All the Sermons

Luke 19:45-46 What is a house of prayer, really? Do we too easily assume that it is any place where people worship God? Can it be a house of prayer if there is no prayer in it? Can it be a house of prayer if there is just a little prayer in it? The Pharisees thought they were doing a pretty good job of worshipping God in the Jewish Temple, but Jesus said, no. “You have made it a den of robbers.” The difficulty is their blindness. They didn’t see a problem with the money changers making it easier for the travelers to worship. They thought they were obeying! They were not just talking about faith. They were trying to live it out, religiously! They were diligent in attending to worship and sacrifices and religious commandments. But somehow, they weren’t praying, or, the prayers they did offer, weren’t prayerful! Religious people have a much harder time understanding the change of heart that has to happen inside to be right with God. Sinners have it easier. They never used to pray.

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13 When you hear a story like that. It almost makes me think that maybe the disciples invented the phrase that goes: “Wait! What?” Did Jesus just tell us to cheat on our taxes or something? No, wait, that can’t be what he meant! What is he talking about? And you have to remember, some of his disciples used to be tax collectors! Guys like Zacchaeus, tax collectors, who knew how to pad the bill and make sure they got a hefty commission. I’m sure sometimes those tax collectors cheated the Romans just as much as they cheated their own countrymen and got even richer for it. Then sometimes the Romans caught on and that was the end of their job!   Is that what Jesus was talking about? But when we get to the end of the passage we realize that Jesus is talking about the difference between life here and life hereafter, and how life here can help you prepare for life hereafter. We need to learn three things from this text. 1. We are all shrewd managers who waste our

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20 Listen Link:  https://www.lcepc.org/sermons I want to start by sharing a bit about the significance of where they were when this conversation took place. It was the winter before His crucifixion. There would only be a few more months for Jesus to finish training his disciples. Jesus brought them to Caesarea Philippi. There he asked them to say what they knew about who he really is. He was giving them a pop quiz. What had they been learning? And he affirmed Peter’s answer that He was indeed the Messiah of the Jews, and as we know, the Savior of the world. The city of Caesarea Philippi was situated way in the north of Israel, near their northern border, about 30 miles past the Sea of Galilee on a terrace at the foot of Mount Hermon on its southern slope. The area had an unusually beautiful setting, it was very lush and full of life and it has always been one of the main sources of the Jordan River, or perhaps the chief source, according to an ancient h

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13 This week we read a lot about Jesus’ teachings and some of his miracles. Of particular note among his miracles is that Jesus was not just displaying power. He was moved by compassion! His loving heart prompted him to do everything he did, right up to and including his death on the cross. But we haven’t read about that yet. So today I want to focus on Jesus’ teachings, his power, and his compassion. But how could I pick one text out of all this week’s readings that might bind them together? I believe I found it in the Lord’s Prayer, or rather since it is the prayer that he taught us to pray, I like to call it the Christians’ prayer. The first line speaks of his power. “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” His power is contained and controlled by his authority. He is God and he has the right to rule us. He also has the mighty power to do so, but in his compassion

Scripture: John 3:22-36 Listen Link:  https://www.lcepc.org/sermons You may be wondering why we’re singing Christmas carols today. But if you’ve been following along in the daily readings in the Chronological Bible to read the whole Bible in one year, you know that we just started the gospels last week. So, it is appropriate to celebrate Christmas because we just read the birth stories and the Advent stories. Part of the Advent of Jesus is the forerunner who was the voice of one crying in the wilderness. So, for our message today, I’d like you to employ your sanctified imaginations and let me pretend to be speaking as John the Baptist. Especially because I was not able to find a camel hair shirt or wide leather belt. Ok. Here we go. Hello, my name is John. John, the Baptist, sorry, not John the Presbyterian. But I’m not just a Baptist either. There are a lot of Baptists around today, but I’m not one of them. I’m also not just the first of all the Baptists in the Baptist churche