Wide Awake
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
With the beginning of Advent, a season of preparation, watching, and waiting, we hear Jesus say, “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day the Lord will come.” We lean into what we profess to be true that Jesus will “come again to judge the living and the dead.” While we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s arrival in the world in Bethlehem, we yearn for his return again, watching for God’s ongoing activity in the world and the unfolding of God’s Kingdom until Christ comes again. Lessons: Isaiah 2:1-5, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44 ...
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What Matters: Living Thankfully
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
Living thankfully by being generous matters to God. When we thank God by giving offering, we honor God and prepare ourselves to see the salvation of God. From the time of ancient Israel, giving thanks to God involved making sacrificial offerings to God. One way to thank God is by giving to others, which transforms us and honors God. Jesus lived thankfully and generously. As we grow to be more like Jesus, we become more thankful and generous. We begin to live thankfully, giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. Next Step: As an act of...
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What Matters: Generous Hearts
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
Generosity is a heart matter, it’s not a quantity issue, it is simply a quality issue. God’s unending storehouse of mercy and grace cannot be outdone or exhausted, which is why our mindset isn’t on the “what” of generosity but on the “pricelessness” of the act. The other thing for us to surrender is the act of being generous is not the first step, but the last action of a heart fully committed and in full pursuit of Jesus. Next Step: Take a step back from your daily tithe of time, talents, and treasures, and deeply examine the heart behind your generosity,...
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What Matters: Generous Relationships
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
It’s been said about God, that while God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present, the Lord willingly limited such attributes for the sake of being generous to His people. God withholds judgment, limiting anger, for the sake of forgiveness. Jesus limits his involvement in the ongoing ministry of the disciples by empowering his disciples to serve as he serves. The Omnipresent nature of God is limited in space and time for 33 years within the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth in a particular context, Israel, so that the mission of the Kingdom of God can be generously shared...
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What Matters: First Thing First
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
All Saints Sunday Value most what matters most, which is trust in Jesus. This is what makes a saint. God has values and a saint strives to live by those values above all else. The values that Jesus taught are precisely opposite of the values we internalize in our culture. The great news is that the values that Jesus taught do not rest on a foundation of our achievement, but rest on the achievement of Jesus alone. Because of this, when we trust in Jesus, we can authentically rejoice because our reward in heaven is eternal. The rewards we receive from being successful according to values...
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It's Personal: Do you know what God has done for me?
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
The greatest need every person has is to know and trust in the love of God in Christ Jesus. Through the work of Jesus, God demonstrated his desire to be in a personal relationship with every person. Next Step: Identify one person that you sense God is nudging you to begin praying for that person to trust in Jesus and be saved. Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 8:35-39, John 8:2-11, 31-36 Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand Subscribe to our Youtube channel
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It's Personal: Do You Know What I Can Do?
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
You can be personal enough to believe in someone’s potential to live a remarkable story. A lot of people need someone to believe they can do something they may not even realize they can do. The traps of self-destructive habits, unresolved emotions, and overwhelming circumstances are the trick mirrors that foster in us the false inner-voice that our failures are personal, pervasive, and permanent. When Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house,” Jesus modeled belief. Zacchaeus responded in extraordinary changes to his behavior. God believes in us more than we can imagine. God...
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It's Personal: Do you know what I've done?
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
You demonstrate forgiveness when you respond to someone in a way that helps that person to replace shame with hope. While being guilty is part of being human, living with shame is something we choose. The greatest trick shame plays on us is alienating us from the one thing that might help – love. Every person needs to know they are more than the sum of their worst moments. When Jesus ate with Zacchaeus, Jesus modeled forgiving love. Out of that same love, God has forgiven us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Although God knows our every sin, God chooses to forgive and forget them...
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It's Personal: Do You Know Where I Live?
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
Something changes in a relationship when you take the time to understand someone’s everyday context. In Jesus, God entered our everyday context, becoming fully human and now fully understands what we experience. If each of us is really honest, admit that you sometimes assume that a person should feel like I feel, think like I think, and believe like I believe. When Jesus went to Zacchaeus’s house, Jesus modeled empathy. You can’t force your way into someone’s heart, but you can invite yourself into someone’s world. We can “board someone else’s train” and ride through the...
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It's Personal: Do you know what matters to me?
St. Luke Columbus Sermon Podcast
If you want to be personal, understand what really matters to someone. In order to do that, you have to understand why it mattersGod knows the desires of our hearts and what matters to us. In Jesus, God gave us what matters most. If you are going to shift from shallow relationships to becoming more personal, you have to become interested in something that interests someone else. When Jesus stopped for Zacchaeus, Jesus modeled friendship. When Jesus showed interest in Zacchaeus, he validated Zacchaeus’ worth. You begin to know someone when you discover someone’s interests and you...
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