| Romans 7:14-25 by Don Neuendorf |
"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin... Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
People often debate "difficult" parts of Scripture. They might find it hard to believe miracles, or hard to understand concepts like the Trinity. I have spent years trying to help people see the truth and trustworthiness of God's Word. But in these verses there are two words that even I have trouble with. "We know..." |
| Zechariah 9:9-12 by Don Neuendorf |
This is a funeral sermon.
At least that's how I think of it. Zechariah (whose name means "Yahweh remembers") is a priest and prophet after the Babylonian exile. The people he is preaching to are the folks whose parents and grandparents had been dragged off to captivity with hooks in their cheeks. They lived 70 years in a foreign country while their homeland was destroyed. And now these are the remnant, the smaller number who returned after the Babylonian Empire fell. What would their life be like?... |
| Matthew 10:34-42 by Don Neuendorf |
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace on the earth."
That's a disappointing phrase, isn't it? We prefer Jesus' words just one chapter later, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Can both those phrases be true at the same time?... |
| Romans 7:1-13 by Don Neuendorf |
You might want to pay special attention to the epistle lessons for the next couple of months. They are all in sequence from a very important part of Paul's letter to the Romans. I'll be preaching on them the first 2 Sundays in July.
Here at the beginning of chapter 7 Paul is concerned with the question, so what do we do with the law? Have you asked yourself that? What is the place of the law in your Christian life?... |
| Jeremiah 28:5-9 by Don Neuendorf |
OK, so I never got back to blog on the Gospel lesson for last week, but I preached on it and that sermon audio is posted (for what it's worth), so you can check that out if you want.
I really wanted to preach on the Jeremiah text because it has always fascinated me how he openly confessed that he didn't want to preach. He tried not to preach. But he found that he had to - and whenever he did, he had to tell the truth... which was bad news and got him into trouble... |
| Romans 6:12 by Don Neuendorf |
"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."
Man, this is frustrating. I'm sitting here trying to come up with words for this weekend's sermon and I'm getting nowhere. Note: this is not a new experience. I've got soft instrumental music playing on the computer (I recommend www.pandora.com - it's great and free). I've got a cold soft drink to supply the caffeine. I've got a great text to work with (Matthew 10, about being sent out as sheep among wolves). But I don't know how to begin to put it all together.
Pursuing an idea for an opening illustration, I read through several recent commencement speeches. It discombobulated me - so that I am a mixture of depression, cynicism, irritation, doubt, and determination. In other words, frustration.
Or, to pick a much more accurate word... sin.
"Do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies." Easier said than done... |
| Jeremiah 20:7-13 by Don Neuendorf |
"O Lord, you deceived me..." There are lots of interesting things about these verses, not least of which is this one raised by Jeremiah's opening words. Did God "lie" to Jeremiah?
The word translated "decieved" could have been rendered "seduced" or "enticed". But the effect would be the same. Does God mislead us?... |
| Exodus 19:2-8 by Don Neuendorf |
Is it law-and-then-gospel, or is it gospel-and-then-law?
We normally preach God's law, which convicts us of sin, and then preach the gospel, the good news about his forgiveness and love for us so that we can be comforted in our grief over sin. But in this case God tells the Israelites the gospel first. "I carried you on eagles' wing and brought you to myself."
Why?... |
| Sermon Audio Available Again! by Don Neuendorf |
We're back in business with sermon audio files. Our technical issues were overcome (mostly - we still have some trouble with the recordings). So go on over to that page and catch up on the 3 recent sermons we just posted! |
| Matthew 9:9-13 by Don Neuendorf |
Today I'm starting to work on this text for my sermon this coming weekend. I find the hardest Scriptures to preach about are those that seem the simplest and most straightforward. After all, what's left to say?
Jesus tells Matthew to follow him. Matthew does. Some people don't like it because Matthew is a tax collector. Jesus tells them that he came for people like that, for sinners, which is something we already know, right?
But... |