Acts 14:8–18

St. Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra (Detail), by Karel Dujardin (1663)

As Christians, we’re taught to listen for God’s guidance in our lives. Through the sacrifice of Jesus’s life, we have a relationship with our creator, and from Genesis to Revelation – from Abraham to the Apostle John – the Bible provides myriad stories in which God spoke to His people. Sometimes He speaks directly in a clear voice, and other times He speaks to us through other people.

But what happens when we can’t seem to hear God’s voice? Or worse yet, when we find out the voice we’ve been listening to is actually not God’s voice at all?

This passage in Acts tells of a time when Paul healed a cripple in Lystra, which was part of Greece but is now in modern-day Turkey. The Apostles had come to spread the Gospel of Jesus, to speak with a truth so powerful, it would literally change their lives forever.

The people responded by turning toward their Greek gods despite the Apostles’ earnest and desperate attempts to turn their hearts toward their true Creator.

Even when presented with such direct contact with the Word of God, how could the people of Lystra have gotten it so wrong?

This Sunday, Pastor Vernon will use the story of Paul and the people of Lystra to help us understand what’s needed in order to clearly know God’s will for our lives. Won’t you join us?

Acts 6:1-7

St Stephen is Consecrated Deacon (Detail), by Vittore Carpaccio (1511)

Have you ever felt called to minister? Perhaps the call was to do something to help a friend, a neighbor or even … [gulp] … witness to a stranger?

Ever felt as though you ignored the call because you were too afraid?

As Christians, we’re all called to minister, but sometimes we let fear stand in the way. This passage in Acts tells us about seven of the early church’s deacons and how they responded to the call. To be sure, obedience has its risks, but when you’re called by God himself, what do you have to fear?

Take a moment to contemplate that question, and then please join us this Sunday as Pastor Vernon leads us through the teaching.

Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Christ Healing the Blind Man (Detail), by Eustache Le Sueur (1652-55)

It’s the first Sunday of Advent,and we light the first Advent candle, called the Prophecy candle. It reminds us that the prophets throughout the Old Testament told of the coming Christ and Messiah, who would save them from their sin and suffering.

To all who lived in darkness, a new light is coming.

To all who are asleep, a new day is dawning.

We can imagine what it must have been like to hunger for God’s coming – to hunger for God’s presence in everyday life.

When we pray, we hope to see that very thing – God’s presence amidst all the suffering and sorrow we witness in our day-to-day living. We wonder:

Does God hear our prayers?

Does God care?

And does Jesus still heal the sick?

The answer to all these questions, of course, is “Yes!”

And Pastor Vernon will lead us into a deeper appreciation of why that is so.

See you Sunday!

Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:37-38

Christ the Saviour, by Jerónimo de Bobadilla (Early 16th Century)

“Don’t you fear God?” (Luke 23:40)

A simple question with a perhaps not-so-simple answer.

This Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. This is the last Sunday of the church year and the last sermon based on “Great Questions.”

The following Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent and a new church year begins. The scripture texts that we are dealing with are two texts that describe the powerful and profound reign of Jesus Christ. There is no question for the Christian that Jesus is the King of Kings, the author of creation, the salvation of the world.

But do our lives give witness to Jesus the King? Does Jesus Reign, or What?

See you Sunday!

Matthew 5:13-20

Philosopher and Pupils (Detail), by Willem van der Vliet (1626)

Many people live their lives in search of fulfillment. We get bigger houses, better paying jobs. and different friends, all in search of fulfillment. Most people find that searching for fulfillment in this way is ultimately not fulfilling at all. Once the excitement of new stuff fades away, we are still stuck with ourselves and the imperfections of our lives. The encouragement of Sunday’s text is for us to recognize that true fulfillment can only be found in being filled with God.

There is a wonderful story about a young girl who was asked by her teacher in school, “If your town was going to be destroyed by a flood and you had to leave immediately, which one item in your house would you take with you?” The girl pondered for a moment and then responded, “My Bible.” The teacher, looking rather befuddled, asked why. The young girl responded, “Because without the Bible I have nothing.”

Ultimate fulfillment is found in the truth of God. Our quest as God’s children is to search for and live out that fulfillment. This Sunday we look at the question, Why Did God Put Me Here? May our time together encourage and invigorate our search for the heart of the one true God found in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

See you Sunday!

Luke 7:18-23

King David in Prayer (Detail), by Pieter de Grebber (1635-40)

What motivates you to pray? What gives you hope that your prayers will make a difference? For some, many prayers have been answered; some people even keep track of how many of their prayers are answered.

But what about those prayers that haven’t been answered – the friend that you’ve been praying for to stop degrading herself and to see her value as a child of God; the prayers that you’ve been saying for your dad that he might find a new job where he may serve God better and be happier; or for your nine-year-old cousin who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder?

When we pray those prayers and nothing happens, we wonder if prayer makes a difference.

The question we ask ourselves this Sunday is, “How do I pray when I’m not sure I believe it will make a difference’?” We will explore prayer and how it makes a difference in our lives and the lives of others. May you be open to hearing what God says to you and may you be motivated to continue coming to God in prayer.

See you Sunday!

Deuteronomy 6:4-9; II Thessalonians 3:6-13

Monotheism, the idea that there is only one God, has been at the heart of Jewish religious experience since the calling and blessing of Abraham. Monotheism distinguished the belief of the Israelites from other religious expressions of its time.

Holy Trinity (Detail), by Hendrick van Balen (1620s)

Hinduism, classified as the oldest world religion, contains many deities (gods), as did the other pagan cults in the days of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Religious expressions that uplift many deities are termed “polytheistic.”

Judaism, as expressed by the ancient Israelites, clearly wanted to distinguish itself from those religious expressions. We see the purposeful nature of this separation portrayed in the First Commandment given to Moses on Mt. Sinai:

I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other “gods” before me.

Christianity, too, is a monotheistic religion. Christians believe in “one faith, one Lord, one Baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Though most Christian churches recognize the “threefold” nature of God (Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier; or Father, Son and Holy Spirit), we believe they are three expressions of the one true God.

The image of water helps us understand this complicated issue. Water can take three forms: ice, liquid, and steam—but it is always water.

This Sunday, we are confronted with a world that is highly mobile and has had its boundaries redefined by telephones, televisions, computers, the Internet, satellites, etc. Through this mobility, and through these mediums, we have greater access to diverse religious expressions than we have ever had before.

This creates a great challenge and a great opportunity for Christians because invitations to explore other “gods” are readily accessible. The opportunity comes through a greater openness on the part of the American people to discuss and explore religious experience.

This Sunday, we will be asking an important question about God: “Is there only one?” It’s an important question because our response to it either connects us to the God of the Bible, the God of creation, the God of salvation…or it doesn’t. May this study ground you deeply in the one, true, eternal God who was and is and is to come.

See you this Sunday!

II Timothy 4:6-22

We’re taking a break from looking at Great Questions on the Bible. We’ll ask some more questions next week, but this Sunday we are going to go in a little different direction.

Winter Landscape (Detail), by Hendrick Avercamp (1605)

I don’t know what it is, but as soon as temperatures start to fall and I have to put on my leathers to ride in the morning as I did Saturday a week ago, our text from Paul’s second letter to Timothy comes to mind.

“Come before winter.”

That’s what Paul writes to Timothy. Paul is really wanting to see this friend of his. Paul feels that he is getting close to the end of his time on earth. He knows first hand that traveling by boat during the winter can be treacherous, so he tells Timothy to come to him before winter, or don’t come at all because he’s had a premonition that he won’t be around in the spring.

What Paul is talking about is the urgency of time.

There are some things that, if put off too long, will never get done. And there are some decisions, if put off too long, will never be made.

This Sunday as we look to Paul’s letter to a dear friend, we are reminded of the brevity of time and how important it is to not tarry.

See you this Sunday!

Ephesians 1:11-23

This Sunday we look at the question: Is There Life After Death?

The promise of God that we have inherited eternal life through Jesus is a promise that regularly comes under attack by non-believers. Those who do not believe see the promises of God as having no substance. But what they don’t understand is that Christianity has not been conjured up out of thin air. It has a history and a “His” story.

Holy Women at Christ' s Tomb (Detail), by Annibale Carracci (1590s)

In its history, the Christian church can look back through the ages and see the promises of God that have been fulfilled. In the “His”(Jesus’) story, the believer can look back and see the life of a man who was able to back up all he said and claimed to be with powerful displays of wisdom, healing and other miracles.

God’s promises are more than empty promises.

God’s intervention in the world has occurred time and time again. God has touched lives of individuals, and in a few cases, has brought spiritual revival to entire communities. Every time we honestly look into God’s activities of the past, we are projected into God’s hope for the future—a hope grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Is there life after death?

Yes, that is the promise of God—a promise that has been realized in God’s miracles of the past, in the resurrection of Jesus, and in the lives of the saints who have gone before us. The real blessing of that question comes when you recognize that life after death is both an immediate and an eternal experience (Romans 6:1-11, 20-23).

My friends, live with the promise of a Gracious God who has given us an inheritance through our Lord Jesus Christ. Find new life by confessing your sin and asking God for forgiveness. Find life eternally through your faith in Jesus Christ. For in his name, all things are possible and all things have life!

What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it! – John 1:4-5

Luke 18:1-18

God has given us so much, yet we often take things for granted and look inward. We often embrace things as our own and live for ourselves. Did you take all the credit for the plants in your backyard? Have you ever told someone that your garden was great because of all that you had done in it? We sometimes take credit for things that we do.

We should honor God for all that God has done.

King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes (Detail), by Karl Joseph Stieler (1826)

At one time or another, we have all lived for ourselves. Think about that. When have you lived just for yourself? Maybe it was when you were a teenager or maybe in college. Maybe as an adult you have put others—and God—aside and lived for yourself for a time.

Living for ourselves is an illusion.

We, as people desiring to walk with God, must realize we cannot simply choose to live for ourselves. There is an accountability factor in life. We are all accountable to God. As stewards, we are accountable to the truth presented in the Bible. As stewards, we are accountable to the justice God directs for this world. As stewards, we cannot live for ourselves and truly be people of God.

Our hearts and minds need to be open to God. God is faithfully committed to us. We need to embrace that and be persistent in our life. We need to be persistent in our prayers. Covering our entire lives in prayer helps us be accountable to the one that loves us beyond measure.

See you Sunday!