Sermons
Welcome to Our New Sermons Page! We are adding older sermons daily and new sermons weekly so please check back here often for new content!
Welcome to Our New Sermons Page! We are adding older sermons daily and new sermons weekly so please check back here often for new content!
Rev. Susan McGowan opens with a deeply personal account of loss, describing the tragic death of a close friend in adolescence. This narrative is not merely anecdotal—it is emblematic of the universal human experience of loss and the existential wrongness we sense in death itself. The lesson underscores that such grief is not a failure of faith but a poignant indicator of love: “It’s a sign that you loved well and were loved well” 18:15.
Carry Forward: The ache we feel in the face of loss points us toward deeper questions about meaning, eternity, and the very nature of existence.
The lesson contextualizes a debate from Luke 20, where the Sadducees—skeptical about resurrection—challenge Jesus with a hypothetical scenario about marriage after death. Their question is designed more as a theological trap than a genuine inquiry.
The Sadducees represent those who seek to confine God and the afterlife to neat, rational categories, leaving no room for divine mystery or surprise 08:14.
Jesus, instead of taking the bait, reframes resurrection not as an extension of this life’s rules and relationships, but as a profoundly new reality transformed by the living God 10:04.
Carry Forward: Faith sometimes requires us to hold space for mystery and to resist the urge to explain away every tension. The life to come is not bound by the structures and anxieties of our current existence.
A pivotal moment in the lesson is when Jesus references Moses and the burning bush: “I am the God of Abraham…the God of the living” 12:22.
This present-tense self-description of God means that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive to God—death does not sever covenant relationship.
The living God is one who transcends mortality and holds his people beyond the grave, offering hope rooted in divine, ongoing presence.
Carry Forward: Our relationship with God persists into eternity. The hope of resurrection is grounded, not in elaborate theories, but in the character and promises of the God who is.
Rev. Susan McGowan describes a moment of honest, unresolved grief—sitting alone, voicing questions into the night—not receiving answers, but experiencing the real, sustaining presence of God 14:38.
Carry Forward: In seasons when answers elude us, the presence of God is enough. Our questions, doubts, and pain are not ignored by God, but met with compassion and companionship.
The concluding application is both pastoral and practical:
You are free to love fully, even knowing loss will come. You can risk, give, show up for others’ pain.
Death does not have the final word—Christ’s resurrection ensures that hope and joy can persist beneath our grief 18:47.
The God of the living encourages us to bring Him our burdens and to trust that what is lost is not ultimately lost to Him.
You are encouraged to live “all in” because God is who He says He is—a present, living God. Your grief, questions, and hopes are not dismissed but held in divine love. Let this lesson embolden you to love courageously, grieve honestly, and trust in the God whose presence transcends death itself.
Begin your time together with prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your hearts and minds as you reflect on how to faithfully use what God has entrusted to you.
Read Luke 19:11-27 together. Reflect on the parable of the minas and its implications for our lives as followers of Jesus.
Share about a time when you had to serve in a role that felt insignificant or unnoticed. What did you learn through that experience?
“Even when you’re not the key player, you still have an important role on the team.”
How does this statement challenge our culture’s notions of significance and success?
Do you find it easy or difficult to see your everyday actions as meaningful in God’s kingdom?
Where do you see “benchwarmers” making a difference—either in scripture, your church, or your own life?
“Fear-driven inaction isn’t just a missed opportunity. In this parable, Jesus calls it a moral failure.”
Reflect on situations where fear held you back from serving or stepping out in faith. What was the underlying reason for your fear?
The servant in the parable justified his inaction by saying, “I was afraid.” How does Jesus respond to fear as an excuse for not using what He’s given us?
How can you distinguish between godly wisdom and fear when deciding whether to step into a new opportunity?
“You can’t steward what you haven’t acknowledged.”
As followers of Jesus, what does faithful stewardship look like in your context (work, family, church)?
What are the gifts, resources, or opportunities God has specifically entrusted to you? Have you named them?
Read Romans 14:12: “So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” What feelings does this raise for you?
“Lukewarm isn’t just a neutral space to be in… it’s playing it safe, it’s disengaged.”
Have you experienced seasons of “lukewarm” faith? What contributed to that season, and what helped you move forward?
How does our community encourage or discourage full engagement in Christ’s mission?
What practical steps can help someone move from disengagement to active participation?
“The role here has not disappeared. There are people in here sitting right next to you that need your wisdom.”
How might your role in the church change over time? What unique value does each generation bring?
Who can you mentor, encourage, or pray with in this season?
“Pick something, anything, and show up. The boat needs your oar in the water.”
What is one area—inside or outside of church—where you sense God inviting you to step in and serve?
What is a new, concrete step you can take this month to use your gifts for God’s glory?
Close your time by inviting group members to share a specific area where they want to be “all in” this week. Pray for one another by name, asking God for courage, clarity, and joy in serving.
Take time this week to “name what’s in your hands.” Write out the gifts, influence, relationships, or resources God has given you.
Ask God: “Where am I holding back?” Listen for His leading and write down what you sense.
“There are no insignificant roles in the kingdom of God.”
How will you faithfully wield what God has entrusted to you this week?
