Sermons from Sweet Home

Even Royalty Need Jesus

There are three types of people who experienced Jesus and His miracles: (1) Those who saw and believed. (2) Those who saw and didn't believe. (3) Those who didn't see but believed. This latter group of people really intrigue me. These are people who didn't see any miracle, who didn't see a resurrection, but they believe simply because they have heard Jesus. 
This royal official hiked over 20 miles on an uphill road of 1700 feet in elevation in order to ask Jesus to heal his son who was sick at home with a fever. He wanted Jesus to go with him, and perhaps touch his son. But for Jesus this was not necessary. He could speak or think things into existence. And the royal official believed. He trusted the words of Jesus even though he did not see his son healed yet. Now that is faith. And that is faith that impresses Jesus. 

The "Wine Jesus" or the "Whip Jesus"?

The first miracle of Jesus took place at a wedding, a feast. The second time Jesus performs miracles according to John is in Jerusalem at the Passover. But before Jesus performed these miracles and many believed he first entered the Temple area, made a whip and beat the animals and people out of the place. Jesus can be festive, but he can also be angry. Which Jesus do you prefer, and do we have a choice? 
We see in this story how eager the Jewish people were to see a miracle before they would listen to Jesus. The Jews were the same in the time of Paul too. The Greeks were different, they wanted wisdom first before they would trust the message of Jesus. But Paul says, "we preach Christ and Him crucified". Today many people also fall into one of these three categories. Go to church for a nice crisp life-wisdom sermon. Or go to church to pray for a miracle and blessings. How many people go to church, do Christianity, simply because of Jesus and Him crucified?

Acts 24:1-27 Facing Felix

In this text Paul stands on trial before the governor Felix. The Jews are there to bring their case against Paul. They have brought a lawyer, an expert orator to oppose Paul and put him in the guilty seat. Does it work? 

Acts 23:23-35 Protected by a Pagan Army

When the commander finds out that there is a crowd of assassins establishing a plot to assassinate Paul he immediately gathered a small army to escort Paul to Caesarea to face the governor of Judea. God is good, He can protect His people at any time in any way! 

Jesus Turns Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)

Jesus didn't do miracles to amaze people, but to show them who he was. Jesus had five disciples in Cana at this wedding. They had followed him primarily because someone they trust had told them who he was. But they haven't really seen who he was for themselves. Well, here at this humble wedding in a small village Jesus performs the first of his miracles, an incredible miracle to show them who he was. 
He is the creator, he creates wine out of water. He is the ultimate groom, he starts his ministry at a wedding because it will all end at a wedding when he marries his bride. He is the new Moses. The first miracle of Moses was to turn water into blood, the first miracle of Jesus is to turn water into wine. And Jesus bring blood and wine together at the Last Supper to show that wine represents blood. In this way Jesus signals the New covenant. 
Jesus shows his disciples he is the creator, the groom, and the new Moses. But he also shows he is just a man. He eats and drinks. He is a joy, wine symbolizes joy. Jesus is a feast. He is the creator of wine that gladdens human hearts (Psalm 104:14-15). 

Acts 23:12-22 Cousin by Blood, Friend by Choice

The Jews, especially the Sadducees had now become unbearably uncomfortable with Paul. So a group of 40 assassins made a commitment to kill Paul. They designed a plot to have Paul brought from the Antonia Fortress to the Chamber of Hewn Stones. During this trip they planned on taking his life. But God was in control, as He always is. And Paul's "no name" nephew saves the day.  

Acts 23:1-11 Take Courage

When Lysius couldn't have Paul flogged, he decided to bring him before the Sanhedrin, the judicial head of Israel. He hoped that they would be able to resolve their conflict and give him some direction as to what he needs to do with Paul. That didn't turn out great. He had to save Paul from the Sanhedrin, even they wanted to kill him. For Paul, this week in Jerusalem had not been fun. But Jesus is great. He appeared to Paul at night and comforted him with a promise. 

Acts 22:22-30 Men in the Middle

The mob listened quietly to Paul speak, until he mentioned one word: "Gentiles". And then they erupted, the quiet listening turned into a riot. The commander was in charge of peace, so he took Paul away and ordered to have him flogged in order to get a testimony that might shed light on the rift between him and the crowd of Jews. But Paul was a roman citizen, and that complicated matters. 

Acts 21:37-22:21 Paul Preaches to Persecutors

The Roman solders had saved Paul from the Jewish mob that was trying to kill him. Paul is being led into the Antonia Fortress next to the Temple. He is chained. From the steps of the fortress Paul is allowed to address the crowd. And he does this well, He tells his story that culminates in the proclamation the Gospel. The crowd is silent, the power o the Holy spirit was present. What does Paul tell them? 

Do you sin less?

Warning: This is an offensive lesson. John says we cannot be born again Christians and continue living in habitual sin. This message is offensive because there is a strong flavor of cultural Christianity in our communities where Jesus is great, but we don't conform our lives to Him. Unfortunately there is also a false theology regarding grace that makes self-acclaimed Christians believe that since they are saved by grace, their sin doesn't matter anymore. 
But, like Solomon says, "nothing is new under the sun". Paul struggled with this same mindset in the early churches: What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2) True born again disciples of Jesus indeed cannot continue living lifestyles of sin. this does not mean that they are sinless, but simply that they sin less.