Sermon:           “Who Am I Supposed to Become?”     4th Sunday of Lent

Theme:            In seeking healing we seek God’s work to give more than freedom from illness, but a gift of wholeness, meaning, and fulfillment of God’s purpose as Christ’s people.

Purpose:          The congregation will examine themselves and seek to know their gifts and abilities for serving Christ as a way of moving beyond focus on illness.

Scriptures:       Psalm 130       I wait for the Lord, through whom comes hope for healing and wholeness.

Mark 2:1-12    Jesus heals the paralytic by forgiving his sins; so that God may be glorified.

Questions:

What gives our lives real meaning? What does it mean to us that our purpose is to “Glorify God and to enjoy relationship with Him?”  How do we work towards our healing and wholeness? In what ways is the process of being healed a spiritual journey? How do we handle times when illness causes us to feel “at war” with our bodies? How do we understand the relationship between our spiritual needs and our physical needs? What does sin have to do with illness?

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Sermon:           “Do You Want to Be Healed?”

Theme:            We need to seek to be as God created us to be, and to live in the fullness of God’s purpose rather than to seek to be what others may want to expect.

Purpose:          The people will understand the importance of opening themselves to God’s direction as they seek healing for themselves and others.

Scriptures:       2 Corinthians 12:7b-10           Paul’s thorn in the flesh, when I am weak, then I am strong.

John 5:2-9a      Jesus heals the man by the pool of Bethesda.

Questions:

Are we open to being healed? Are there reasons that we hold onto the patterns and ways of living that keep us from growing or being transformed in our lives? What role that forgiveness, acceptance, and submission to the will of God play in the healing process? What does unforgiveness, bitterness, hostility, and stubbornness do to our minds, bodies, and spirits?  How do we learn to chose healing over our own sense of control or comfort? What role does the process of healing play in growth to becoming people who are able to serve God? In what ways do our scars become a source of wisdom and strength?

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Sermon:           “A Prayer To Be Made Whole!”

Theme:            Healing is to be given wholeness and balance that enables us to live in the fullness of what God intends.

Purpose:          The congregation will recognize that healing is about fulfillment and being made complete as God created us to be.

Scriptures:       James 5:13-16 The prayers of the elders heal the sick, confession is a part of healing.

Matthew 9:18-26        The woman touched his garment, and Jesus said: Your faith has made you whole.

Questions:

What does it mean to be “whole?” How does this correspond to “Holiness” as understood in the scriptures? How do we feel about ourselves? Do we have areas of our lives and relationships that are not right? Are there things that we would like to submit to God’s care and allow them to be changed? What is our level of faith for God to do a transforming work? What practices and changes do we need to consider in order to be open to healing? Are we healed because of our own capabilities in praying or is healing something that God gives us freely through faith?  How do we begin to open ourselves to experiencing healing?

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Sermon:           “By Scripture Alone”

Theme:            We are nurtured, instructed, and inspired by God’s Word, especially as we preserve the diversity of our fellowship and understanding of the text.

Purpose :          The congregation will understand that various understandings of scripture enable us to know God more fully together.

Scriptures:       2 Timothy 3:10-17       All Scripture is able to instruct and guide.

John 14:25-31  The advocate will instruct and will guide you.

Who is a part of the church?

Questions:

How do we affirm the authority of scripture in our lives? Do we tend to read the bible? What difference does it make to us when people quote scripture? How do we relate to a time when many have ceased to see scripture as having authority? How do we deal with differences of opinion about what scripture means? What can we do to create a strong and healthy understanding of scripture for us today? How do we affirm what unites us while maintaining our own unique perspectives and beliefs?

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Sermon:           The Priesthood of All Believers

Theme:            We are all called to share of what God has given us of the knowledge of God, and we are all called to serve God using our gifts and abilities.

Purpose:          The congregation will understand that we are all ministers in the service of Jesus Christ.

Scriptures:       1 Peter 2:1-10 You are a royal priesthood – built of the same stones and temple.

John 15:1-17    I am the true vine, you are the branches; you must love one another.

Questions:

What do we mean by a “Priesthood of all believers?” What difference does that make in terms of how we accomplish Christ’s ministry in the church? How do we fulfill our priesthood?  What role does maturity and growth in the knowledge of Christ play in our ability to fulfill our purpose as those who serve Christ? What does it mean for us when we take our membership vow to “Promise to give of ourselves in every way?” What happens our faith and ability be in healthy relationships if we cease to see ourselves as one among many doing Christ ministry? In what ways do we see ourselves as privileged with the ability to serve rather than obligated?

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Sermon:           “Change is the Only Constant”

Theme:            We are always in process, and accept our partial understanding and growth as a part of our relationship with Christ.

Purpose:          The congregation will understand and accept we are in a constant process of growing and change.

Scriptures:       Romans 12:1-5            Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Matthew 11:25-30      Wisdom comes from God, Jesus invites us to take his yoke and his burden.

Questions:

What do we mean that we are reformed and reforming? What happens when faith does not have room to change and to adapt to the changes in the world around us? How do we know when to remain firm and when to be open to changes? How do we handle when some have let go of beliefs and perspectives that we still hold firmly? How does a strong relationship with Christ enable us to know when to be open to change? How does a weak relationship with Christ cause us to become stubborn and unwilling to recognize the changes happening around us?

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Sermon:           “What We Believe”     Theme Our faith calls us to unity and diversity, which is what makes us unique in that we are one body with many different ways of seeing what God is doing.

Purpose:          To affirm that we are diverse but brought together by the common love of Christ.

Scriptures:       John 13:31-34  I give you this commandment, that you love one another.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 I handed down to you what I in turn had received.

Questions:

Where do our beliefs about God come from? What are the authorities that we trust in order to believe? How do we handle other people holding beliefs that are different from ours? How can we be strong enough in our faith that we can allow others to see and believe differently from ourselves? Why do some attack other people’s beliefs while we are able to be respectful and open to different points of view?  How do we respond to those who are unwilling to be respectful and open to others?

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Sermon:           “We Trust in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior”

Theme:            We are defined by our relationship with Jesus as our guide and the one who provides us for all our needs.

Purpose:          The congregation will focus on our relationship with Christ as our primary guide and direction.

Scriptures:       Isaiah 43:1-7   The Lord God will be with us when we pass through trials and will provide for our needs.

Mark 9:14-29  The disciples were unable to do anything for the man’s son, and needed to be in prayer in order to have ability.

Questions:

What difference does it make that we trust in Jesus Christ? Do we trust more in money, influence, insurance policies, and power than we trust in Jesus Christ? Is Jesus Christ truly our Lord, the authority for the decisions we make individually and as a church? Or do we tend to trust in things we can control? In what ways are we practicing our faith so as to be in submission to Christ Jesus? In what ways do we need to change so that we can truly identify that we are serving Christ rather than our own egos or carrying out traditions?  In what ways are we like the disciples, needing to work more at prayer, fasting, and focusing on Christ in order to be effective in our work as a church?

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Sermon:           “The Word Became Flesh”

Theme:            Christ’s presence is a real experience of God’s loving power in a form that we can experience and we can be renewed through a living, fleshly presence of God.

Purpose:          The congregation will seek to become more engaged in Christ’s presence in their lives.

Scriptures:       Jeremiah 31:7-14        God promises to bring healing, peace, and consolation to all of the people.

John 1:1-18      The Word became flesh, and the experiences we have of God are through Word become flesh in our midst.

Questions:

What difference does Christmas make to us now that the presents have been unwrapped and the New Year has come? How do we experience God’s presence in our lives? What can we do to experience God more fully? What difference does it make that Jesus was born two thousand years ago? Are experiences of depression, sadness, anxiety, and fear a lack of faith? How do we come to know Christ as the “Word become flesh?”  What is our role in helping others to know and experience the presence of Christ as living human care?

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