Exodus 34:29-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36
May the light of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be visible to the world through your life; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you ...
Exodus 34:29-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, as we gather for worship we invite you to come down and meet with us. The desires, distractions, thoughts and temptations that plague us are already known to you and...
John 5:39-40, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Corinthians 1:27, Mark 9:14-29, Acts 17:27, Luke 8:9-14
The famous entertainer W. C. Fields, known for his humor, love of drink, and agnosticism, found himself bedridden in his final illness. When a longtime friend visited and noticed Fields reading the Bi...
John's Only Question While Peter sucks up all the oxygen in the room with loads of questions, John only gets one direct question to Jesus recorded in the Gospels. In the passage immediately pre...
Sisters and brothers, we leave here today and go into a world full of people who were not with us today but who are loved by Christ. May they see look at us and see that there is salt, there is peace,...
Mark 9:42-47, Matthew 18:1-10, Luke 17:1-4, Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37-42, 1 John 1:8-10, Jeremiah 1:5
Sisters and brothers, Jesus calls us to be honest about our sin. But he also offers us unfathomable forgiveness and grace. He knew you before you were born, and chose to love you. In Jesus’ name, you ...
Mark 9:42-47, Matthew 18:1-10, Luke 17:1-4, Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37-42
Holy God, we confess that we are quick to look through the window and slow to look in the mirror. We confess that we can see how others stumble, but we do not see how we contributed to their stumble. ...
As a pastor, I have received my fair share of letters and missives criticizing my words or actions. Some have been anonymous, others put their name on it. When the criticism felt unfair or angered me,...
Mark 9:30-37, Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 18:2-6, Luke 18:15-17, Matthew 18:1-5, Matthew 19:13-15, Matthew 18:10
Just this morning, my family attended church with our son who has autism. He was particularly enthused by the music today, and he was moving around quite a bit. A man in the choir noticed our son, and...
Mark 9:35, Matthew 23:11, Matthew 23:11, Matthew 10:24, Luke 16:13
Following always involves a coming down, a humbling of oneself and a serving of others. Jonathan Edwards, the Puritan theologian, captured this condescension of God in his sermon "The Excellency ...
Matthew 23:11, Mark 9:35, Luke 17:33, 2 Corinthians 6:10, James 1:2
Paradox...comes from two ancient Greek words, para meaning “beyond” and doxa meaning “opinion.” Literally, it means “beyond opinion,” but it originally conveyed the sense of “being beyond the pale of ...
James 5:13-20, Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22, Mark 9:38-50, Psalm 124:, Matthew 5:13, Luke 14:34
John's Only Question While Peter sucks up all the oxygen in the room with loads of questions, John only gets one direct question to Jesus recorded in the Gospels. In the passage immediately pre...
Leader: Let us confess our sins against God and each other. A time of silent confession is allowed. All: Most merciful Father, who revealed your Son in glory on the mountain and in your own words...
Leader: Heavenly Father, you revealed Jesus on the mountain, transfigured in dazzling brightness, so that we would know him for your Son and our Christ. Help us to persevere in faith so that we may be...
Mark 6:51-52, Mark 8:16-18, Mark 9:5-6, John 16:17-19, Luke 18:34, Matthew 8:27, Matthew 15:15-16, John 13:22, John 20:9, John 12:16
Holy God, we confess that we laugh at how confused the disciples were when Jesus tried to teach them. And we confess that we are hiding our own confusion behind that laughter. We confess that we often...
When Jesus caught his disciples arguing about who among them was the greatest, they felt embarrassed—but Jesus didn’t rebuke them for wanting to be great. He simply gave them an unexpected formula: Be...
Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-3, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the gospel falls away as heav...
Luke 9:28-36, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Exodus 34:29-35, Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a), Psalm 99:, Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Revelation 1:12-16, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
Preaching Commentary The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the go...
Acts 7:55-60, Luke 9:22, Luke 12:8, Acts 2:34, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 23:34, Acts 8:1, Acts 9:1, Mark 9:40, Romans 5:6-11
Preaching Angle: Jesus’ Crucifixion, Stephen’s Martyrdom When Stephen saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,” the surrounding crowd of God’s people should have begged him to explain ...
Acts 7:55-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10, Acts 7:55-60, John 14:1-14, Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16, Luke 9:22, Luke 12:8, Acts 2:34, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 23:34, Acts 8:1, Acts 9:1, Mark 9:40, Romans 5:6-11
Preaching Commentary Preaching Angle: Jesus’ Crucifixion, Stephen’s Martyrdom When Stephen saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,” the surrounding crowd of God’s people should have...
There they are on top of a mountain praying with Jesus. Mount Tabor in lower Galilee? Mount Hermon in the far north of Israel near Syria? Some other mount? No one knows. Suddenly, Jesus is transfigur...
Philippians 2:3, Luke 14:11, Ephesians 4:2, Mark 9:35, James 4:10
What he was attempting to instill in his disciples was the attitude of a servant: humility and a willingness to put others ahead of oneself. In that culture, washing the feet of others would symbolize...