Turner Christian Church

Introduction We all know what the Bible says about authority—we should be subject to them. Why? Because God has ordained them to provide for the common good in this fallen world. They have an important job in God’s plan, so let them do it. But that logic doesn’t follow. What about when they don’t do…

Introduction: How should we treat others? Our culture wants to ground our treatment of others in how we were created: Declaration of Independence Every one is equal, so treat them that way. But that’s before the resurrection. Thomas Jefferson didn’t believe in the resurrection. How does Easter change…

Introduction Okay, maybe the Church is essential, but certainly not baptism or communion. Too superstitious. Don’t like needing others. Why would Baptism and Communion be essential to the ministry of reconciliation? The Body of Christ in Corinth was sick and immature—divided, ignorant, sinful, selfish—and…

Intro We are generally skeptical of the church. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. I like Jesus, but not Christians. I’m opposed to organized religion (and so was Jesus) The Church is too divisive. But Paul says, As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling…

This Sunday school lesson talks about the power of bold and humble prayers. What I keyed in on was how Abraham used that power. Genesis 18:16-25 God has a role for Abraham and his family to play in his plan—a ministry. This is the first time he brings him into it. S&G are unjust and cruel. Abraham advocates…

Introduction: Explain series—title and passages Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This sermon is preacher’s worst nightmare: Baptism, not repentance Do we have to be…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Think about how profound this statement is: God loves the whole world.…

Introduction Adoption papers as Christmas gifts. Why so exciting? Just a piece of paper? Theirs is the huiothesia ; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,…

Theme Question: Why is God’s Word a good gift? We love the Bible because of its’ power. “This is my Bible. I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do. Today I’ll be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I’ll never be…

What happens after the feast? We don’t know, because it depends on the choices of the brothers. We can speculate about what will happen to each son, but what is the ideal that the story is pointing toward? What would be a happy ending? Joyful reunion of the entire family Moving forward rooted in the…

Big idea: anxious minds miss the good. Prodigal minds can see the good.??? What does a renewed mind look like? Introduction Big idea: anxious minds miss the good. Prodigal minds can see the good.??? Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you…

Introduction Now we come to the other brother. This may seem like a needless epilogue, but it is actually the most important part of the story. The older brother represents the Pharisees, for whom the story is told. Luke 15:25-32 V. 28-30: What is the older brother’s problem? According to the old story,…

Introduction In this series we’ve been lookin at the story of a prodigal father who is always generous, never judges. It sure seems like there is no condition under which the father would turn away the son. Does that mean there’s not judgment? Not quite. There is a moment in this story that is a bit…

Introduction Now we come to the most important part of the story: the reconciliation. The son responds to his suffering, which sets in motion a series of events that results in reconciliation with the father. This is how we get saved. Here is where the story of the Prodigal Son most challenges our story.…

Suffering is the gap between what WE WANT and what WE GET . ( Luke 15:29 ) Why must we Suffer? In the story we have been telling, suffering plays an important function. It proves to the son that he is not as independent as he thinks he is. When we suffer, we experience the difference between the story…

Introduction In this series we are reading the story of the prodigal son as The Wrong Story: God is generous as long as I meet his expectations. He expects me to be perfect, and I failed. Now I am a failure, I am depraved, and God cannot bear my presence in this condition. The only way I can be reconciled…

Why do we reject God’s generosity? We would rather own MINE than share GOD’S . ( Luke 15:1-3 ) Have my own stuff. Go my own way. Do my own thing. Be my own man. We are always choosing less that we could have had. But we think that’s better. [The mind] Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.... Here…

Overview Text(s) : Big Idea : Our God is a GENEROUS father who gives us a GOOD world. Purpose : Congregants will come away with a greater appreciation for the goodness of God’s creation. Sermon Outline: Series Introduction This year we are growing together so we can follow God better as individuals,…

Remember: Back to school reminds us of uncertainty. How do we get through the unknown? Moses remember one thing, and do one thing. He said: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Remember that the…

Introduction sdvsdvds By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in…

These days you have your choice of where to get your news: cable news channels, websites, social media, friends, newspapers? You can get any perspective you want, but they all agree on one thing: Is the world getting better or worse? Chaos Oppression Scarcity Injustice What if you had a cable news channel…

Exegetical Idea: God Homiletical Idea: God looks out for us, so we can follow him in the valley. Purpose: Listeners will come away with a desire to look for God’s presence in their life and greater confidence to follow him into the unknown with confidence and faith. Perspective: A wolf talking to a flock…

How can we keep our trust in God’s path? Psalm 1 says that the righteous will be happy and the wicked will end in destruction. But what do we do when being righteous doesn’t make us feel happy? What about when things are hard? That’s what Psalm 2 is for. This also helps us to see how psalms can form…

Introduction The way of discipleship is hard. Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for…

Introduction READ MARK 13 What is Jesus talking about? We assume he’s talking about the end of the world. He talks about “the end” coming (7, 13) The Gospel must first be preached to all nations (10) “Days of distress will be unequaled” (19) Dramatic language of sun darkened, etc. (24) People will see…

Introduction READ Mark 11:27-33 Read Mark 12:1-12 The Temple leaders defended themselves based on their authority. Jesus said that their authority doesn’t matter if they refused to respond to the Gospel. The question is: The Question: What does God really WANT FROM US ? (11:27-12:12) Read Mark 12:13-15…

Introduction The Question of the Temple ( Mark 11:12-19 ) This is weird. Jesus seems to act very out of character: Fig tree Temple For the disciples, the temple cleansing was what they had waited for. But the way Jesus did it was disappointing. The fig tree is there to asnwer the question of the temple…

The Triumphal Entry Read Mark 11:1-11 This story, especially as Mark tells it, is anticlimactic: Jesus decides to make his move during Passover—the new exodus! Disciples proclaim Jesus king Crowds join in the procession The temple leaders are supposed to respond. They ignore him completely. We are not…

sddasc Read Mark 10:17-31 Jesus challenges this man with a particular version of “deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me.” Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Jesus looked…

Recap Read Mark 9:14-29 Central question of the story: why can’t the disciples cast out the demon? Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to…

Now we come to the midterms. Anxiety of the pharisees. Lesson of the Loeaves—I am completely dependent on a generous God. Jesus tells them to watch out for the yeast of the pharisees. The disciples start worrying about bread. Read Mark 8:27-9:1 There is one question on the midterm: who do you say I am?…

Read Mark 7:1-23 We often get this passage backwards—we think that the Pharisees were focused on the outside—ritual and behavior—while Jesus is focused on the in keeping the inside clean. But that’s because we get confused about the point they are arguing. We think Jesus is abolishing dietary laws. “Are…

Coming out of COVID we were in a really good financial position. We found ourselves sitting on a good sized checking account. From that position, we made several decisions at various points: We increased the size of our emergency reserve fund We invested more of our money with church investment groups.…