I’ve been preaching our experiences of suffering since the start of the year. Each of the sermons has zeroed in on a Gospel account of Jesus in the boat with His disciples. Yesterday’s sermon, Seeing Jesus in our Suffering, took us to John 6:16-21, where Jesus came near the disciples walking on water. The outline related to Jesus’s “bigness” coming near (as Jesus said, “It is I, don’t be afraid). I hope the sermon is an encouragement.

I also tried to wrap up those four sermons with some particular applications at the end. We all want to be helpful to others when they’re hurting. Unfortunately, the church sometimes doesn’t do well in caring for others. I hope my applications prove insightful as we try to navigate this well.

My 1/19/25 sermon, Questioning God’s Care (Mark 4:35-41), kicked off a new series at Crestview. Like every week, you can find a transcript, audio, video, and notes on that link. This series will be a series of sermons on Jesus calming the storm with His disciples. We began with Mark’s narrative. It was striking to me that this comes on the heels of many teachings from Jesus about the effectiveness of His Word. So, the fact that questions pop up should be very encouraging for people like us who find themselves suffering. I hope this sermon encourages you.

My 12/22/24 sermon, Roped into God’s Love (Isaiah 55:1-5), continued exploring the four themes of Advent by focusing on God’s love. God invites us to come to Him, incentivizes it, and even promises to make good on it forever. Christmas tells us a story that God has come to us. And His nearness means that we are affected in profound ways. I hope you have a great week relating to others out of the love of God Himself. Oh, I also closed with this illustration from Frosty the Snowman. I hope it helps you marvel at the grace shown to you by God.

My 11/24/24 sermon, God’s Mission Advancement Plan (Ephesians 6:10-24), wrapped up a quick series we did at Crestview through Ephesians. This short 7-week series oriented our hearts around our God, who always moves and plans with intention. The residue this book left on me is a big pushback against the “rugged individualism” we are consistently pointed toward. As this series wrapped, one application was that the spiritual armor isn’t so much waking up and putting on the armor every day. It’s a way of life we experience in the church where we root each other’s identity in the good news of what Jesus has done for us. This sermon concluded with an appeal for our church to go deeper. I tried to do this with courage and gentleness. I hope the sermon encourages you.

My 11/17/24 sermon at Crestview, God’s Life Plan (Ephesians 5:22-6:9), is online. If you know your Bible, you probably recognize this section as instructions related to the household code: how marriages, families, and even work realms function. And as this relates to our broader context, this sermon unpacked how God’s work to affect His people is filled with applications in the day-to-day life of His people. I hope it encourages you, especially those for whom this text might have been weaponized for dishonorable behaviors.