SERMON 3.25.18 – The Prayer of Jesus & the V-Shaped Life This is an example of the kinds of sermons I’m preaching these days. They are thick, juicy but too long! There’s at least 3 different sermons packed into this one. Don’t tell my congregants, but I really am setting a goal to shorten them … More SERMON: The V-Shaped Life
I took a chance and did something new this Easter with my sermon. I wanted our church to hear what I think an Easter sermon and gospel message would have sounded like in the first century church. So, we heard an Easter sermon from the Apostle Paul as I preached (or dramatically read) the first … More Paul’s Easter Sermon from Prison
I have enjoyed reading through many of Menno Simon’s writings this week. A great website has made them available to us at http://www.mennosimons.net. Here’s an excerpt from a letter called “A Kind Admonition” that spotlight’s a key focus of Menno’s teachings: the new birth that results in a new life shaped by the example of … More “A Kind Admonition” by Menno Simons
We are celebrating “Luther Week” at MainStreet as we honor the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. We watched the 2003 Luther movie on Wednesday night, and we will be discussing the movie and Reformation this Wednesday night at Three Taverns. This Sunday I also spent time introducing this truly one-of-a-kind flawed heroes of the faith. … More Preaching Luther
I remember it was early spring and unseasonably warm. It was just after Passover. I can still smell the warm, salted breeze coming off the Aegean sea, and hear the squalk of seagulls circling above. We stood on the hill overlooking the harbor and waited for the ship to appear on the horizon. The ship … More The Lucky Tale of Eutychus
I want you to imagine two scenes. First, picture a peaceful tropical beach resort, yourself lying in a hammock with a cold drink and good book. Can you hear the seagulls squawking as the sounds of the surf provide a relaxing soundtrack? Feel the sun warming your neck, and the gentle breeze keeping you cool? Peace … More SERMON: Navigating Life’s Storms
Christmas Eve is a great opportunity for churches to share the good news of the gospel with many unbelievers — sometimes hearing it for the first time. Pastors should give a clear invitation to respond in faith to the message of the gospel. I plan to do this. I can’t wait to do this! But there … More Relax Pastor, God Saves!
Here’s a parable I wrote for a wedding homily. -JB Once there was a newly wed couple who only weeks after their wedding day inherited their grandfather’s beautiful old house in the country. Overflowing joy filled the old house on the day they moved in to begin their new life together. To their great surprise, … More Wedding Parable of the Grandfather Clock
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as … More QUOTABLES: No Ordinary People (C.S. Lewis)
Jesus is the fullest revelation of God’s character. “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father,” Jesus said. God looks like Jesus. If you want to know the character of God, look at Jesus. I reread Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, recently. I simply read paragraph after paragraph, … More An Angry God?
Here’s the notes from a message I gave to a youth group awhile back. Always a timely and tough topic. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images… … More American Idols (Rom 1:22-25)
The Internet Monk had an article on the Role of the Sermon in Evangelical Worship. I have been doing a lot of thinking and having a lot of conversations about Bible teaching and sermon crafting. The role of the sermon in evangelical church life can hardly be overstated. What other human institution or organization banks everything … More The iMonk on the Role of the Sermon
What did Jesus mean when he told his fellow Jews to “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s”? Greg Boyd brings another strong critique of American tendencies toward a nationalized version of Christianity. In a recent sermon entitled “Handing Jesus Over to Caesar” Boyd argues that Jesus’ answer “undermined … More Boyd Waxes Bold on Jesus & Politics (Again)
Jeremy L. Berg 