“Powerful Words” – Mark 1:21-28 1. Three surprising things There are at least 3 surprising things in this brief Gospel reading today. The first surprise is a demon in the synagogue. The second surprise is the brevity and authority of Jesus’ words. The third surprise is the response of the...

“The Kingdom of God is at Hand” – Mark 1:14-20 Introduction: Epiphany – revealing Jesus I just want to begin by reminding you that we are in the Epiphany season, and that season and the accompanying Bible readings are about revealing the person of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God...

“Don’t Be Afraid… of Jesus” – John 1:43-51 [The sermon was preached from ¾ way up a ladder.] Introduction – The sky ladder and phobias The theme slide today features a 40 meter long sky ladder between two mountains southeast of Salzburg, Austria. Sometimes known as the Stairway to Heaven, it...

“The Spirit of God Hovering Over the Water” – Genesis 1:2 & Mark 1:9-11 Introduction: The Old Testament reading, and hovering In the olden days, the Old Testament lesson paired with the Gospel reading of Jesus’ Baptism was always from Isaiah 42, where we read, “Behold my servant, whom I...

“The Mystery of His Will” – Ephesians 1:8-9 Introduction # 1 – context Let me be honest and frank and upfront with you right off the bat today. A month or so ago, as I was looking ahead to the Bible readings for this Sunday, I was struck quite quickly...