LifeSpring Sermon Blog

It's not what you think.

Jim Grasley examines 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 in this sermon.  A text where Paul takes up the issue of the paradox of the Cross.
 

Looking for Specks

In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he warned against being judgmental toward other people.  And he used an exaggerated but effective image to make his point - the log versus the speck.  This is the text, Matthew 7:1-5, for examining the third of the Three Practices.  "I will not compare my best with your worst."

Paul in Athens

This sermon looks at the second practice of the Three Practices, "Stay in the room with difference."  The basic idea of this practices is to stay connected to Others, even when you hold an opposing viewpoint.  Paul showed the validity of this practice in the way that he connected with the Greek philosophers in the city of Athens.  This sermon comes from Acts 17:16-34.

Unusually Interested in Others

This is the first of what is called The Three Practices which are three ways of engaging people in the world around us, based on the way that Jesus instructed us to imitate.  The text comes from John 4:4-30 which is the account of Jesus' conversation with a woman of Samaria.

Meet the New Neighbors

Jim Grasley delivered this sermon on 4 January, and his text is John 3:1-15.  The sermon is about Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, and it opens a January series of sermons about the Three Practices that make Christians more tune-in, attentive, and gracious listeners toward the people around them.

Our Pioneer

Christmas over, we turn to the nature of Christ.  What keeps Christmas from being just a sentimental childbirth story?  The text comes from Hebrews 2:10-18 and fleshes out the nature and mission of Jesus.  Our Pioneer!

The Elephant in the Room

This sermon comes from Matthew 11, and it concerns the question of John the Baptist, now in prison.  He is apparently starting to have some doubts or wonderings about Jesus.  Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?
The sermon is about that elephant-in-the-room question.

A Virgin will Conceive

The text for this sermon comes from Isaiah 7:14. In the sermon we examine its first use as a prophecy to King Ahaz of Judah.  The sermon also looks at the contrast of Ahaz's reaction and Joseph to who the promise was made in Matthew, and how his response differed from that of Ahaz.

Even a stump can carry a promise.

This sermon comes from Isaiah 11:1-10.  "Even a stump can carry a promise" comes from God's reassurance to the nation of Judah during fraught political times.  The Isaiah prophecy is retold in the New Testament to refer to Jesus being the true shoot out of the stump of Jesse.

Christmas Cards

Jim Grasley brings this sermon which comes from Genesis 3:15, commonly called the first gospel.  This is the earliest "Christmas card" that the Bible gives us and an appropriate place to begin the Advent season.