Sermons from April 2018
Are We Finally There!?
Josh 8:30-35 “Are we finally there!?”
This is often the question that follows the “Are we there yet?” question in most long family car rides. While the Israelites and Joshua have come a long way, they still aren’t ‘there’ when it comes to fully inheriting the Promised Land. This Sunday, our final Sunday in the Joshua series for 2018, we will see Joshua lead the people in a covenantal renewal ceremony of sorts, before they continue the conquest of the land. We, like the Israelites, are in daily need of renewal. The good news is, we have good news!! In Jesus and the omnipresent Spirit, we have all we need at our disposal to be daily renewed and to arrive ‘there,’ living in the Presence of our King!
Ai… Take Two!
Josh 8:1-29 After the miraculous victory at Jericho in Joshua 6 came the devastating defeat at Ai in chapter 7. The sin of Achan was dealt with, but as chapter 8 begins, Ai is still standing in the way of the conquest of the land. There’s no way around it. How do the people of Israel rebound after the defeat? Failing to obey the Lord will lead us to defeats similar to Israel’s. How do we face up to the same spiritual enemy a second time when we totally blew it the first time around?
Dealing with the High Cost of Sinning
Josh 7 As we resume our studies in Joshua, the people of Israel are ready to move forward after the miraculous victory God had given them at Jericho. The next stronghold, Ai, doesn’t appear to amount to much, after all, what’s so remarkable about a place whose name means “ruin”? Israel doesn’t simply lose the battle, they are routed, all on account of one man’s sin and his bet that he could somehow prevent his actions from ever seeing the light of day. Together we’ll discover from the story of Achan what’s involved in dealing with the high cost of sinning.
Easter: The Dance of the Resurrection
1 Cor 15:20-28
He has risen! The man who was dead and buried on Friday, was alive on Sunday morning. He is the living one! And because he is the living one, life wins! God wins! The good news of Easter is that God wins, but, also, that those who are in Christ will win too! That’s what Paul is trying to get across in his resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. We will soak in verses 20-28 this Sunday, but I encourage you to read the entire chapter in preparation.