Pastor Dale E. Austin John 18:33 – 37
As we wind up each year on the church calendar – and today is the final Sunday on that particular calendar – we generally turn to a consideration of Jesus as king. To some extent, this is quite ironic, because Jesus never referred to himself as a king. Continue reading
Tagged blessings, gratitude, intentions, Jesus, John, neighbors, spirituality, welcoming place
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 14:15-21
In my somewhat limited travels throughout the state, as I move from appointment to appointment, I’ve come across some common characters who seem to be everywhere. I find some of them in the congregations I’ve served; others in the larger community. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, Worship
Tagged commandments, Disciples, God, Gospel, Jesus, John, love
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 14:1-14
There are very few verses in the Bible whose meaning is more hotly debated and even argued than when Jesus responds to Thomas’ question in the sixth verse of today’s reading. When the disciple asks to know the way to God, Jesus responds by telling him that he is “the way, the truth and the life.” Then he adds that most controversial of all comments, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Now just what did he mean by that? Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, Worship
Tagged actions, Christian, discipleship, God, Gospel, Jesus, John, mission. witness, service, spirituality
Pastor Dale E. Austin John 10:1-10
One of the catchphrases which we hear batted around in our churches in recent years is “Servant Leadership”. Supposedly, it’s leadership based upon the model of Jesus Christ’s life and example, who by his own admission came to serve and not to be served. Unfortunately, for as much as we hear this phrase voiced over and over, I don’t see it being modeled very much among our denominational hierarchy. It reminds me of a conversation which I had with our District Superintendent not long ago, in which he was reflecting upon some of our churches where there is a lot of activity. He noted that a lot may be going on, but he couldn’t help wondering aloud, “is it being done in the name of Jesus Christ, or is it just a country club pretending to be a church?” Continue reading
Posted in Sermons, Uncategorized, Worship
Tagged actions, Christian, church, church family, community, intentions, John, mission. witness, missions, neighbors, service
Pastor Dale E. Austin Matthew 17:1 – 9
There are experiences in life too profound to try to explain or to put into words. When someone asks us about them, we may try. But usually it comes down to, “You just had to be there.” Continue reading
Tagged Disciples, Gospel, James, Jesus, John, Matthew, mission. witness, Peter, Transfiguration
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