Sermon Series: Outcasts
Outside the system — excluded, unwanted, and marginalized. People have always found reasons to exclude others and outcast them. The Bible is full of people who our LORD calls and uses to further His Kingdom, whom we might call outcasts. In this three-part sermon series, we will explore how God has not only welcomed the marginalized but also used them in pivotal roles. The lost, lapsed and lonely are loved by God and worthy of center stage.
November 8 • Cast Out for Faith
Daniel 3:16–28; Matthew 10:28–33
We take it for granted that we can practice our faith openly. That has not always been the case. 2,500 years ago, a trio of Jewish brothers stood their ground and would not compromise their faith. In a world where everyone does as the king says, to deny his edict is to invite certain disaster. Unwilling to compromise, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego became outcasts. Their faith was used against them as the powers of their world did their worst. Their unwillingness to fall down and compromise leads us from literal death in the heat of the furnace to metaphorical death from the ire of the culture. Will we allow ourselves to compromise for ease of social order or accept the role of outcast?
November 15 • Cast Out for the Holy Spirit
Mark 7:25–30; Romans 11:17–21
Biblically speaking, the quickest way to find who the outcast is, is to look for the “-ite” at the end of the name. The Syrophonician woman was a Canaanite, a gentile, and even rejected by Jesus himself! In their exchange, Jesus implied that she was a dog, unfit to be a part of what He was doing. But... did she win an argument? Did Jesus change his mind? The woman who once wasn’t valid enough to even eat the proverbial table scrapes is soon lauded by Jesus. An outcast and blessed, her faith persisted and the Holy Spirit still works to graft on those whom we wouldn’t expect.
November 22 • Cast Out for the Saints
Mark 5:1–34
God uses even the most unlikely people to expose the depth and breadth of His love. Those whom we would consider “too far gone” or “repugnant” are the very ones Jesus uses to show us the epitome of Christ's life. With the Demonic of Gerasenes and the Hemorrhaging Woman, we find the archetypal examples of Christian life. Jesus engages with these two outcasts in a way that only He could. With love and compassion, He sees to their very souls and unleashes the being God has made them be. Jesus renews them, not into different beings; but rather, restores them, as an example that God never makes a mistake.
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Advent Sermon Series: Ready or Not…
The word “advent” literally mean the coming, particularly of an event or a person of note. During this season of Advent, we will look at several Old Testament prophecies announcing the arrival of the Messiah and how they came to pass in the New Testament to a world that found itself unprepared. Nevertheless, ready or not, here Jesus comes!
November 29 • Stir Up Your Power, O Lord, and Come
Daniel 7:9–15; Mark 13:1–31
For the one who is ready and prepared, the return of Jesus is not as much of a concern than those who find themselves unprepared. For the unprepared, images of the return of Jesus can be frightening and confusing. Which are you? Either way, doesn’t matter. Ready or not...
December 6 • A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Isaiah 40:1–5; Matthew 3:1–12
Isaiah prophesized of one who would cry in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Six hundred years later, John the Baptist would take that mantle and warn people of the one who is to come. But even John was surprised. This Jesus was not what he expected. Didn’t matter, though. Ready or not...
December 13 • A Virgin Shall Conceive
Isaiah 7:10–17; Matthew 1:18–25
Isaiah spoke of a virgin conceiving a child, but was it a messianic prophecy? What he meant, what the people heard and how God used it were three separate things. Nobody could imagine how this would come to pass, least of all Joseph. Didn’t matter, though. Ready or not...
December 20 • Stump of Jesse
Isaiah 11:1–5; Matthew 1
One thing that everyone agreed upon was that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David. However, after 1000 years and many branches to that family tree, no one suspected one from such humble origins of questionable birth. Didn’t matter, though. Ready or not...
