This fall, I am preaching a sermon series I have entitled “Justice,” looking at what the Bible has to say about justice and how to evaluate the cultural messages on justice that are all around us. I’m going slowly through this series, trying not to take on too much at once. Each week, I begin with three preliminary comments, which I want to repeat this week. First of all, this is not primarily a political sermon series or a social science lecture series. I will be trying to stay in my lane as a pastor, helping our church to know Jesus and to better love Him and love your neighbor. Secondly, as I said last week, I recognize that I will be addressing some sensitive subjects, and I do not expect everyone to agree with every word I speak. I do expect, however, that we will model speaking the truth in love. If you disagree with me on something I say, or have other insights or experience that you feel would enhance my understanding or my teaching, or if something I say does not sit well with you, please speak up. Consider this an invitation to a conversation. And thirdly, my goal in this series is not to help us wag our finger at the world for acting like the world, but to challenge the church to do better in this area.

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Where to begin in the fight for justice - October 3, 2021

This fall, I am preaching a sermon series I have entitled “Justice,” looking at what the Bible has to say about justice and how to evaluate the cultural messages on justice that are all around us. I’m going slowly through this series, trying not to take on too much at once. Each week, I begin with three preliminary comments that I want to repeat this week. First of all, this is not a political sermon series or a social science lecture series. I will be trying to stay in my lane as a pastor, helping our church to know Jesus and to better love Him and love your neighbor. Secondly, as I said last week, I recognize that this is a dangerous subject to tackle these days, and I do not expect everyone to agree with every word I speak. I do expect, however, that we will model speaking the truth in love. If you disagree with me on something I say, or have other insights or experience that you feel would enhance my understanding or my teaching, please speak up. Consider this an invitation to a conversation. And thirdly, my goal in this series is not to help us wag our finger at the world for acting like the world, but to challenge the church to do better in this area.

What is wrong with the world? - September 26, 2021

This fall, I am preaching a sermon series I have entitled “Justice,” looking at what the Bible has to say about justice and how to evaluate the cultural messages on justice that are all around us. Last week, I began with three preliminary comments that I want to repeat this week. First of all, this is not a political sermon series or a social science lecture series. I will be trying to stay in my lane as a pastor, helping our church to know Jesus and to follow Him better. My hope is to open up the Bible in order to give you principles that will inform a Biblical worldview on justice and show why it is preferable to the different worldviews out there, so that you can walk faithfully with Jesus by loving God and loving your neighbor. Secondly, as I said last week, I recognize that this is a dangerous subject to tackle these days, and I do not expect everyone to agree with every word I speak. I do expect, however, that we will model speaking the truth in love. If you disagree with me on something I say, or have other insights or experience that you feel would enhance my understanding or my teaching, please speak up. Consider this an invitation to a conversation. And thirdly, my goal in this series is not to help us wag our finger at the world for acting like the world, but to challenge the church to do better in this area.

WHY do black lives (or any lives) matter? - September 19, 2021

This morning, I am beginning a new sermon series that I have titled “Justice.” If you’ve listened to me preach, you know that my typical style is to work through a book of the Bible or a specific passage of Scripture, looking at what it meant in its original context and what it means for us today. But usually about once every year I preach a more topical sermon series, especially if I feel there is something important for us to focus on. Last year, I did a sermon series on lament and suffering, which I felt was important given the amount of loss many of us were dealing with. And this fall, I will be preaching a sermon series on justice. I think that this past year and a half has been particularly noteworthy for two focuses: the pandemic, and the increased focus in our world on what is called “social justice.” If you work for a large company, or in a school system, I would bet that you have probably received some kind of justice-focused education over the past year, as school districts and corporations try to fall in line with the way our culture is defining justice. I have been wanting to do a sermon series for months now examining the topic of justice Biblically, as it is so important to evaluate the messages we are getting from our culture in the light of what God says in Scripture. But the problem is that justice is a huge topic, with many voices and books and opinions out there on subjects ranging from racial justice to economic inequalities to prison reform to immigration to LGBTQ justice and women’s rights to voting rights, and on and on and on. So this sermon series, which I originally wanted to do in the spring, kept getting pushed back as I kept reading more books and listening to divergent voices. And now, even though I don’t feel entirely ready, I’m diving in. Let me begin by making three opening comments:

The chaotic folly of the self-created life - September 12, 2021

This morning, I am finishing up my sermon series “Meeting Jesus,” looking at various interactions that people had with Jesus in the book of John. Today, I will be looking at the interaction Jesus has with Thomas, one of his disciples, in chapter 20, after his resurrection. John 20 - Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."  26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"  27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."  28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"  29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

Don't live on secondhand faith - August 31, 2021

This summer, I have been preaching through a sermon series entitled “Meeting Jesus,” looking at various interactions that Jesus had with people in the gospel of John, in order to learn more about what it means to know and follow Jesus. Next week is the final week in the series, and for this week and next week, I will be looking at two interactions that Jesus had after he was raised from the dead: this week with Peter, and next week with Thomas. Peter was a particularly passionate and devoted disciple of Jesus, and you may remember that at the last supper, when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to be killed and that they would all abandon him, Peter had a particularly strong reaction to that: John 13:36-38 - Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."  37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can&apos;t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."  38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! After he finishes sharing the last supper with his disciples, Jesus goes out with his disciples to the Mt. of Olives. There, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, and arrested by the religious leaders. As Jesus is being abused, Peter denies three times that he knows Jesus, and goes away weeping bitterly, crushed by his cowardice. Eventually, Jesus is put on trial, sentenced to death, and crucified by the Roman authorities. But after three days in the grave, he rises again from the dead. 

How do I handle my failures? - August 22, 2021

This summer, I have been preaching through a sermon series that I have entitled “Meeting Jesus,” in which I am looking through the gospel of John at the interactions of various people with Jesus, in order to discover who Jesus is and what it means to know and follow Him. Last week, we looked at Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. After that, his public ministry is over, as the Pharisees have decided to arrest him next time he is in Jerusalem. But in John 13, the time has finally come for Jesus to come to Jerusalem, where he will eventually be betrayed, arrested, tried, and crucified. And he begins this momentous week by doing something completely unexpected with his disciples. John 13:1-17 - It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.  2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.  3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples&apos; feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"  7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."  8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."  9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"  10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."  11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.  12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.  13 "You call me &apos;Teacher&apos; and &apos;Lord,&apos; and rightly so, for that is what I am.  14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another&apos;s feet.  15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Love like Jesus - August 15, 2021

This morning, I am continuing in my sermon series entitled Meeting Jesus, in which I am looking at various interactions that Jesus had with people in the gospel of John and what we learn from them about what it means to know and follow Jesus. This morning, we will be looking at Jesus’ interaction with Mary and Martha at the tomb of their brother Lazarus:John 11:1-45 - Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.  3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."  4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God&apos;s glory so that God&apos;s Son may be glorified through it."  5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.  7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."  8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"  9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world&apos;s light.  10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."  11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."  12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."  13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.  14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,  15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."  17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days......

Why did God let my loved one die? - August 8, 2021

Jesus is the living water - August 1, 2021

This summer, I have been preaching through a sermon series that I have entitled “Meeting Jesus,” where I am looking through the gospel of John at the interactions of various people with Jesus, in order to discover who Jesus is and what it means to know and follow Him. This Sunday, we will be in John 2, looking at a very unique and shocking interaction between Jesus and a group of moneychangers. John 2:13-22 - When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.  15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father&apos;s house into a market!"  17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."  18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"  19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."  20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"  21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.  22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 

My house shall be a house of prayer for all people - July 25, 2021

This summer, I have been preaching through a sermon series that I have entitled “Meeting Jesus,” where I am looking through the gospel of John at the interactions of various people with Jesus, in order to discover who Jesus is and what it means to know and follow Him. This Sunday, we will be in John 5, looking at the interaction between Jesus and a disabled man. John 5:1-18 - Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.  2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie-- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  4   5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"  7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

Do you want to get well? - July 18, 2021

This summer, I am preaching on interactions that various people had with Jesus in John’s gospel, so that we can better understand who Jesus is and what it looks like for us to know and follow Him. This morning, we’ll be in John 9, looking a meeting between Jesus and an unnamed blind man. If you’re unfamiliar, there are four accounts of Jesus’ life – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, with John being from the perspective of one of Jesus’ disciples named John, and directed towards a non-Jewish audience more than the other three. One of the distinct features of John’s gospel is that he includes a number of “I am” statements by Jesus that illustrate who He is and what He came to do – for example, “I am the bread of life,” “I am the good shepherd,” “I am the gate.” In chapter 8, we read another I am statement:

Why am I suffering? - July 11, 2021

John 3:1-21 - Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." Before we continue, let me take a minute to talk about Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, which means he was a religious leader in Israel, part of a group that stressed careful observance of God’s law and the traditions of the elders. He was also a part of the Jewish ruling council, known as the Sanhedrin, which was made of up current and former high priests and elders and scribes educated in Jewish law. The Sanhedrin was primarily responsible for trying false prophets and rooting out idolatry in Israel. So, Nicodemus was probably old, rich, educated, and powerful. So why is he coming to Jesus? Based on the context, I would guess that Nicodemus, this elder religious leader, is coming to Jesus, the young, up-and-coming rabbi, to see if they can work together, if Jesus might join the ranks of the Pharisees or at least partner with them in some way. But the fact that Nicodemus is coming to Jesus at night could be because he holds a minority opinion among the Pharisees and is afraid of retribution from the other Pharisees.

You must be born again - July 4, 2021

John 8:1-11 - But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"  6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." 

Guest preacher: Bryan Bywater - June 27, 2021

This morning, I am beginning a new sermon series that I am calling “Meeting Jesus.” Throughout this summer, we will be looking through the gospel of John at various interactions that people had with Jesus in order to learn about Jesus and about ourselves. My hope and prayer is that as we look at these stories, that you will grow in your faith in and love for Jesus and that you would know better what it means to know and follow God.

Can I get a witness? - June 20, 2021

Pastor Eric Stillman is committed to seeing God transform lives as well as our community and world by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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