Tag: King Solomon

Luke: Humility and Faith | 7-16-2023

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Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 11/1/2024

Sermon Prep

The summer months of 2023 were defined by greats highs and lows for me. To start, at my job I began looking for new opportunities about mid-May. Gave it a chance at my role and realized I just couldn’t longterm deal with the leadership above me (i.e. 2 people specifically). By mid-July, I booked what would now be my second job change in 2023 and had the first initial recruiter meeting set for that Friday before I shared this message. It took 3 months to find a new role and yet this wouldn’t be the last of my job hunting in 2023, but we’ll get to that down the road.

As far as good things go, it was a fun season in the summer. We had a wedding that we got to attend, I placed 2nd at the Celtic Bison Strongman Show and I performed okay, along with us becoming a 2 car family too. During the summer, I was reading Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund which informed a lot of my thinking at this time. I think there’s hints of his work throughout the sermons I shared in this season.

But for me looking back, there were 2 moments that defined these summer months: the Oregon vacation and the passing of Pastor Avant Ramsey. In fact, both things happened simultaneously in the first half of June. It truly was an emotional tension between one of the greatest vacations of my life and one of the saddest funerals I’ve ever attended thus far.

As far as that vacation in Oregon goes, it really was an amazing way to celebrate my birthday. It’s one of my favorite places ever right along the coast where the mountains meet the seashore. Glory and I loved it so much in fact, that we hope one day to live on the coast of Oregon. It was on the second day of that trip where I got the message from my friend Andrew that Pastor Avant Ramsey passed away.

I’m not going to claim that he was one of the mentors that made me a man like I have for others on here, but he did mean a lot to me and my family. Heck, our whole community loved Avant! He just was one of those guys that lived a good, godly life. A quiet giant and friendly leader at my family’s old church. I’ll always remember him as gentle and lowly. It’s with these various changes in life that I preached this message below:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

  • Life with Jesus is humility, then faith.

Intro

  • John teaching me how to catch a football.
    • Problem (Humility) = Couldn’t catch football.
    • Bridge (Faith) = Trust John’s help.
    • Solution (Grace) = John teaches me.

Transition To Main Point

  • Responding to God’s grace requires humility, then faith. It’s the transformative 1-2 punch.

Main Point

  • The kingdom life is humility and faith.
  • Luke 17:1-4 | Temptation and Forgiveness
    • Gives warning to temptors, then command to victims of sin. This applies to both.
    • Matthew 18:1-6 shows children there too.
    • A Christian has child-like humility and faith.
      • Talking about children and Christians.
    • Only the humble can protect, correct, and forgive other sinners like themself.
  • Luke 17:5-6 | Increasing Our Faith
    • Add to our trust because we’re not able to be humble and obey you.
    • Mulberry Tree = wild, untamed flower that grows in arid and dry climates.
    • A little faith goes a long way to forgive.
  • Luke 17:7-10 | The Unworthy Servants
    • We are the unworthy servants. Not great.
    • There’s no reward for doing the bare minimum of what’s expected of you.
    • Our efforts and works of human holiness are nothing compared to our perfect God.
  • Luke 17:11-19 | Jesus Cleanses Lepers
    • Story of division and exile.
      • Physical, racial, regional; social exile.
    • The lepers were Jewish and Samaritan.
    • The 9 got mercy, but the 1 got grace.
    • He humbled himself and trusted Jesus.

Why This Matters

  • A life in the kingdom of God is defined by a consistent state of humility and faith in Jesus.
  • All Christians have a child-like heart to be gentle and lowly like Jesus.
    • Matthew 11:28-29 and Philippians 2:3-5

Final Thoughts

The analogy at the beginning was a little clunky. The final section about the 10 lepers was my favorite story to share, so I was more enthusiastic for that ending. Beyond that, the feedback I received was that it went really well and I personally thought the execution was excellent. I loved our series in Luke and this was one of those messages where that passion poured through into the prep and preaching.

To be obedient and teach God’s word doesn’t require passion to be faithful, but it certainly doesn’t hurt either. I think this message paints that picture clearly. Like every season there’s “a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance” (2) as King Solomon succinctly put it. It’s just that in some seasons like this one, the spectrum of emotions is a lot more evident. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. https://calvarychapelmagazine.org/articles/avant-testimony
  2. Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NRSVue)

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/

1 John: The God Shaped Hole | 10-22-2018

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The God Shaped Hole

Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10-5-2019

[This was a short sermon that I gave to the middle school students at my local church for Sunday School. It was about 10 minutes long and was focused on 1 John 5:12.]

People are a lot like donuts. No really, just think about a donut for a minute. It looks good on the outside and they are delicious, but they have this large hole in the center.

The God Shaped Hole

Like a donut, we look good on the outside and on the inside have this hole in our hearts that needs to be filled. What is this hole though? This hole in our hearts is the fact that we do everything we can to look good on social media, fit in at school, find friendships, and whatever else it takes to feel like we belong somewhere. These are all nice things, but they are not why we are here.

We’re tired of being alone, feeling empty, and not knowing where we belong. King Solomon once said that “[God] has also set eternity in their heart” and this basically means that we were made for something greater than what the world has to offer. This is what a lot of people call the God shaped hole: feeling empty without some ultimate purpose in life from God.

Do Less, God Did The Rest

When God made everything, he made Adam and Eve. They were the first humans, for the purpose of having a relationship with them. God gave them the options to either accept or reject him and they rejected him which brought sin into the world. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, we have had this emptiness and no real idea of where we belong. Since then, we have been trying everything besides turning to God to fill the God shaped hole.

This problem is a lot like a kite in the sky. A kite only flies when there is tension in the string. If the kite’s string is cut, it falls to the ground. But if the kite has tension, then the kite can soar as high as the kite flyer wants it to go. By trying to fill this void with everything else except God, we end up empty-handed and not feeling whole like a kite that cuts its own string.

His Sacrifice Secures Our Eternal Life

1 John 5:12 says that “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” A normal donut might be empty, but a cream-filled donut is full! In God, we can be full of life too by being in a healthy relationship with him.

Remember that God made everything good. We made everything bad by rejecting Him. We accepted everything the world had to offer, yet denied what Jesus offers us. But Jesus has made and will make everything better. Now we need to turn away from all that stuff we thought would give us life and trust in God with our life.

We have gotten so busy trying to live without God that we have forgotten that we need God, in order to truly live. We just need to accept where we have failed and embrace what God has given us. That being a family to belong to and a purpose to our life.

It’s not my favorite sermon I’ve preached, but the students seemed to enjoy it. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

  1. Free stock photos · Pexels