Posts with the category “sermon-devotional”

Sermon Title: I AM the True VineScripture: John 15:1-7 (NIV)“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. . . you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and...  Read More

Sermon Title: I AM the Way, the Truth, the LifeScripture: John 14:1-8 (NIV)“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You...  Read More

Sermon Title: I AM the Resurrection and the LifeScripture: John 11:1-44 (NIV)Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are Jesus’ friends. They live just two miles from Jerusalem in the small vi...  Read More

Sermon Title: I Am the Light of the WorldScripture: John 8:12-30 (NIV)Contributed by Nancy BuschartJesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12      The incarnation changed everything—instead of God “out there,” God himself came near. God the Son became one of us. He was called Immanuel—God with us (Mt 1:23). ...  Read More

Sermon Title: I Am the DoorScripture: John 10:1-9 (NIV)Contributed by Nancy Buschart So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and de...  Read More

Sermon Title: I Am the Bread of LifeScripture: John 6:25-59 (NIV)Contributed by Nancy Buschart “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  John 6:35      Today, let’s talk about Bread. Bread is everywhere in the scriptures. During the first Passover, Israel was told to baked unleavened bread in preparation of their escape f...  Read More

Sermon Title: I am the Good ShepherdScripture: John 10:1-18 (NIV)Contributed by Nancy Buschart“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.”—John 10:11, 14-15The language of “I AM” finds home throughout the first to the...  Read More

Sermon Title: A Life that MattersScripture: Psalm 37:1-11 (NIV)Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their way. Psalm 37:...  Read More

Sermon Title: Singing in the StormScripture: Psalm 34:1-10 (NIV)“I will extol the Lord at all times.” Psalm 34:1Confession: I am wary of extremes. By both temperament and beliefs, I tend to be uncomfortable with, even suspicious of, extremes. (Or at least what I consider to be “extremes.”) Rather, I am attracted to and generally pursue “moderation,” always wanting to be “careful” . . . including b...  Read More

Sermon Title: Thankful for ForgivenessScripture: Psalm 32 (NIV)Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Ps 32:1-2). When have you known yourself truly forgiven? The Psalmis...  Read More

Sermon Title: Thankful for SalvationScripture: Psalm 118:1-9 (NIV)Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.”Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.”  Psalm 118:1-4 Psalm 118 is a psalm of corporate praise and thanksgiving. It is also what I call a “testimony...  Read More

Sermon Title: Recognizing JesusScripture: Luke 24:13-36 (NIV)“. . . their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” Luke 24:31Where do we get our ideas about God? And when we encounter a potential window into who God is, a potential window into what God is like, how do we go about evaluating what we think we see? Do we hold firmly to and apply our own categories, our own ways of thinking, whatev...  Read More

╬   Lord, we praise you for how you create and sustain all things through the intricacies of time and space and through the complexities of our lives. Not a hair falls from our heads that you do not know about. We have so much to be thankful for. Please forgive us when we lose perspective. Put your praise on our lips and in our hearts. Help us today to be a concrete reason that someone else praise...  Read More

Sermon Title: Finding Enduring SafetyScripture: 1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV)Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3Life. It is our most precious gift from God. I do not say “our most precious possession” for it is a gift which is, ultimately, not in our hands b...  Read More

Sermon Title: Finding Enduring PeaceScripture: Zechariah 9:9-12 (NIV)“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you.He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”Zechariah 9:9 NLTAs we conclude our Lenten journey, on this Palm Sunday we enter Holy Week and prepare our hearts for the devastating...  Read More

Sermon Title: A Kinsman RedeemerScripture: The Book of Ruth (NIV). . . Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:14. . . the LORD enabled [Ruth] to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Ruth 4:13By the time one finishes reading Judges one has been confronted with a sometimes horrifyingly realistic description of the depravity and evil of which human beings are capable ...  Read More

Sermon Title: Leading from Grace AloneScripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” Ephesians 2:4-5      Love. Mercy. Grace.These three form the basis for understanding God’s movement toward us throughout salvation history. The first ten verses...  Read More

Sermon Title: Life without a KingScripture: Judges 19-21 (NIV) In those days Israel had no king . . .. In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. Judges 19:1; 21:25Judges 19 through 21 speak loudly. In a painfully unpleasant text not easily ignored, three themes in the life of Israel stand out. Israel’s corruption is deeply and widely embedded throughout the who...  Read More

Sermon Title: Counterfeit GodsScripture: Judges 17-18 (NIV)In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. Judges 17:6In recent weeks we have seen external threats to Israel’s security and the leaders God raised up to rescue them. In Judges 17 and 18 the focus shifts to the internal state of the nation and the religious and moral decay that was weakening it from within. This week w...  Read More

Sermon Title: Fallen Hero – SamsonScripture: Judges 13-16 (NIV) “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Judges 16:28In today’s text, we consider the colorful life of Samson, another of Israel’s judges. Samson was born to Manoah, a man from the tribe of the Danites, during a period of Philisti...  Read More