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Jesus' Bucket List

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Click here to listen to this sermon. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Are you familiar with the term “bucket list”? Screenwriter Justin Zachman first used it for his own list of things to do before he died. Then he realized the idea could become a film: two dying men racing to complete their lists. The Bucket List , starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman , was released in 2007. Since then, many people have made their own bucket lists . Maybe you have one yourself : visit Paris , run with the bulls , swim with the dolphins , sleep in an igloo. Such dreams may be exciting, but notice what they have in common: they are about what I want to do for myself. Jesus’ list was different. Every item on His list was something He would...
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Built on the Rock

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Click here to listen to this sermon. “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (Matthew 16:13–20). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen....
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More Than Enough ~ The Crumbs of Our Lord's Mercy

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Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). The worried mother comes with a problem and lays it at Jesus’ feet. She makes no claim of worthiness. She is a Gentile, a Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter. What does she actually know? Is she simply mouthing words that she has heard others say, or is her plea coming from a heart that knows who Jesus is and what He can do for her and her daughter? She dares to approach Jesus and ask for His help because He is the Lord and Israel’s Messiah, the Son of David. The woman’s plea is not one of entitlement but of begging; not “I deserve,” but “Have mercy.” Mercy assumes need. Mercy assumes unworthiness. Mercy trusts the character of the giver. Mercy always implies that the recipient is undeserving. That certainly is our situation. And so we plead to God, “Give Your ...
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Precious Lord, Take May Hand

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Click here to listen to this sermon. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Everyone knows what it is like to become overwhelmed: the phone call that changes everything, the diagnosis we did not expect, the grief that will not lift, the responsibility that feels heavier than we can carry. In such moments, we do not need advice about trying harder, working smarter, or changing our attitude. We need someone strong enough to take hold of us. The author of the hymn we just sang, Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899–1993), knew what it was like to be overwhelmed. Born in Georgia to a revivalist preacher and a church organist, he moved to Chicago at seventeen and found success as a blues pianist, arranger, bandleader, and recording artist. He also suffered a nervous breakdown and struggled for years between the secular and sacred worlds of music. Eventually, he brought them together in a new form of sacred song and became known as the “father of gospel music.” In August ...
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