Sermons

Real Christianity is meant to be the fix for what goes awry in our human nature and what torpedoes real relationships. It is also meant to provide a deeper satisfaction and a power for living we cannot generate on our own. Is the “something” we are all looking for when we realize “something’s missing.”

“Good Friday” is a strange name for this day. If you describe what actually happened — a man arrested on false charges, beaten beyond recognition, nailed to a cross in front of a mocking crowd “good” is not the first word that comes to mind. Horrific. Unjust. Brutal. Those fit. But good? Unless something else…

Habakkuk opens his book at full volume. There is no easing in, no diplomatic preamble. Just raw, unfiltered frustration aimed directly at heaven. When God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way that we want, it’s easy to find ourselves frustrated or angry, and yet…

When God’s ways shake us, we tend to react without thinking the matter through. We either resist God and run from Him (like Jonah), or we distort and deny God’s message in order to live how we want to live. Both ways draw us away from God and towards the path of emptiness and broken…

God reveals Himself to Jonah in Jonah 3 and 4. God also reveals Jonah’s heart to Jonah. If we are to understand God’s ways when life shakes us, we must at least include God’s relentless efforts of shaping us from our proud, self-centered hearts and living into people who reflect the glory of God’s character.

When God’s ways make no sense to us, we usually take one of three options. First, we might resist and run away from God. Second, we might distort and deny God’s message to us. The best alternative, though, is if we tremble (a Godly fear of our own human nature and a reverent fear of…