Home for Christmas (part 5) Audio, Video, and Questions

On Sunday, December 29, 2024 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on a number of New Testament passages (John 1:12-13, 14:1-6, Ephesians 2:19-22, Hebrews 11:13-16).  This message was part 5 of the “Home for Christmas” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video from the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

 

Sermon Questions:

  1. Pray
  2. Read John 1:12-13, John 14:1-6, Ephesians 2:19-22, Hebrews 11:13-16
  3. When do you typically decorate for Christmas?  When do you take the decorations down?
  4. Where do you consider to be your “home”?  What makes it “home”?
  5. According to John 1:12-13 and John 3:3, how does one become a child of God?  Have you experienced this inclusion in God’s family yourself?
  6. What about you is most important?  If you were to have a business card for your life, what kinds of things would you include on it that mark your true identity?
  7. What are some of the promises of God that you have only seen “from afar” … but that you have faith will come about in eternity?  What are you most looking forward to?
  8. Are you living today like your home is in  heaven or like your home is on earth?  How can you tell where your true home is found?
  9. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen to audio offline, click the link:

Home For Christmas #5 12.29.24

 

To listen to audio online, use media player below:

 

To watch the video of the service, use YouTube online:

Home for Christmas (part 5) Sermon Preview

The timing of Christmas decorations at our homes is a matter of great debate.  When do you put the lights UP, decorate the tree, and set out the nativity?  Some argue that you should not do this until after Thanksgiving, while others begin to set out Christmas things in early November.  And (even more relevant for these days post-Christmas) when do you take the decorations DOWN, box up the baubles and take out the tree?  Many would say around New Year’s Day or at the time of epiphany, while others want the house de-garlanded (is that a word) by the time the sun sets on December 26.  When do the decorations go UP and DOWN for you in your house?

While I understand the practicality of these comments, I have to say that I am always a little sad this time of year.  I love the look of most places around Christmas-time, and things always look a little too plain to me in January.  I always find myself wishing more endured from the Advent season.  Anyone agree with this sentiment?

Over the past five weeks, we have been walking through a sermon series at Wildwood called “Home for Christmas.”  In this series we have been talking about how we can make our home in Him, not just at Christmas, but always.  We have done so by investigating a number of the locations mentioned in the Christmas account in Scripture.  This Sunday, we will be in the fifth and final installment in this series.  This week we will be looking at John 1:12-13; 14:1-6, Ephesians 2:19-22 and Hebrews 11:13-16 as we remind each other where our true Home is, and how we can represent our home as we live out our everyday lives.

To be clear, Wildwood’s Christmas decorations will still be up, we are still going to sing one Christmas carol in our time of worship together, and we will still be in our Christmas series of messages … but we will be talking about an important part of Christmas that we should never box up in our attic.  Jesus came for us, and made the way for us to be included in His household.  Let’s remind each other of this great enduring truth on Sunday as we gather at 9:45 or 11:00 worship service at Wildwood Community Church.  See you Sunday … and bring friends!

NOTE:  This Sunday is an “all in” Sunday where we will not have children’s ministry, student or adult classes (or our 8:30 service) but will all be gathering together in the worship center together.  Our classes and the 8:30 service will return on January 5.  See you Sunday!

Whys of Worship (part 1) Sermon Audio, Video, & Questions

On Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Hebrews 10:19-25.  This message was part 1 in the “Whys of Worship” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

  1. Pray
  2. Read Hebrews 10:19-25
  3. What are some examples you can think of from your life where knowing WHY you were supposed to do something (or not do something) helped you do (or not do) the prescribed behavior?
  4. How does remembering who Jesus is and what He has done for you help you DRAW NEAR to Him and HOLD FAST to Him as your only hope?
  5. What are you “drawing near” to right now with your affections/attention?  What/who are you looking to for your ultimate hope?
  6. What are some of the reasons why you are tempted to “forsake meeting together” with other believers at church?  Did we talk about anything today that challenged you to re-engage or stay engaged with regular fellowship with a local church?
  7. We ended with 3 ways to help prioritize gathering for worship with other Christians in the year ahead:  put church on your calendar, prepare for Sundays, and participate when present.  Any particular action steps that God was leading you to in light of these challenges?
  8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

Whys of Worship #1 1.7.24

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

Whys of Worship (Series Preview)

Flying on an airplane is a real trip.  We arrive at the airport hours before takeoff and then begin taking things off:

  • We take off our shoes and walk around in our socks.
  • We take off our belt and hope our pants stay up.
  • We take out all the contents of our pockets and place it in dishes.
  • We take out our laptops and place them alone in bins.
  • We watch agents take our carryons apart looking for 4 ozs of shampoo.

Then we put everything back on our bodies and in our bags then get on the plane.  Then they tell us to turn everything off.

  • Turn off your cellular service.
  • Turn off your large electronic devices.
  • Turn off the recline function of your seat.
  • Turn off your tray table.

And you know what?  Everyone does it!  It is amazing!  As someone with experience leading groups I am amazed at the compliance from all in the airport and on the plane.  But why do we do these things?  You may know why we do SOME of these things, but does anyone really know why we do ALL these things?

You may remember the shoe bomber, but may be unclear why your cell phone might crash the plane!  The more we are in tune with the WHY of each of these regulations, the more we are inclined to adhere to the custom.

But that principle is not just true in air travel, it flies in church as well.

Think about the typical Sunday morning:

  • People gather into rooms all over the world for church services.
  • People (who never gather with friends to sing songs in other settings) stand and sing for 20 minutes together.
  • Often at the end of these gatherings, people eat bread and drink wine/juice in a ceremony called communion.
  • Every so often people don swimsuits and then allow themselves to be submerged under water in baptism.
  • Pastors stand on stages and pray out loud while others listen silently, heads bowed.
  • Church services are free, and yet people give money in bins and baskets as people gather.
  • For extended periods of time, Pastors read from an ancient book called the Bible and then talk about its significance for our contemporary life in sermons.

All these are parts of the WHAT of worship in contemporary churches, including Wildwood.  Amazingly, people do this each and every Sunday.  But why do we do these things?  Why gather, sing, have communion, be baptized, pray, give an offering, or listen to a sermon?  Knowing the WHYS of WORSHIP will help us understand what we are doing on Sundays, and why it is so important.

Throughout 2024, I will be preaching on the topic of worship from a number of different angles.  Later this year, we will have a sermon series on the Psalms, Ezra/Nehemiah/Haggai, and more.  But we are kicking off the year with a series entitled “WHYS of WORSHIP.”  So before we takeoff into another year, let’s unpack why we are doing what we are doing.  This Sunday, we begin our series by looking at why we gather from Hebrews 10:24-25.  See you Sunday, January 7 at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service … and bring friends!