for the chaos to end. I need Jesus. Hold me.”

If you’re curious, I write a bit dramatically like my Dad. Observing the world more like a stage play, while others view it as a series of projects to accomplish. Regardless, those emotions and thoughts were a grand summary of this season. Bad and good. Excited and exhausted. Anticipating what’s next and yet anxious of it too.

From doing last-minute prep for the wedding to helping spearhead the block party event our church ran for hundreds of people in the neighborhood, it was just a busy time for me. So much so that I think this sermon suffered for it. Not the worst yet not the best message I’ve given either. Anyways, here’s my notes for this one:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Tonight, we’ll continue our series BLESS.
  • Have you ever gone to someone for help, but they just weren’t listening?

Intro

  • Doctor not listening about my hernia.
  • The opposite of listening isn’t speaking, it’s waiting to speak.
  • We all have issues listening (i.e. music).
  • This is called Mondegreen moments.

Transition To Main Point

  • Everyone has a story. They just need someone to listen. When we listen to people’s story, we then can share Christ.
  • The gospel is an engaged gospel. People are engaged when they are heard.

Main Point

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said,“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him…But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”

Acts 3:1-10, 4:4 (ESV)

Why It Matters

  • Two areas to listen: the places (4 P’s) and the person (4 H’s).
  • 4 H’s: History, Heart, Habits; Hurts
  • 4 P’s: Pain, Pennies, Power; Parties
  • Listen to people, ask the 4 H’s and analyze the 4 P’s.
  • People will only respond if they feel heard.

Final Thoughts

Half-baked is how I’d define this sermon. Not an outright disaster, but not my best. Then again, it’s just a bad day at the office. Every job and person with responsibility has them. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.pexels.com/

A Hidden Life

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 5/28/2023

I wrote this poem last night after my wife and I finished watching the film A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick. Was obviously inspired by that, George Eliot’s famous quote (2), along with feelings I’ve had as of late about moving away from my current home in Colorado. With that, here’s the poem:

–

All I want is a hidden life.

A home among the wildlife.

With children and my lovely wife.

Free of the world’s own sin and strife.

–

Somewhere with oaks, redwoods, and willows.

In the mountains with rustling wind that billows.

A secluded solitude surrounded by all that grows.

Saturated by lakes and rivers where clearwater flows.

–

Populated with human souls, but not too many.

A quiet community that’s far away from the big city.

A rugged and serene terrain that’s both pretty and gritty.

Taken care of and tended to by a people gentle and lowly.

–

This is the life of my dreams.

A consistent desire and theme.

To be with the trees downstream.

Something similar to Eden it seems.

–

But I’m content with what God’s given to me.

Living for today and the tomorrow I cannot see.

Knowing that one day I’ll be as free as the open sea.

Whenever that may be, I know that Jesus is with thee.

–

If it wasn’t abundantly clear, I love and resonate with Terrence Malick as an artist. Him along with a variety of other filmmakers inspire me a lot with how I convey my ideas on the page. Using the communicative channel of story to share my thoughts. Also, cannot recommend his work enough.

In regards to myself, I’m battling my own calling and dreams. I’m called to be a bridge to differing groups of people. Not just the secular engaging with the sacred, but also the far off prodigal saints and those at the feet of Jesus. But I also have a desire to move elsewhere becoming a fulltime writer of fiction stories and non-fiction works. But contentment is the key when God’s answer isn’t no or yes, but wait. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Free stock photos · Pexels
  2. “..for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch

Philippians: I Can’t Do All Things | 7-3-2022

Posted in SermonsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 5/26/2023

Sermon Prep

Last time I mentioned that life was so busy leading up to my wedding that I had only journaled twice in-between sermons. Well since late-June of 2022 up until the day of this sermon, I journaled nothing. I was doing the final weeks of prep before my USS Nationals show on June 25th in New Hampshire and that last minute training ate up a good chunk of my time. Of course the upcoming wedding ate up the rest, so with the little time post-competition I penned this message.

My final placing was 2nd to last for that show. I beat one guy in the Open Men MW (198-) class and gave arguably my worst Strongman performance ever in competition zeroing 3 of the 5 events. It was quite the dud of a showing on my part and I wasn’t even in very good shape. I showed up weighing 13lbs underweight with an incredibly lackluster strength physique going into my toughest show ever and yet I loved it.

My then-fiancée, Glory, traveled and supported me there. Which made the competition more about enjoying the show than just trying to win it. This experience in retrospect I think had a strong effect on this message in that I truly can’t do all things. I can’t win everything I try and I can’t do everything on my own, but we’ll get to why in the notes section. Speaking of which, here were the notes for this sermon:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Tonight, we’ll be in Philippians 4:10-23.
  • What should be our mindset on giving/receiving?

Intro

  • Read Philippians 4:10-23.
  • Mom’s mental breakdown grieving Grandma Rachel.

Transition To Main Point

  • To express gratitude to God for us all supporting each other, while also carefully highlighting some important Christian aspects of giving and receiving.

Main Point

Six Themes on Gifting (4:10-20)

  • Gratitude (4:10) -> “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have received your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but had no opportunity.”
  • Contentment (4:11-13) -> “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
  • Partnership (4:14-16) -> “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.”
  • Fruitfulness (4:17) -> “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
  • Worship (4:18) -> “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”
  • Faith (4:19-20) -> “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Goodbye For Now (4:21-23)

  • “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

Why It Matters

  • Gratitude + Contentment (materials needs)
  • Partnership + Fruitfulness (social needs)
  • Worship + Faith (spiritual needs)

Explain the 1st + 2nd Mountain Concept

“All their lives they’ve been taking economics classes or living in a culture that teaches that human beings pursue self-interest-money, power, fame. But suddenly they are not interested in what other people tell them to want… The world tells them to be a good consumer, but they want to be the one consumed-by a moral cause. The world tells them to want independence, but they want interdependence-to be enmeshed in a web of warm relationships. The world tells them to want individual freedom, but they want intimacy, responsibility, and commitment. The world wants them to climb the ladder and pursue success, but they want to be a person for others… They’ve gone from self-centered to other-centered.”

David Brooks, The Second Mountain
  • The Christian life is other-centered, not self-centered. We die to self to help someone else. It’s a giving mindset.
  • Give to your neighbors, the church, your community, and even people you hate.
  • I can’t do all things, therefore God gives. You can’t do all things, likewise God gives. In all things, be giving to others as God has given to you.

Final Thoughts

As you can tell, I was reading The Second Mountain by David Brooks during the summer of 2022 and started reading it in New Hampshire during USS Nationals. It had a big impact on me and especially this message I shared with Reunion Church. If there’s one thing you can extract from my life, I’m not afraid to leverage the culture for the sake of Christ.

Call it more of a Pauline approach to be culture-centered than say Peter who was incredibly church-centered. Both have their merits and all Christians take after either one or the other. I just prefer using the culture of my time to communicate Christ to all people. With that said, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.pexels.com/