People serve God for lots of reasons, not all of them noble. We’ll study an Old Testament King who served God for the wrong reasons — giving us a chance to consider: What are the right reasons for serving God? What does authentic spirituality look like? Today’s scripture: 2 Chronicles 25 Watch the webcast. Use […]
Author Archives: Jeff Miner
Days of Our Lives
There’s just something about a soap opera that easily draws us in. All that drama, intrigue, and manipulation. We love it! So much so that we may never rise above it. And we end up living small lives. In this sermon we study a passage in 2 Chronicles that calls us to something higher. Today’s […]
Scared Spitless
We all know that breathless sinking feeling that comes when we face something monumentally frightening. When the doctor says. . . . Or a spouse says. . . . Or the boss says. . . . Using 2 Chronicles 20 as our guide, we’ll identify four steps we should always take when we are scared […]
Who Are You Listening To?
How you answer that question could make all the difference. Listen to the wrong people, and disaster may result. Listen to the right people, and great things could happen. But how do we tell the difference? Today’s scripture: 2 Chronicles 18 Watch the webcast. Use the player below to listen to this sermon. Right-click on […]
Together
We live in a culture that idealizes “rugged individualism.” Often people will say, “I can worship God in the woods as well as in church.” Sometimes our own life history causes us to distrust and push away from people. And in the process, we forget how much we need each other — and how much […]
When I’m Overwhelmed
Sometimes life’s challenges hit us in waves; other times it’s just the unrelenting grind of daily details — no time to rest, no relief from the demands and pressure. We keep pushing and trying harder, but feel near collapse. What then? This week’s story from 2 Chronicles will point us in the right direction. Today’s […]
Getting Sucked Into Conflict
It happens all the time. A conflict arises, people get worked up, drama ensues, and before long we’re overwhelmed by it all. If we’re not careful, conflict can consume our best energy — and distract us from a positive life agenda. This sermon looks at an ancient Bible story that offers practical wisdom for containing […]
Provocation!
It happens all the time. In ways large and small, somebody does something that hurts us, or threatens us, or just seems downright uncalled for. And we react! Oh do we react! In this sermon we’ll look at an obscure Old Testament story filled with wisdom for how to respond to situations of provocation. Today’s […]
Looking Back
That’s always the temptation. Whenever we face change, our natural tendency is to resist, clinging to that which is familiar and comfortable. But God sees a bigger picture, and often forces us into a brave new future. This sermon looks at the process of creative change in our lives. Today’s scripture: Genesis 19:15-26 Watch the […]
Push/Pull
Many of us long to be close to God, but fear what that might mean. The result is deep inner conflict — part of us wants to draw near to God, while another part of us pushes away. This Sunday we’ll talk about the factors that cause us to fear God. How can we overcome […]
Perspective
It’s something we all need and want — the ability to see life (and the things that happen to us) in some transcendent context, to rise above the mundane, to get to a place in life when we can be joyful no matter what. But how? In this sermon we explore how each of us […]
Courage To Be Me
You see it even at Christmas — the powerful pressure to conform — to be like everybody else — to live the way others think we should. But right there in the Biblical Christmas story we are taught the opposite. In this sermon, we grapple with the importance of individual destiny. Today’s scripture: Luke 1:59-66 […]
A Christmas Meditation
Yeah, yeah, we know the Christmas story! We’ve heard it a million times! What could possibly be new? You might be surprised! Embedded within the Christmas story is profound practical wisdom for everyday living. We can see ourselves — our lives, our struggles — in the Christmas story. Today’s scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 Watch the webcast. […]