Sermons by John Hanneman

Sermons by John Hanneman

Blessings

(Ephesians 1:3-14) The Bible is full of blessings – blessings expressed towards God and God’s blessings expressed towards his people. In the Old Testament God’s blessings revolved around divine presence, prosperity, health, fruitfulness, and long life. However, when we come to the New Testament, blessings shift from tangible things to being “in Christ.” How do you think of blessing? What are your expectations, hopes, and dreams for blessing? This Sunday we will explore the idea of blessing from Paul’s opening sentence in his letter to the Ephesians.

Yearnings

(Psalm 63) Imagine yourself living in Israel before Jesus, longing and waiting for the long-anticipated Messiah that God had promised to his people. Even though you did not know his name there were many other names you might have used to pray for his coming. Advent and Christmas remind us once again that God has come in the flesh. And yet we continue to pray “Come, Lord Jesus” because we have a deep yearning for the divine, a deep longing for Jesus to come today and in the future. This Sunday we are going to reflect and pray these yearnings for God by using the names for Jesus we find in the Old Testament, names that were used in some early Advent prayers called the O Antiphons.

Through Artist Eyes

Jeremiah 18:1-12 ESV During the days of Jeremiah the prophet, God’s people had turned away from the Lord. Their gaze had fallen on worthless idols, forsaking living water for broken cisterns that could hold no water. And yet God kept reaching out, urging his people to return to him. On several occasions God used visible illustrations to get his people’s attention. One such illustration was the potter and the clay. This week we will reflect on what Jeremiah saw when one day God told him to go down to the potter’s house.

Temple of Doom or Glory?

Ephesians 2:13-22 Despite the challenges that the church has faced over the centuries, it has survived since its inception on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all those who became followers of Jesus. Today there are many challenges that face churches and church leaders. Even though people still seek a spiritual life, they are becoming disillusioned with the church and organized religion. So how can the church overcome these difficulties and continue to be what God intended?

Ring Out, Ring In

Isaiah 43:18-19 Advent is a season of God doing new things. Jesus came, Jesus will come, and also Jesus comes to us in the present bring new life. As we enter into a new year we can reflect/pray to be aware of the new things that God might do.

Jeremiah: The Prophet and His Message

Jeremiah is not a book we usually turn to for our Bible reading even though one of the verses we quote and hear quoted often is Jer. 29.11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” However, not only is Jeremiah filled with beautiful verse and amazing metaphors, but there is also much that we can learn from Jeremiah’s painful life and his hard message to the people of Judah. We will explore these two themes on Sunday.

Seeing Through

In Roman mythology Janus is the god of “beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings.” (Wikipedia) He is imaged as having two faces, one face looking to the past and one to the future. The ending of 2020 and the beginning of a new year provides an excellent time to pause and reflect, not only looking back and forward, but also looking within and around. Hopefully this Sunday will provide a space to do just that. Since God is in everything, we will pray for the vision to see through the events of our lives and find the God that is with us personally and who loves us beyond what we can imagine. I look forward to “seeing” you all!! John

Does Community Matter?

As humans, we long for community, a place of belonging and connectedness. However, these longings are being eroded by a culture that does not make time or create space for deeper relationships. Instead of togetherness there is an increasing sense of isolation and loneliness. The influences of the culture seep into the church. Authentic spiritual community is more difficult to find. Our souls suffer and God’s presence in the world is diminished. This Sunday we conclude the summer series by exploring the question, Does Community Matter?

Christ and New Creation

Col 1:15-20 Your desire for God and your capacity to connect with God as a human soul is the essence of who you are. And the place where that desire is met is in a person who makes visible and tangible the invisible and intangible God. God becomes human flesh in Jesus. “The Incarnation brings the world (God’s) presence. It is a presence so complete that it overshadows every presence before it.” (Carlos Caretto). If God isn’t like Jesus, he ought to be.

Devoted to the Word

2 Tim 3:14 – 4:4 “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deut 8:3 ESV) Do you realize that there is something more important to our lives than food? The Word of God is our daily bread that nourishes our soul. Through the Scriptures we feed on God’s revealed truths that are indispensable for spiritual life and growth. As we continue our four-week series on key family values this week we turn our attention to the importance of God’s Word and how that shapes who we are at Peninsula Bible Church.

True Freedom: Free to Care

Gal 6:1-10 A freedom that asserts independence and self-sufficiency is not freedom at all. Rather it results in a life turned inward on self that becomes empty. Christ has set us free from a self-focused life (law) to a sacrificial life of loving service towards others (grace). The ability to care for others through the work of the Spirit is the highest form of freedom, to which we have been called (#free2live). As we conclude our studies in Galatians this week, we will examine what love looks like in action, especially in the community of faith.