Sermons by Bob Rhodes (Page 7)
PlusOne: Presence
Each year, we consider the overarching stewardship of this church and this faith community. We begin with prayer because there can be no Stewardship without first being in conversation with God. Prayer can be daunting as we try to figure out the best way to say what we want to say or to quiet ourselves to hear. Thankfully, we have some guidance. Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 (CEB)
PlusOne: Prayers
Each year, we consider the overarching stewardship of this church and this faith community. We begin with prayer because there can be no Stewardship without first being in conversation with God. Prayer can be daunting as we try to figure out the best way to say what we want to say or to quiet ourselves to hear. Thankfully, we have some guidance. Scripture: Luke 11:1-13 (CEB)
Inspired: Church Stories
This week we conclude our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. This week we explore the letters from the Apostle Paul, our earliest glimpses into the early Christian church. These letters–epistles–highlight the struggles and gifts of these communities. As churches struggle today, we may find comfort in knowing we don’t struggle alone and we may find new ways of learning from these ancient letters.…
Inspired: Fish Stories
This week we near the end of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Some of the loudest critiques from our non-theist friends about sacred Christian texts have to do with the more extraordinary and even super-natural stories. Did those things happen or were they written as allegory and an exaggeration? As Wesleyans, we understand the value of reason in our spiritual life—but this…
Inspired: Gospel Stories
This week we continue our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. As United Methodists and Christians, I think it’s a safe assumption that the Gospel stories hold particular significance for us. This is the Gospel, the Good News! In these stories are the proclamations that we are no longer slaves to sin and death, that we are not alone, that God has walked with…
Inspired: Wisdom Stories
This week we continue our new worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. As humans working in and through all that their is in this world to work in and through, we seek guidance and wisdom and inspiration. This week we look at where we might find such wisdom in our sacred text. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (CEB)
Inspired: War Stories
This week we continue our new worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. It is my hope that people of faith regularly read from our sacred texts. For any of us who regularly read, I suggest that we sometimes find stories and passages that we find difficult to read or even troubling. I believe that facing these difficult stories and passages and questions is essential…
Inspired: Deliverance Stories
This week we continue our new worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. It is surely safe to say that we all wish for deliverance from something. For some of us we may wish for deliverance small inconveniences and annoyances. Still others may wish for deliverance from major emotional upheavals and other difficult circumstances. We are reminded that God hears our cries, even our most…
We Believe: Life Everlasting
This week as we conclude our Worship series, we end by claiming what we believe when our life in this world comes to an end. Surely every person has moments in their lives when they wonder what happens next. Whether we are Christians who affirm the idea of resurrection and eternal life or if we are a non-theist who does not believe in such a thing, there are moments when these questions are particularly present for us. Scripture: John 11:1-45…
We Believe: The Holy Spirit
This third week we consider God’s Holy Spirit. The words in Hebrew and Greek for spirit generally have more than one additional meaning including breath, air, and wind. Consider, then, that it is God’s Spirit that is close enough to be the air that we breathe. Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2, Acts 2:1-4 (CEB)
We Believe: Jesus Christ
Our second week jumps into the absolute core of Christianity in the exploration of the history and personhood of Jesus of Nazareth. The creed makes a litany of statements that highlight classic Christian theology. Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 16:13-18 (CEB)
We Believe: God
Our first week focuses appropriately on God, named in the Apostle’s Creed as The Father Almighty and as the creator of Heaven and Earth. In these few words, we encompass not just the Christian Almighty, but the same God of our Jewish and Muslim siblings. We remember the stories of power and might from the ancient Hebrew texts and the parental figure who gave us a humble Messiah in the New Testament. Scripture: Psalm 90:1-8, 12 (CEB)