Sharon Church | Sermons

Solomon looks death in the eyes and concludes that life is a gift meant to be enjoyed.

What Solomon has laid out here are the ways we as humans distract ourselves from ultimate reality. These are the things we chase to detach from our human circumstances...things we think will save us, even momentarily from having to feel what it feels like to be human. They are what we run to to insulate us. Ultimately, Solomon ends up at a similar understanding - it is all smoke, like chasing the wind.

As the Preacher begins his testimony of his pursuit of purpose, he lets us in on a fundamental truth he learned that carries forward through the rest of the book - knowledge and wisdom are good but not ultimate and will never satisfy our souls.

In the first verses of the book of Ecclesiastes, we find out exactly what the author is doing. He is leading us to the perils of seeking the wrong thing while here under the sun.

As the finale of his Gospel, Matthew shows us the humanity of the disciples and Jesus' unfettered call on their lives. It reminds us that God is not waiting on us to be perfect to be able to use us. He makes us faithful as we go.

We have to do something with the empty tomb. For the Romans and the religious leaders they had to cover it up. But what if it is true? Could it be that God actually became human and then defeated death?

As Jesus gives up His final breath on the cross, everything begins to spin into a whirlpool of chaos leaving religion, the cosmos, & humanity to be caught up in the wake.

When given the choice between the way of the world and the way of Jesus, our flesh grows louder and louder. We see it vividly in Matthew 27 with the choice between Jesus and Barabbas.

In His darkest night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus reveals the depths of His humanity and shows us how to handle our own Gethsemane moments.

Judas decides to betray Jesus - but his decision did not happen over night. It was a series of events that led him to this place.

Peter & John heal a lame man on their way to worship and that lame man causes a scene in the temple - simply by being healed. 

With massive numbers of people coming to faith in Jesus, the church organizes itself around four key ideals: learning, sharing, being together, & worship.

Peter delivers a sermon to explain what the crowds are witnessing. Through the sermon they are able to see their present in light of the past and they are changed by it.

Has the church become too normal? Have we lost the mystery of the power of the Spirit?

With this final teaching on how we are to handle the long wait of His glorious return, Jesus makes heavy claims about the end of the age that line up with everything He has said thus far.

As Jesus finishes His sermon about the end of the age, He stacks two more parables to explain what it looks like to be wise and faithful in the midst of a broken world.

How do we live as followers of Jesus in a world that seems to grow darker by the day?

Jesus answers an onslaught of questions from the religious leaders and pronounces seven woes on the Pharisees and Scribes.

Jesus is no longer walking in silence. He makes a bold entrance into Jerusalem and marches right to the Temple to make His claim that He is the long-awaited Messiah.

Jesus came as the evidence of God's love for the world. How do we know God loves us? Christmas.

Through the lineage of kings in the Old Testament, Jesus has come as our King.

Jesus fulfills the Old Testament role of the High Priest - but not just in the ways we expect.

What if it is not our "bigness" that gets us to Jesus but our "smallness"?

When we forget our brokenness and neediness, we become cynical and jealous of the grace of God toward others. 

When approached by a rich young man looking for eternal life, Jesus asks him to do something that would reveal where his treasure is.

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees trying to get Him involved in a heated debate of the day regarding marriage and divorce. Jesus responds by taking them back to Genesis.

As citizens in the Kingdom of God, we handle conflict differently than the way of the world - we forgive.

Jesus makes honest assessments about the way Christians can hurt other Christians and then He shows us how to handle it.

When we forget the Gospel and we start to fight for status we hurt people and God is not pleased.

In what feels like a throw-away kind of moment, Jesus miraculously provides a temple tax payment for Himself and for Peter in the mouth of a fish. It is a story that acts as a harbinger for the price Jesus would pay for our ultimate freedom.

A critical moment in Christian history - Jesus reveals Himself as the glory of the God. But the moment was never meant to stay on the mountaintop - it is meant to make its way into our moments of little faith.

The question each person has to reckon with is, "Who do you say Jesus is?"

Jesus moves from Galilee up the coast and then around the Sea of Galilee reaching more and more people and there is a moment with a Canaanite woman that changes everything.

The Pharisees and Scribes come from Jerusalem with accusations against Jesus and His disciples.

The death of John the Baptist signals the closing section of Jesus' earthly ministry and He amps up the training of the disciples.

As Jesus finishes this section of Kingdom parables, He concludes by commissioning the disciples to take what they have learned and put it on display.

There is such joy in the Kingdom of Heaven but it comes with a cost.

The Kingdom of Heaven is found in small and hidden places but makes an impact over a period of time.

The Kingdom of Heaven is here now - in the present, not in the future. So, what do we do with the fact that it is here along with earthly kingdoms?

Jesus is beginning to explain in more detail His mission. It is centered around a new Kingdom come to earth but we have to have eyes to see it.

The Pharisees have crossed the line now. They have accused Jesus of working with the Enemy and Jesus is furious. He unleashes a lesson full of metaphors and Old Testament references that come to a culmination in a picture that perfectly explains the hardness of the Pharisees' hearts.

There is a space between doubting Jesus and having disdain for Him. What do we do when we find ourselves there? 

In a big moment for the history of the church, Jesus empowers humans to embark on the mission of His Gospel. There is great warning in Jesus' admonition to the apostles, but great hope as well.

The compassion of Jesus leads to the mission of His people.

As Matthew wraps up this portion of his account, he makes it subtly clear to the reader that there are three responses to seeing Jesus. It is the response of the crowds that is most sobering to most of us.

As Jesus continues to heal and save, His actions catch the attention of the religious leaders.

What do we do when God doesn't give us the miracle we have been asking for?

As the word of Jesus' miracle working power gets out people are coming to follow Him. But He knows that to follow Him because of signs and wonders will not be reason enough to endure through the dark nights of the soul.

As evidence of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus performs two miracles that totally disrupt the religious establishment of His day.

At the conclusion of His sermon, Jesus reiterates the fact that we only have two options: His way or any other way.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not about behaving, it is about becoming. How do we become a citizen in the Kingdom? We keep asking, we keep seeking, & we keep knocking.

Before the listeners of the Sermon on the Mount begin to think too highly of themselves, Jesus gives a challenge that has been misinterpreted by many to this day. How do we love our brothers and sisters well?

As Jesus moves through the middle of His sermon, He is beginning to draw lines in the sand to distinguish between the kingdom of earth and the Kingdom of Heaven. How we handle mammon informs us as to which side we are on.

As followers of Jesus we are called to be response-oriented people rather than results-oriented people. We give, pray, & fast not to gain anything but because we have already been given all we need.

What if the Lord's Prayer is more than just something we recite before football games? What if Jesus was not just telling us how to pray, but how to keep our lives free from hypocrisy? 

As Jesus continues His sermon, He causes waves by exposing the things we want to keep hidden.

We are the light of the world.

In living like citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven we should expect the world to misunderstand us. What we do with that misunderstanding is what reveals where our allegiance lies. 

Why does persecution exist for those who are just trying to live righteous lives? 

We look like our Father in heaven when we reconcile relationships.

What does it mean to be pure in heart? Do we understand it how Jesus meant it?

The blessing to the merciful is the pinnacle of this section of Jesus' sermon.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? How have we misinterpreted this verse?

A defining characteristic of the Kingdom of Heaven is meekness because the King is meek. 

Recognizing that we are poor in spirit should lead us to mourning for our sin. And when we find ourselves there - we find the good news of resurrection!

As Jesus begins His sermon on the mount, He addresses the crowd with "The Great Surprise." 

As Jesus begins His ministry, He institutes the Kingdom of Heaven. It begins much like God has worked in the Old Testament. 

Immediately following a celebratory moment in His baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness for 40 days of hunger and a battle with the devil.

Matthew moves forward to a moment of revelation in Jesus' life - His baptism at the Jordan River.

Matthew skillfully proves the Messiah-ship of Jesus by showing Him to be the fulfillment of the Old Testament - as a better Israel.

When the magi make their way to see Jesus their response is one of overwhelmingly joyful worship. Our response to the presence of Jesus should be the same.

With the genealogy of Jesus completed, Matthew shifts to tell the story of the birth of Jesus - from the eyes of Joseph.

In the third and final section of Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, we come to the period of the Babylonian exile. The Israelites have been removed from their land and are now strangers in a land that is not their own. They kingly line has seemingly ended and hope is lost - so they stop rejoicing. But the the Biblical view of exile with a God who IS love changes everything.

In this second section of his genealogy of Jesus, Matthew focuses on the line of the kings of Israel. His point is that Jesus is the King they have been waiting for. The issue is that they are looking for a king that looks like the world, while God is sending a King who looks like Him.

The beginning of Matthew's Gospel is a genealogy of Jesus. Seems like an odd (boring) way to start something so significant - until you get underneath the surface to see what Matthew is communicating. There is hope for us all.

At the close of the book of Exodus, God continues a holy theme that is found throughout the Bible - God wants to be with His people. 

Moses finishes the work of building the Tabernacle. He does so - like the builders - with great precision and detail. This Tabernacle is more than a tent in the desert, it is a pattern of Heaven first seen at the Garden of Eden.

The priests' garments are put together for the priests in Israel. These garments would prove to be significant, not only in the life of the Israelites but also in the story of Scripture.

Bezalel and his team build the Tabernacle with great precision and obedience. How did Bezalel become a young man full of passion and skill? His grandfather, Hur, played a big role in it.

With all of the materials for the Tabernacle given, it is now up to two men to lead the charge in getting the Tabernacle constructed. Like them, God has given each of us gifts to be used in building His Church here, today.

Now it is time for the Israelites to know God's plan for His dwelling place among them. After all that has happened, God still wants to use this group of people to show His glory on earth - but He needs their hearts.

Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai (again) glowing from His time with God. This moment speaks to a greater moment in the context of Scripture.

Moses makes another trip up Mt. Sinai and God shows His mercy to Moses and the people of Israel.

Moses intercedes for the Israelites before the Lord and pleads with Him to not leave them. 

While Moses is on Mt. Sinai with God, the people of Israel are growing increasingly frustrated with how long it is taking. In their frustration with Moses and the LORD, they ask Aaron to build them an idol - and he does.

Before Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai with the Tabernacle blueprints and the tablets of the Ten Commandments, God give stern instruction about the Sabbath. God is not like Pharaoh. He does not use people as slaves. He invites them to rest.

With the Tabernacle blueprints done, God reveals to Moses that He has someone in mind to do the construction. It seems that God has created a couple of men for such a time as this.

As God finishes His design for the Tabernacle, He wraps it up with significant pieces of furniture and the incense and oil. Without the consecration of the Tabernacle it is just a tent in the desert.

Another piece of furniture in the Tabernacle is shown to Moses on the mountain. The altar of incense was representative of the prayers of the people.

With the Tabernacle laid out and the blueprints finished, God now shows Moses how to clothe and ordain the men who would be leading the ministry in the Tabernacle - the priests.

In the final instructions for the Tabernacle itself, God gives Moses the plan for the courtyard including the bronze altar where sacrifices would be made day after day.

As God continues to show Moses the blueprints of His sacred place of worship - The Tabernacle - Moses is faced with the task of communicating and leading the construction of this beautiful and practical tent. With the detail necessary for correct construction, God clearly lays out what is needed.

While on Mt. Sinai with God, Moses is given the blueprints for what would become a sacred place of God's presence - the Tabernacle. But these blueprints are not new, God has used them other places already.

As the people of Israel agree to a covenant with God, Moses makes his way up Mt. Sinai and is in the presence of God for 40 days and 40 nights.

God has prepared the Promised Land for His people. The issue now is whether or not the Israelites are a prepared people.

Following the Ten Commandments, God gives the Book of the Covenant - laws about how to live in the day-to-day as a member of God's covenant family.

In creating a new community, God puts in place a covenant - but this is more than a covenant with the Israelites. This covenant would be foundational for much of the Bible.

The narrative comes to a screeching halt at Mount Sinai. God's desire is to be with His people but we often stand far back because His presence is so powerful. But the invitation is the same - come and meet God.