Concord United Sermons

The Journey to the Cross | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Jesus prepares his disciples for his death and he prepares them to take up their own crosses and follow him. His paradoxical words still haunt us, “those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lost their life will save it.” What does it mean to lose our life for Christ? Perhaps it means living our life in Christ: by Christ’s power and for Christ’s purposes. Such a calling is too high for us. Just like his first disciples we will shy away cowardly when push comes to shove. But if we keep coming back to Jesus in our failure, we like his first disciples (most of whom ultimately lost their lives for him) will learn how to courageously live our lives for Christ.

Scripture - Luke 9:22-25

The Journey to the Cross | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Jesus prepares his disciples for his death and he prepares them to take up their own crosses and follow him. His paradoxical words still haunt us, “those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lost their life will save it.” What does it mean to lose our life for Christ? Perhaps it means living our life in Christ: by Christ’s power and for Christ’s purposes. Such a calling is too high for us. Just like his first disciples we will shy away cowardly when push comes to shove. But if we keep coming back to Jesus in our failure, we like his first disciples (most of whom ultimately lost their lives for him) will learn how to courageously live our lives for Christ.

Scripture -

Luke 9:22-25

Prayers from Low Places | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Jesus tells the story of a pharisee and a tax collector who went to pray. The pharisee thanked God who wasn’t a miserable sinner like the tax collector, but the tax collector just asked for God for mercy. Jesus concluded by saying the tax collector’s prayer pleased God, but the pharisee’s prayer did not. The only way we can pray to God honestly and experience God authentically is by praying from a low place, a place of humility and need. The moment we begin to think we can handle life on our own, the voice of pride begins to drown out the voice of God.

Scripture - Luke 18:9-14

Prayers from Low Places | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Jesus tells the story of a pharisee and a tax collector who went to pray. The pharisee thanked God who wasn’t a miserable sinner like the tax collector, but the tax collector just asked for God for mercy. Jesus concluded by saying the tax collector’s prayer pleased God, but the pharisee’s prayer did not. The only way we can pray to God honestly and experience God authentically is by praying from a low place, a place of humility and need. The moment we begin to think we can handle life on our own, the voice of pride begins to drown out the voice of God.

Scripture - Luke 18:9-14

Seeing Past Yourself | Rev. Wil Cantrell

You are the only person who can’t directly see yourself. Yet, so often we go through life without really seeing others because we can only see the needs of ourselves. This was true of Simon, the pharisee, who didn’t respect the needs to a women who came to bless Jesus. It was also true of the culture of ancient Israel where the needs of women were often minimized and overlooked. Sadly, in our culture, we still minimize the needs of other who aren’t like us. Jesus challenges us to see the not only the needs but also the dignity, sacred worth, and potential in each person.

Scripture - Luke 7:36-50

Seeing Past Yourself | Rev. Mike Stallings

You are the only person who can’t directly see yourself. Yet, so often we go through life without really seeing others because we can only see the needs of ourselves. This was true of Simon, the pharisee, who didn’t respect the needs to a women who came to bless Jesus. It was also true of the culture of ancient Israel where the needs of women were often minimized and overlooked. Sadly, in our culture, we still minimize the needs of other who aren’t like us. Jesus challenges us to see the not only the needs but also the dignity, sacred worth, and potential in each person.

Scripture - Luke 7:36-50

Feeding the Hungry | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Gabriel tells Mary that her son will “fill the hungry with good things, but send the rich away empty.” In the beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Throughout his life Jesus shows special care both for those who are physically hungry and spiritually hungry. Those who are not spiritually hungry often think they don’t need what Jesus as to offer because they can take care of themselves with their riches. Those without riches seem to more easily recognize the needs not just of their bodies and their souls. Is Jesus your greatest hunger? Is learning God’s ways and following God’s will the greatest desire in your life? This Lent we will be focused on the spiritual discipline of fasting. It is a way of increasing our reliance on God by decreasing our reliance on food. Throughout Lent, we want to challenge you to fast on Fridays. You have 3 options: 1) Friday from 9am-3pm 2) Friday until 3pm or 3) Friday until Sundown. It is Christian tradition to fast on Friday as it represents the day Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for us.

Scripture - Luke 1:51-53

Feeding the Hungry | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Gabriel tells Mary that her son will “fill the hungry with good things, but send the rich away empty.” In the beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Throughout his life Jesus shows special care both for those who are physically hungry and spiritually hungry. Those who are not spiritually hungry often think they don’t need what Jesus as to offer because they can take care of themselves with their riches. Those without riches seem to more easily recognize the needs not just of their bodies and their souls. Is Jesus your greatest hunger? Is learning God’s ways and following God’s will the greatest desire in your life? This Lent we will be focused on the spiritual discipline of fasting. It is a way of increasing our reliance on God by decreasing our reliance on food. Throughout Lent, we want to challenge you to fast on Fridays. You have 3 options: 1) Friday from 9am-3pm 2) Friday until 3pm or 3) Friday until Sundown. It is Christian tradition to fast on Friday as it represents the day Jesus was crucified and sacrificed for us.

Scripture - Luke 1:51-53

Loving Others in our World | Rev. Brooke Hartman

What does it look like to love others in the world, i.e. those with different values, who may identify with other Christian denominations or religions, or who live in other countries? As followers of Christ we are called to love those who are not like ourselves. One way of doing this is to find common ground. Even though we may be different in many aspects everyone wants to feel appreciated and loved. We need to focus not on our differences but on our similarities. It is a fact that even when we disagree with someone on an idea, there is still 10% of our discussion that we can agree upon. Let us work to focus on the 10% that we agree upon with those who are different than us. This is a starting place rather than a final goal but it is a good place to begin. When we learn to shift our mindset to what we have in common instead of focusing on our differences we see each other in a different light. Discovering what we have in common with others begins with us.

Scripture - 1 John 4:11-21; James 1:19

 

 

 

Loving Others in our World | Rev. Wil Cantrell

What does it look like to love others in the world, i.e. those with different values, who may identify with other Christian denominations or religions, or who live in other countries? As followers of Christ we are called to love those who are not like ourselves. One way of doing this is to find common ground. Even though we may be different in many aspects everyone wants to feel appreciated and loved. We need to focus not on our differences but on our similarities. It is a fact that even when we disagree with someone on an idea, there is still 10% of our discussion that we can agree upon. Let us work to focus on the 10% that we agree upon with those who are different than us. This is a starting place rather than a final goal but it is a good place to begin. When we learn to shift our mindset to what we have in common instead of focusing on our differences we see each other in a different light. Discovering what we have in common with others begins with us.

Scripture - 1 John 4:11-21; James 1:19