Category: Sermon Preview

Good Friday Passage and Post

Read this account from Mark 15. Read it slowly, and meditatively. While you read remember while this day is called Good Friday it wouldn’t be good for another three days…

Mark 15 (The Message)

At dawn’s first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate.

Pilate asked him, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?” He answered, “If you say so.” The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations.

Pilate asked again, “Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.” Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.

It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for. There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome. As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner, Pilate anticipated them: “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him.

But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas. Pilate came back, “So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?”

They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”

Pilate objected, “But for what crime?”

But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”

Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.

The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.

There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus’ cross.

The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning “Skull Hill.” They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn’t take it. And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them.

They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning. The charge against him—the king of the Jews—was printed on a poster. Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”

The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—but he can’t save himself! Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then!” Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery.

At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.” Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!”

by Andrew Mills

Blessing those who betray us…

This upcoming Sunday we are going to be exploring a difficult topic: blessing those who betray us.

This is a tough topic because it is so hard to bless, and release people who have hurt us. It is difficult to do because we want justice, we don’t want the hurt to be overlooked, and we don’t want to pretend that the hurt hasn’t happened. This is all true. We can’t deny the hurt, or diminish its impact. But yet holding onto betrayal can lead to bitterness, and imprisonment.

So how do we let go of hurt? How do we bless those who betray us?

This is what we are going to seek to discover on Sunday, from Jesus. So we are going to look at Jesus’ famous words, “Forgive them for they know not what they do”. If we are his followers, we need to follow in offering his freedom and forgiveness.

  • But what enables Jesus to bless his betrayers?
  • What gives Jesus the ability to ask for his crucifiers forgiveness?
  • How does he do this and how might we follow him in this?

So this is what we’re looking at. But what do you think? What enables Jesus to speak these amazing words as he is about to be killed? How does he do this and how might we do this?

I think this is worth some time, thought, and discussion. Because blessing our betrayers is so hard, but Jesus does it. And if he does it, I want to do it too. The question is how? So what do you think? How do you bless those who betray us?

by Andrew Mills

A Preventable Betrayal

Can a community prevent betrayal?

Think about that for a moment. Can a group of people actually stop betrayal, sin, and disconnection?

And if its possible to do…how do you practically do it?

This is the question we are going to really look at on Sunday. We want to look at how to create a community that doesn’t allow people to slip through the cracks, to walk out into darkness, and to betray each other.

Before I give you my thoughts and suggestions: what about you?

What do you think is important for a community, or group of people to do to prevent betrayal? What types of actions would a community take to promote life, and prevent breakdown of relationships? And more importantly if you have ideas are you actively practicing them in your community?

Because ideals and ideas are great, but tangible action and “doing” is best.

So how can you start to contribute to your community so that it prevents betrayal and breakdown, and promotes life and love?

by Andrew Mills

Judas vs Peter

Last Sunday we explored Jesus’ response to our betrayal. You can listen to the sermon here. This Sunday we are doing something a bit different. We are going to compare Peter and Judas. At first glance they might seem very different people. I mean, Judas we hate, and Peter we try to emulate.

But when you dig into the biblical text you see how similar they both were. They both betray Jesus deeply. They both are attacked by Satan. They both seek to make amends for their mistake. But one only finds guilt, shame, and death, while the other finds forgiveness, grace, and life.

The Didache an ancient Christian text says this: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways.”

So this Sunday we are going to be looking at the differences between these two ways, and how we might find forgiveness, grace, and life. The real question we’ll be exploring is: What do you do when you betray someone? How do you respond when you realize you are guilty of betraying all that you hold dear?

As we’ll find out, there is one path that leads to life, and one path that leads to the darkness…

But what do you think? If you betrayed someone what would you do?

by Andrew Mills

Welcome to Lent…

This Sunday we’re diving into Lent. We are going to be starting a 4 week sermon series examining betrayal. I know it sounds dark, and maybe it is, but the truth is that in our lives we have all experienced it, in some way, at some time. Maybe we’ve been betrayed. Maybe we’ve betrayed someone. Maybe we’ve stood by and let a betrayal happen. The question is not only how should we respond, but how does Jesus respond to betrayal? How does he respond to us?

So that’s what I want to explore over the next few weeks. Discovering how we can heal after betrayal, how Jesus responds to it, how we as a community can prevent it, and how you can bless those who betray you. Deep stuff, but important I think as well. Not all of life is easy, and in Lent we reflect on that reality. Sometimes the deep and difficult stuff is the most worthwhile stuff to actually work through. That’s what Lent is about: slowing down, examining yourself, and reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice. So that’s where we’re going on Sunday.

The beauty is that when we honestly open up space to discuss the deep stuff of our life, healing can happen. So this Sunday we begin to discover how we can find light in the midst of the dark, because that’s what the life of faith is about…

Hope you can join us.

by Andrew Mills

The Kingdom of God is Like a Party?

If you were to describe God’s Kingdom in one word what would it be?

Take a moment and actually think about it. If a friend were to come up to you and say, “I’ve heard about this Kingdom of God – what’s it really like?” How would you choose to describe it? What picture would you paint?

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – Jesus consistently shares a picture of God’s Kingdom that is compelling, inviting, and challenging all in one. He says God’s Kingdom is like a party.

That’s right, a party. Think about it – Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding. He says often that the Kingdom of God is like a party, a feast, a wedding, or a celebration. For Jesus, a good picture of the Kingdom is a party, great get-together, or a celebration.

What a great picture.

The question is – “What is it about a party that reveals God’s Kingdom?”

That’s what we’re going to explore on Sunday. But I’d love your ideas and thoughts ahead of time! Comment or email me.

by Andrew Mills

Movies, Grace, Nature, and the “Tree of Life”

This week we are going to be looking at a parable about God’s grace.

Grace seems to be something that is so familiar but so misunderstood. Grace is a word that we hear and see often. It’s a girl’s name, a title of U2 song, something we say before meals, and something that’s mentioned in churches a fair bit. And more recently the academy award nominated film “Tree of Life” by Terrence Malick is all about grace.

His film is a brilliant exploration of the two ways of living: by grace, or by “nature”. By nature he means what comes naturally to us, living out of strength, and our own preconceived ideas of fairness. Nature is the opposite of grace.

So my question for you this morning: is what does a life lived by grace look like? And the opposite what does a life lived in the way of “nature” look like? How do you know when someone is living out a life of grace rather than nature?

And lastly and probably most importantly – are you living your life in the way of grace? Or are you living it in the way of nature?

Come Sunday we’ll be looking about both – but why not start the discussion a bit early…

by Andrew Mills

Where in the World is the Kingdom of God?

This Sunday we are exploring another aspect of God’s Kingdom. Last week we talked about how God’s Kingdom grows slowly, but can be spread through us. We can plant the Kingdom, and are called to be patient while it grows.

This Sunday we want to explore a different aspect of the Kingdom. If we can plant sees, and if the Kingdom grows all around us the question is where?

  • Where do you find the Kingdom?
  • If you were to look for it, where could it be found?
  • In what places are you most likely to discover it?

Those are the questions we want to tackle on Sunday.

But what do you think? Where and when have you found God’s Kingdom? Where do you think it might be found? If someone was to ask you, “I find Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom compelling, challenging, and so inviting…but where do I actually find it? How can I discover it?”

What would you say…?

by Andrew Mills

God’s Kingdom is Like…What?

This week we are starting a new series at church focusing on the Kingdom of God. If you notice Jesus talks a lot about God’s Kingdom but not much about the church. So the Kingdom is something we had better explore, understand, and even more importantly experience. But at times the Kingdom can seem mysterious. Jesus’ parables about it reveal and also conceal at the same time.

So over the next few weeks I’m going to blog about some of my thoughts about God’s Kingdom. I’m going to post some thoughts on my favorite parables, points, and pictures of God’s Kingdom. But I’d love to also start a discussion with you. To tackle some of the thoughts, questions, and wonderings you might have about God’s Kingdom.

So my question for you is this: what questions about the Kingdom do you have? What parables do you love? What parables do you not get and would love some discussion on?

Let me know and I’ll blog about it for the next few weeks.

by Andrew Mills

A Community of “One Another’s”

This week at church we are going to do something different. Different but deep.

Over the past few weeks we’ve talked about how the church is to make disciples. That we make disciples through blessing, which literally means to give life to someone. And we also learned that we are sent to those in our Jerusalem’s, Judea’s, and Samaria’s. This is all true. The church is to make disciples, is to bless, and is sent.

This Sunday though we want to focus in on one last aspect of “being the church”. That’s being a body that loves one another.

Each week we gather to be re-sent out into our next week. But we also gather to care for one another. And this week we are going to do that in a practical and meaningful way. We are going to gather around communion tables, share blessing, share life, and pray with one another. We are going to support one another, because this journey of faith is not meant to be lived alone. Life is better together. And the church is at its best when it is active, moving, making disciples, and blessing people together. So this week the focus is on being together, healing one another, supporting one another, and loving one another.

A church that doesn’t reach out, isn’t a church. Yet it is equally true that a church that doesn’t love one another, also isn’t a church.

We are called to gather and to go. So on this Sunday we are going to gather to care.

The question is what do you need, care and support in? How can we help you? What can we do to love and care for one another?

Important questions…so let us know…because we are all in this together…

by Andrew Mills