Saints Peter And Paul Sermons

This is the first sermon in the sermon series titled "Rubble Restoration: Rebuilding God's Way." It will be a sermon series walking through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of God's people returning from their time in Babylonian exile. In their return, they find the city of Jerusalem in rubble. So, they begin to restore. However, even in their restoration, it doesn't always go according to plans. This last year has been one of devastation. Many of the things that we love have turned to rubble and they may not ever be rebuilt the way that they were previously. In this sermon, Pastor Aaron casts vision for what this sermon series will be like and boldly reminds us that Jesus is the perfect rubble restorer.

Follow Me. Go and Be Neighbors. We don't have to go very far to follow Jesus into our neighborhoods. All we need to do is go home. Jesus is with us in our homes. Therefore Jesus plans to utilize you, and your home, and your family as a mission outpost in your neighborhoods. In this final sermon in our "Follow Me. Go and Be" series, Pastor Aaron opens up our eyes to the repeated phrase throughout the Scriptures, "Love your neighbor as yourself." He also shares some practical tips at the end encouraging us to be good neighbors.

Is Jesus a part of our politics? Should He be? In this Sermon, Pastor Kevin looks at the politics of Jesus - as He engages in a political conversation with two opposed political groups. In this conversation from Mark 12, Jesus paves a pathway for us to follow Him as citizens by 1) Respecting the civil authorities and by 2) Reforming the Civil Authorities. Curious how you ought to vote in the next election? Wondering what Jesus has to say about following the leaders of our nation? Take a listen and see how the Kingdom of God - which Jesus came preaching & even inaugurating in His life, death, and resurrection - impacts how we operate in our world - even in our politics.

On this Sunday, the congregation of Saints Peter and Paul gathered together for one combined worship service outside. We gathered under the theme "Follow Me. Go and Be Workers." The average person will work about 90,000 hours in their life, which is about 1/3 of their lifetime. Do you believe that God has created this work for you to do and is present in your work? You better believe that He is. He is present in your work and he has commanded you to be his worker even in your workplace. The work of God is the work of creation. It is the work of life. So, we are commanded to be people who get to work doing God's work at our work. At the end of this sermon, Pastor Aaron invites a member of the church, Joe Battisfore, forward to share how he has tried to put his faith into work in his workplace. They are also joined at the end by Pastor Aaron's discipleship coach, and trainer of disciples of Saints Peter and Paul, the Rev. Dr. David Kim (www.glocalmission.org).

" I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends." These are powerful words from Jesus towards His disciples. Although He IS Lord, Master, God in the Flesh -- He calls His disciples; He calls YOU friend. There are 2 marks of a true friend: 1) They will always let you in. 2) They will never let you down. Jesus, as the greatest friend, models these traits perfectly. He speaks truthfully to you. He invites you to speak back - to share your secrets with Him. Although things don't always go according to our plans - Jesus remains in control. And when disaster strikes us - like a true friend He sits with us in our despair, and He understands - as He took on our despair on the cross. Listen to the words of your true friend - Jesus - and hear how you can "Follow Him...and Go + Be" a true friend for others in your life.

We often consider the Church (building) to be the place where our faith formation takes place. However, studies have shown that the HOME is the primary place where children are formed into the people they will grow up to be -- including their faith. So how do we train up our children in the faith? In this sermon, Pastor Kevin looks at the instruction of Moses in Deuteronomy 6 - as he teaches the people of Israel how to "disciple" their children in the faith - by giving them a Command, a Creed, and a Covenant to pass on to the next generation. These are the very things we can pass on as well. As parents & grandparents - you ARE disciple-makers! God has placed little disciples in your households to be formed by you. Listen & learn how you can share the faith in your household.

Jesus has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. He has also commanded us to follow him and BE his disciples. But... what does the word "disciple" even mean?" In this sermon, Pastor Aaron slows things down and defines what "disciple" means, and then encourages all of us BE disciples and MAKE disciples of others modeling our life and teaching after the life and teaching of Jesus.

This sermon is the first in our new sermon series called "Follow Me. Go and Be." This sermon series will walk us through the ways and places that God has placed us to be his people. Did you know that when Jesus sends you into this world to "Go and Be" he's already there? Jesus never leaves you alone. He actually prepares in advance the good works for you to do. So, as you follow Jesus, you have the opportunity to be his disciple and invite others to follow you. This sermon sets the stage for this series by asking the question "Who do you follow?" Have you considered how many voices there are in this world vying for your attention? Do you follow them? Or do you follow Jesus?

1 Corinthians 16 is the final chapter of Paul's letter to the Church in Corinth. It follows chapter 15 - "the "Resurrection Chapter" - and everything Paul is relaying to the congregation flows from the Resurrection of Jesus. These are "marching orders" for the Christians in Corinth - to continue engaging in the Mission of the Church. Jesus outlined that Mission in Matthew 28:19-20. These words are called the Great Commission. Here, Jesus gives His "marching orders" to His disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations." Sent with the Good News of Jesus' Lordship over sin & death, the disciples are sent into the world to spread the Word. As followers of Jesus in the 21st Century - we continue this Mission. We are Jesus' disciples in the hear & now - in a world where many still need to hear of Jesus' Resurrection - the Good News. In this Sermon, Pastor Kevin encourages the hearers to share this Good News with those in their lives. For we are all for One Mission.

In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul uses the human body as an image of what the church of God ought to look like. He calls all baptized Christians the "One body of Christ." Consider your own body. You do not know all of the parts of your body. There are so many parts of your body that you have never seen, you don't know what they're called, or even what they do. And, that's your own body. You ARE your body, and you don't really know all that much about yourself. Yet, all of those little body parts are necessary for your body to function. The lesser known ones are not less important. And the well known ones are not more important. So, it is in the body of Christ. We all need one another. We all have value. We all have purpose. Not because we create that for ourselves, but because God gives it to us. Let us take good care of the body, we have nowhere else to live.

Meals have a way of connecting people. Drawing people together. There's something sacred about breaking bread with others. The Lord's Supper is a ritual meal that we come back to week after week. But why do we do it? What's it all about? And what's going on when we eat + drink the Lord's body + blood? In this sermon, Pastor Kevin describes three ways that the Lord's Supper connects us. The Lord's Supper connects 1) the present to the past 2) individuals to a community and 3) you to God. Watch, listen, or read this sermon to hear more.

The theme for this week is "All for One... Morality." Oftentimes when people think about why they should live moral lives, they think, "I want to live a moral life to make God happy," or "I want to live a moral life so I don't make God mad," or "I hope that living a moral life means that I can still have fun." But, none of these ideas get to the fullness of why we would live moral lives as God's people. In this week's sermon, we hear Pastor Aaron repeat the Apostle Paul's words, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? You were bought with a price. Honor God with your body." Our bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells within us. This ought to affect the way we live our lives as individuals and in relationships with others. Watch, listen, or read this sermon to hear more.

In this week's sermon, Pastor Aaron, preached on Paul's 1st letter to the Corinthians chapters 3-4 in which he reminds the church what it means to be the Church. They were facing an issue in Corinth of division amongst many segments in the church population. So, Paul writes to them to remind them of the basic truths of who Jesus is and what the church ought to be like. To do this he uses three main images: food, field, and foundation. Watch or listen to this sermon to learn more.

In 1 Corinthians 2 - the Apostle Paul mentions the "Spirit" 13 times in 16 verses. It's a major focus of the chapter, and of Paul's letters in general ("Spirit" is used 149 times in Paul's 13 letters). But WHO is the Spirit? WHAT is the Spirit? And how does the Spirit work? In this Sermon, Pastor Kevin alludes to the multiple meanings behind the word "Spirit" (wind, breath, mind). He hones in on the meaning of "mind" - and acknowledges how all of our "spirits" (minds) can be easily swayed by the many voices speaking to us. But we want to be swayed by the One Spirit that we share - the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit's work is to point us to Jesus. If you confess that "Jesus is Lord" - you have God's Spirit in you! (1 Cor 12:3). But God's Spirit wants to keep moving in you until you not only confess Jesus as Lord, but start to look & act like Jesus in your world. Take a listen, consider the Spirit's moving in your life, and seek to "keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5) in your life.

The apostle Paul was a missionary in the 1st Century. Having learned the Good News of Jesus' death & resurrection himself (that Jesus was the One who died for all) - Paul began spreading the word. One of the places he went was to the metropolitan city of Corinth. There he established a church. A few years later - Paul received a report about how the Christian Church in Corinth was doing. He learned that there were factions. Some were saying, “I follow Paul”; while others were saying, “I follow Apollos” or “Cephas” or “Christ.” (1 For 1:12) They were all trying to claim significance by name dropping notable people within the church. We do the same thing. WE want to be significant, so we try to associate with others who ARE considered significant. But Christ is different. He flips this social norm. Even though HIS NAME is the greatest name of all.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! What a joyous Easter morning celebration. After last year, when Easter worship didn't take place at the church, you may have felt disconnected and alone. We heard in this sermon that it is Jesus who ultimately was alone - alone in death and alone in resurrection - so that you will know you are never alone. Pastor Aaron opened us up to the book of 1 Corinthians for the beginning of a new sermon series called One for All - All for One. Jesus is the One who overcame death and the grave which means that He has Won! He is the One who has Won. What did he win? You. You are his prized possession. Live in this resurrection reality. Because the resurrection of Jesus changes lives.

Palm Sunday was a massive parade in the city of Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Jews had gathered for the Passover Feast in the city. And there was a certain man headed for the city - Jesus - who had been amassing a following after performing his miraculous signs. The Jews were hopeful that this Jesus was their long-expected KING. They were hopeful that Jesus would deliver them from their oppressors - the Romans. But who were Jesus enemies? In this sermon, Pastor Kevin walks through the list of enemies that Jesus faced as he rode into Jerusalem to do battle. The Romans were one of them...but not all of them. Listen as Pastor Kevin details the many enemies that Jesus overcame -- 2,000 years ago and today.

In the final chapter of Daniel - chapter 12 - Daniel receives one last word from the Angel Gabriel about "the end." He is told there will be trouble...but then deliverance - ULTIMATE deliverance! Here we have one of the most explicit references to the Resurrection in the entire Old Testament. In this sermon, Pastor Kevin reflects upon Daniel's life - how he experienced trouble...but then deliverance, again and again. What gave Daniel the confidence to face all these trials? His belief in this Resurrection hope - and the God who would deliver it. This is our hope too! Consider how you face trials today - and the affect your "beliefs" have upon it. Because there is a connection between believing...and being.

The season of Advent is all about waiting for the coming of our King, Jesus. God promised that he would send a Savior and he did. He followed through on his promise. Jesus has promised he will come again. We trust that he will. In the meantime, we wait. During the Sundays of Advent, we will trace the lineage of Jesus according to the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew. We will see that Jesus is the true Messiah fulfilling all of Old Testament prophecy. Today's sermon focuses on the reality that Jesus is the Son of David - our King!

In Daniel 10, the angel Gabriel peels back the curtain for Daniel on a spiritual realm where angels do battle on behalf of God's people. This idea of spiritual warfare is something that we often don't pay attention to, and may not even notice unless we're attentive. In this sermon, Pastor Aaron teaches us how Daniel - a man of deep faith and trust in God - is spiritually anguished. He also teaches that God comes to us in our times of anguish to comfort us, and bring us peace in Jesus Christ. This message is challenging, yet it is also filled with hope and encouragement for those who are struggling.