Category: Sermon Preview

What’s the Most Important Spiritual Gift?

1426291_47484317On Sunday that’s what we are talking about – the most important spiritual gift there is. In fact, I think the case is pretty easily made that this one gift is the gift that has transformed the world. I think both Biblically and historically the case is easily made that this one gift is the most important of all the spiritual gifts.

And no the gift I’m talking about isn’t any of the ones we normally think are important: preaching, prophesy, healing, or even evangelism. This gift is almost so “normal” that most people don’t even recognize it as a spiritual gift. This gift is so “everyday” that we forget how radical it is.

So any guesses what gift I’m talking about?

Well on Sunday we’ll find this all out. But here is a hint, I’m going to be preaching from this passage in Matthew 25 where Jesus says:

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” Then the righteous will answer, “Lord when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see the a stranger and welcome thee? And the King will answer them, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”

So as you think about it come ready to discover how we can change the world through one simple action. And it fits in nicely with thanksgiving and welcoming others, opening our lives to them, and most of all opening our homes.

by Andrew Mills

Sharing Your Story…

1077691_68991810I believe that as Christians we want to be able to share Jesus with other people. This is natural and a good thing. Whenever anything good happens in our lives we want to share it with those that we care for. The trouble is that when it comes to sharing Jesus with others many of us have no idea how to do it in ways that don’t seem forced, aggressive, or insensitive. We want to share the grace of Jesus, with the same posture and spirit as Jesus – but in general I don’t think we know how.

When we think of sharing Jesus we think of going up to people cold, of artificially steering conversations towards him, or of handing out tracts or something. So since we don’t know what to do, we don’t end up doing much of anything.

And so many of us have a desire to share what Jesus has done in our lives, but no idea how to do that with our lives. In fact, because I think so many have shared about Jesus poorly, many of us are fearful of saying anything about Jesus at all. But if Jesus has honestly transformed our lives ~ freed us from greed, apathy, anger, and given us hope, life, and love ~ we should be able to share that with our friends, family, and neighbors.

The question is how?

That’s precisely the question I want to examine on Sunday. How do we share Jesus, not in an arrogant, or insensitive way but a natural and even beautiful way?

Well on Sunday we are going to look at one story that can really demonstrate to us how we can share the life and love of Jesus without repelling people from Jesus. How we can invite people to experience and understand the beauty of who Jesus is without some of the baggage often associated with ‘evangelism’.

But before we get there let me ask you a question. How did you come to know and believe in Jesus Christ? What was it that impacted you into considering a relationship with Jesus?

I’ll make a bet – it had something to do with someone sharing their story.

And as we’ll find out on Sunday, sometimes that’s all you have to do.

by Andrew Mills

Dried Out Old Bones…

645124_49603802Have you ever felt dry?

I mean brittle, burnt out, scorched, barren, soul-dry?

Do you know what I’m talking about where you just feel so empty, and done?

Come Sunday we are going to be looking at one of the most important stories that first recognizes that followers of God can get dry. We can get brittle, we can get bleached, and broken. But more importantly, come Sunday we are going to look at how to find life again.

Sometimes the most difficult thing in the world when you are dry and feeling tossed aside is to find life. But I think that’s exactly what we need in the dry, barren, and desert times. We need new life. We need new spirit, we need even a rejuvenated soul.

The question is how do you find it? Well to give you a hint as to where we are going it doesn’t have a lot to do with us, but a lot with God.

So that’s what we are looking at come Sunday, because God wants to pour his life into us so that we have wide-awake souls. Michael Gungor writes this, Dead souls do not produce the same stuff as living ones do.

And he’s right. Our souls need to be alive if we are going to be able to change our lives, change our communities, and change our world.

So come Sunday we be finding out how to find life. But before we get there why not listen to this amazing song by Gungor that is all about our topic. It might even give you a hint what passage we’re looking at. I’ve included the lyrics below too. Listen and reflect and if you’re in a bit of a desert or dry place why not invite God into that place. Because he’s the only one who can bring life to a valley of dry bones.

by Andrew Mills

Can God Transform Your Past?

794034_32889557I’m going to say something, that while it’s not true, many of us believe: our past limits God.

For whatever reason in Christianity we have this unwritten assumption that God does his best work with perfect people. That people who have failed less than us, made better choices than us, who are closer than God to us – have more potential than us. And while we might not ever say it that bluntly we assume that God would rather use someone who didn’t have that messy past: that affair, that moral breakdown, impulsive decision, lack of courage, whatever.

The point is that we think that somehow the wrong and regretful decisions we have made limit what God can do in and through us.

That’s the assumption I really want to honestly examine on Sunday. Does our past really limit God? Is our past something we need to overcome to be able to be useful to God?

What I think we’ll discover is something really unique, shocking, and subversive. God wants to use us, because of past not in spite of it.

But before we get there on Sunday why not spend some time honestly reflecting on your life. Are there encounters, decisions, or things that have happened to you that you feel disqualify you or limit your future? Does anything from your past have a hold on what could happen? Does that relational blowup, decision to dropout, moral failure, wrong choice, or just missed opportunity still determine some of what you believe God can do in and through you?

If so, simply start to recognize the places and things that you believe might limit God’s working in and through you. Bring them with you on Sunday, and we’ll see what God might do with them. I’ll give you a hint: even though it seems impossible…God can transform our pasts into a new future.

by Andrew Mills

Closed or Open Futures?

739385_87460520On Sunday we are going to look at a pretty important topic: our futures.

When you are little your future seems so wide open doesn’t it? I remember all the things I wanted to be and believed I could be when I was little: police officer, fire fighter, astronaut, pastor (yep it was there when I was little), and of course, professional video game player.

The point is that when we are little our future seems often open and limitless. Yet as we grow older our future seems to shrink. We no longer think we can do certain things, we base things on “reality”, and we often end up settling. What ends up happening is the future that was wide and exciting becomes closed and predictable. Or worse, closed and unchangeable.

How often have you heard someone say: They’ll never change, I’ll always be depressed, no one will ever like me, I won’t amount to anything, or that dream will never come true. How often have you thought that?

That is a future that is being closed and shut down. Our goal on Sunday is to break open those closed futures. It’s to widen the possibility of what God can do. It’s to let hope break into our hearts. Because whether you know it or not we follow a God who creates new futures all the time. We follow the God of limitless future and possibilities. So on Sunday that’s where we are going.

But this weekend, why not let your heart dream a bit? Why not hope for change? Why not start by preparing for Sunday, asking God what future do you have for me? And then if he tells you…to actually believe it.

by Andrew Mills

Finding the Right Destination: Vision, and Direction

On Sunday we are launching a new series at the church.1145632_61514054

We are going to be asking a key question:

Where are our lives headed?

This is important because if we don’t examine our destination, time can slide by and we can end up saying, “How did we get here”. The point is that if we want to have an impact in this world, it comes by aligning the direction of our lives with God’s direction. Because my honest belief is this: we don’t ever drift into making a difference. So we need to examine where our lives are heading, and live with intention.

So we have been wrestling, asking, and discerning where God is leading us? What has he been birthing in us? What are we called to do?

And these are crucial questions for everyone of us to be asking. Because we don’t drift into making a difference. Vague intentions often lead to a lack of action.  Jesus though came with a clear mission, and vision of what he was going to do. He summarized it in the “Good News”, he lived it out and shared it with everyone. Jesus had no ambiguity in what he was doing. This is what we are going to be examining on Sunday what Jesus’ calling was, and still is. Through this we can discover how we fit into Jesus’ calling on earth.

So I think it’s important for everyone to be asking the question, “Jesus, where are you leading me?” And this is what we are doing on Sunday, just corporately as a community. 

So that’s where we are going on Sunday. The question I have for you is simple. Where is God leading you? In life? In your church? In work? In your family? Where is he leading you?

It is too easy to continue on a direction, without thinking about the destination. So talk with God about where he would have you go, about the next steps, about what he would have you do. Because the essence of faith is to follow, but to do that we have to be led. So why not spend some time with Jesus talking with him about following, and being led. And come Sunday that’s what we are talking about too.

transformations

by Andrew Mills

Turning 30….

249086_10152854027280643_1779388097_nSo tomorrow is a milestone for me. I will officially no longer be a cool twenty-something. Some of my friends would probably debate if I was ever a cool twenty-something, but that’s besides the point, because tomorrow I turn 30.

I will be officially old tomorrow. 30 was always the magical number in my mind when I was growing up when someone was “old” or an “adult” or should be able to grow a beard (which I still cannot do). 30 was a big number and a big milestone.

And that’s what is before me tomorrow.

Lots of people dread turning 30. Lots of people hate the idea of it. Personally it doesn’t bother me that much, although while I write this I’m 29, I might feel different tomorrow. But I have a great wife, two great kids, a fantastic job that I love, a church I care for deeply, and a God who is invested in my life. So things are good, but it is still a big milestone.

So since I only turn 30 once, and since I turn 30 on a Saturday, I figured why not preach on getting old on Sunday. So that’s what we are looking at, the biblical wisdom of getting old. Because on Sunday I will be officially old, or at least older.

And I think that this matters for all of us, because we are all getting older. The truth is at some point in our lives we will all listen to the “oldies” station on the radio (or whatever comes after the radio and Songza). My brother currently only listens to music pretty much from the 90’s even though he’s younger than me. Culture and life moves past us all, at different speeds but it does happen.

The question then that I want to really explore on Sunday, is when do we peak in life? When is most of life behind us? And what does the Bible have to say about getting older? We know what culture says, “Newer is always better” and getting old is bad. But what about God, how does he view aging, and when we stop being able to contribute?

So join us on Sunday to explore what God’s view on life and growing older is. And if you think of me tomorrow, pray that I can grow a beard tomorrow, because I’ve always wanted that by 30.

by Andrew Mills

How Do We Change Our World?

This Sunday we are really exploring a difficult, if not life-changing, topic. The topic is this: how do we live as follo

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wers of Jesus in our world?

Because if you haven’t noticed so much of our world isn’t Jesus-like. There is hate, anger, greed, self-interest, materialism, environmental abuse, violence, and difficulty. These are things that are both prevalent around our lives and affec

t our lives.

The truth is that our world in many ways is far from the Kingdom of God. In God’s Kingdom people don’t go hungry, in our world they do. In God’s Kingdom people are valued, in our world people are left out and alone. In God’s Kingdom

violence has no redemptive power, in our world we think it does. In God’s Kingdom the marginalized are

welcomed, in our world they are forgotten. This isn’t though a case of pessimism because Jesus is clear that his Kingdom is here, it is growing

, it is moving, and it is always also coming. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we can have hope in a better world, and not just one we find when we die, but one we can have while we live.

The question then is how do we change the world we are a part of? Because Christianity has been about chan

ge from the beginning. Transformation of personal lives, of communities, of neighborhoods, and even of the entire world. So in light of the major difficulties of the world, how are we to live so that we partner with Jesus in bringing change?

Well on Sunday we are going to be looking at a story that is all about changing the world around: everything from our communities right up to the world of politics around us.

We are going to be looking at the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den.

I remember a prof once joking that we shouldn’t talk about sex, money, or politics in church. And since I’ve already covered sex and money, I thought why not cover the last one.

So that’s where we’re headed on Sunday, but before we get there why not think about this question and post an answer if you have it. How do you change the world? And where does change start?

by Andrew Mills

God is Moved By You

1295779_44452649On Sunday we are going to be having communion, and exploring an interesting passage in Exodus. The passage we are going to be looking at is this Exodus 3:7:

Then the Lord told Moses, “You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard their cries for deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come to rescue them from the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt.”

I think this is a beautiful passage because it reveals who God is.

In this passage God is one who hears, and who acts.

I think this is so crucial to so many of us, because when we are in difficulty our temptation is to believe we are alone. Our temptation is to believe our prayers are futile. Our temptation is to believe that nothing will change. Our temptation is to believe that the God we worship is distant and unmoving.

But here in this passage we see a totally different God. We see a God who is intimately involved with his people. We see a God who hears the cries of those who are suffering, and is then moved by them. Our God is not some unmoving, uncaring, distant deity. Our God is someone who is involved in the world being moved by injustice, not just to hear the cry but then to act.

So this passage gives me hope that whenever I feel alone, and hurting I know God is not removed but listening and acting.

On Sunday we’ll discover how God acts, and what he promises to us. But today why not simply rest in the fact that your prayers are heard by God. Your prayers and cries do move God. You are not alone but actually connected to the Creator who hears and responds. Hopefully that gives you hope, because it gives me hope.

by Andrew Mills

Learning to Leave the Desert

1412359_51543500How do you leave the desert?

I mean honestly. When your life is feeling dry, distant, and you feel alone – how do you leave that place? When you feel like you are wandering around in circles, when life has passed you by, when you look back and regret decisions wondering – how did I end up here? How do you leave “here”? How do you find a place with life, hope and grace? How do you leave the desert?

I don’t know if you’ve been there but I have. I have been in a place that once was good but got drained of life and was draining me. I have been in a place where all of a sudden I felt alone, distant from God, and wondering where I was. I have been in a desert staring at the empty world around me wondering how I will ever find my way out. And maybe you’ve been there too. It is a difficult place to be. The trouble is that life seems to take us to the desert.

The question is how do we leave? How do we find new life again? How do we find hope again? How do we find a land flowing with milk and honey?

That’s what we are exploring on Sunday how to leave the desert and find new life. We are going to be exploring a pretty well known passage with some pretty not-so-well-known conclusions.

Come Sunday we’ll explore how to find your way out, which not so surprisingly, begins with God finding you.

But that’s Sunday, what about today? What if your desert is so difficult, and oppressive that you can’t wait till Sunday to start leaving it?

Well I’ll give you a hint of where we are going on Sunday. It doesn’t begin with you. It doesn’t begin with you forcing or finding your way out. It begins with God finding you and leading you out.

So today why not make yourself easy to find. Why not take some actual time, sit in space with God, ask him to direct, and to wait on him. Give him time to speak to you, give him your attention, and wait patiently on him. This, of course, isn’t easy, but it’s a lot easier than languishing in the desert.

So come Sunday we’ll explore how to find your way out in more depth, but it does begin with God. So no matter how your life has been these past few weeks, days, or even years why not let yourself be found by God. Don’t fill your weekend so full of noise, business, and stuff that he can’t break through to you. Sit still, stop, and listen. And who knows maybe God will show up in a burning bush and lead you out…

by Andrew Mills