On Sunday, September 9, 2018, I preached a message at Wildwood Community Church based on Matthew 15:32-16:12. This message was part 5 of the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below is the audio from the sermon to listen to or share.
To listen offline, click the link below to download:
To listen online, use the audio player below:
On Sunday, September 9, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 15:32-16:12. This message was the fifth and final part in the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below you will find a series of questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
I remember as a kid buying my first pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes. The “jumpman” is all the rage in the Sooner nation today, but back then, Jordan was just a rookie playing for a mediocre Chicago Bulls team fighting to make the playoffs. As a 12 year old, though, I didn’t care. I thought that if those red, white, and black basketball shoes could help him fly through the air of the Boston Garden, surely they could help me dominate on the playground.
Interestingly enough, I bought the shoes, but still could not dunk (shocking, I know, to those of you who know me.) So I moved on to imitating other traits of his “Airness,” even sticking my tongue out as I played. Sadly, all this got me was a lifelong scar down the middle of my tongue when I accidentally bit through it after taking a charge in a pickup game. One scar, no 60 point stat sheets.
I even wore Jordan’s #23 on my middle school basketball team, but still was not a step quicker! As a middle schooler I was learning a valuable lesson . . . the key to Jordan’s success was not the shoes (“You money, its gotta be the shoes!), the tongue, or the number . . . it was Him! I could not secure his power apart from his presence.
Now, I say all this because as I look at Matthew 15:32 – 16:12, I see the disciples struggling with a similar issue. Jesus’ disciples desperately wanted Jesus’ power, but they were tempted to look for it in a number of things or locations, instead of in Him. As they did so, they missed the obvious point. They could not secure His power apart from His presence. No matter where they went, no matter how much they had or didn’t have, they would always have what they needed IN HIM.
This Sunday at Wildwood, we will conclude our “Sink or Stand” sermon series by looking at Jesus’ feeding the 4,000. We can’t wait to gather for worship, celebrate the Lord’s supper, and look into this section of God’s Word together. See you then in our 9:45 or 11:00 services.
On Sunday, September 2, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 15:21-28. This message was part 4 of the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below you will find the audio from this sermon to listen to, download or share.
To listen offline, click the link below to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, September 2, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church I preached a sermon based on Matthew 15:21-28. This message was part 4 in the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below are a series of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
In today’s day and age, there is a lot of talk about “entitlement.” Entitlement is a buzz word that is used in sociology textbooks, political stump speeches, post-game press conferences, leadership podcasts, and parenting books. Though the word may be used to mean different things, at its core, entitlement could be defined this way (according to dictionary.com):
“the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment”
Political candidates talk about “entitlements” . . . services people come to expect from their government. College coaches talk about “entitled attitudes” among star players who expect to play all the time regardless of how hard they practice. Older generations talk of younger generations being “entitled” because they expect to live an opulent life early, without “paying their dues.”
Though many people talk about how OTHERS are entitled, I have yet to meet the person who wants to be “entitled.” No one wakes up in the morning and says, “I think I will try to be more entitled today!” So, what is the foundation of an un-entitled life? In Matthew 15:21-28, we see a woman become the epitome of an un-entitlement as she interacts with Jesus over the demon oppression of her daughter.
Against all odds, this woman kneels before Jesus, and demonstrates the foundation of how followers of Jesus can STAND in His presence forever. If last Sunday’s message showed how we sink in our traditions, this week we will stand upon the waves of humility with a Canaanite woman, and be encouraged and challenged by her example and the grace of our God.
See you Sunday at Wildwood in our 9:45 or 11:00 service as we are in part 4 of our “Sink or Stand” sermon series.
On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 15:1-20. This message was part 3 in the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below is the audio related to the message to listen to online, download, or share.
To listen offline, click the link below to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 15:1-20. This message was part 3 of the “Sink or Stand” sermon series. Below are a set of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.
Sermon Questions:
To access these questions in pdf format, click here.
Imagine you have decided to buy a house. Not having an excess of resources, you decide you need to secure the best deal possible. Having only $100,000 to spend, you begin your search at an auction for foreclosed on properties. As you enter the meeting room where the auction will take place, you encounter an Arabian Lamp. You rub the lamp, and (to your great surprise) a Genie pops out of the lamp and promises to give you one wish related to your home purchase: you can either have a house that looks perfect outside (but no clue what the interior of the house might be), or you can have a house that is perfect inside (but you have no clue what the exterior looks like). Which would you choose?
While this deal is imaginary (and a bit far-fetched), it illustrates a powerful point. Most would probably rather have a home with immaculate “insides” (while taking our chances with the outside), than have a perfect “outside” and a questionable inside. Why? Well, what good is a home with a perfect white picket fence if the plumbing does not work? What point is a house painted in the latest fashionable color if the electricity is messed up? What value is a house with nice shade trees in the front yard if the heat and air conditioning don’t warm or cool? Certain things on the inside simply (should) take priority over certain things on the outside.
However, this is not always the case, is it? Superficial evaluations are performed all the time on everything from political candidates to club membership to job interviews to prom dates to (sometimes even) home purchases. . . discarding what is inside in preference to what is “outside” . . . and this exchange often leads to disastrous results.
In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus is confronted by a group of religious leaders who made a living out of “picking the outside over the inside” – the Pharisees. This group of people rejected Jesus because they did not like His “outside.” Jesus directly challenged these folks by talking about the over-riding value of the inside in God’s economy.
This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church in our 9:45 and 11:00 services, I will be preaching part 3 in our “Sink or Stand” sermon series, looking at a time when the Pharisees sank before Jesus due to their insistence on their exterior traditions to the neglect of a repentant heart. Join us this week as we are encouraged not to sink ourselves into religious self-righteousness as we follow Jesus together. See you Sunday!
On Sunday, August 19, 2018 at Wildwood Community Church I preached a sermon based on Matthew 14:22-33. This message was part 2 of the “Sink or Stand” sermon series and focused on the event of Jesus walking on the water. Below is the audio from this sermon to listen to online, download or share.
To listen offline, click the link below to download:
To listen online, use the media player below:
