Sam Waldron Sermons

Celebration Sunday on campus at Lock Haven University. My last message at the Common Place Church. One of the greatest gifts of God is the calling to do "good works" and join Him in the mission of the redemption of all things. But what happens when we prioritize the work and our accomplishments over the relationship with Christ? We might just miss the Best Part.

In the darkest, toughest moments of our lives, it is hard to believe that God is present. Yet through Jesus and his suffering, we find God working in the pain, closer than ever before. His presence gives the pain purpose.

Where on earth do you go to find value, identity, and purpose? We all look into various mirrors that reflect back at us one or all of these three things. The problem is, most of those mirrors send back false, warped images. In Psalm 8 we come to an important truth: When we understand who God IS, we discover who we ARE.

Why is it that we have such a hard time accomplishing goals we set for our lives? What about the main goal of Loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength? It is because the goal hasn't seeped down into our routines. In Deuteronomy 6, it is evident that loving God with our whole lives begins in monotonous every day activities. How can we RESET our routines to help us love God completely?

In our sermon series, Investigating the Gospels, we are asking BIG questions about our faith. This week the question was simply, "What about the Church?" After 2000 years of Church history, there seems to be at least 2000 different interpretations of that word. When we look at Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17 and response from the early Christians in Acts 2, it becomes more clear what Jesus intended His church to look like.

God's favorite command to His people has always been, "Don't give up!" But many times that is easier said than done. When we look at Mary's story in the Gospels (Luke 2:1-7) we find a woman who Persevered and never gave up on the calling God had placed on her life. What can we learn from her journey that might encourage us when the going gets tough?

Our series, Investigating the Gospels, focused on the BIG questions about our faith that we may be too afraid to ask. This week, the question was one that many non-believers and believers alike have asked, "Is there more to life than this?" Looking at the teachings and life of Jesus as recorded in John it becomes clear that we were made for so much more than the demands of worldly success, popularity, and wealth.

Reconciliation has been the vision of the Good Shepherd all along. As we are led out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, He brings us to the table that He has prepared for us beforehand. Now is the time to enjoy the Lord's blessings, but as we approach the table we find ourselves in the presence of our enemies. How could this be? Listen as we learn from King David's example (and Christ's) as he joined his enemy at the Lord's Table of Reconciliation.

Even in the wilderness, even when the enemy is after us, our Good Shepherd provides and leads our soul to find Rest. David had tons of distractions trying to pull him away from flourishing, yet God provided for him in every way. What are some distractions that keep us from missing out on the REST the Lord provides? 1 Samuel 18-22

A message given at the LHU Common Ground Spring Retreat at the Seig Conference Center. The room was filled with Christian college students representing three different campus ministries at Lock Haven University. This was the first of three main sessions. The purpose was to give a Biblical foundation for Unity.

In our culture leaders lead from the top-down and demand their subordinates support and follow them. In the Church, we see a different form, a new picture way of leading displayed by Christ. What is the role of members and leaders in the church today?

A continuation of the Common Place Church sermon series, "Ephesians: Who Are We and Why Are We Here?", we find that in chapter 6, the Apostle Paul is giving us real life application to how we are to walk in love as Christ loved us in the spheres of family and work.

How can we manage our resources in such a way that both serves the Good of our City and brings flourishing to our lives? Combing over Jesus' sermon on the Mount, we discover the Economy of God is the only economic system able to accomplish the goal of seeking the Good of the City (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Opening Video: "The UnGiving Tree" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXn1tZf_Y8

Advent is a time when we long for the coming of Jesus. In our longing, we find communion with God's people of old who awaited Jesus' first coming as a baby in Bethlehem. But in order to grasp the JOY of the Advent of Jesus, we must first grasp the suffering and brokenness of our world.

Our series was called "American Idols". In it we explored popular idols that we struggle with in our culture. Money is one of those all-controlling idols in our society. Money controls us both by Greed and Fear. How do we overcome the idol of money through Christ?

Jesus calls us to grow deeper, live fully, and Level UP. What does the COMMUNITY Jesus calls his church to embody look like? Listen and Find out!

Week 4 in our Common Place Church series called, "Level UP" is all about going deeper and taking seriously the Commission from Jesus to make disciples of all nations. BUT how effective is discipleship, really? Why would Jesus choose this method to get his message across to the whole world? Also, learn what Common Place Church is doing to take this call to make disciples seriously.

"What is God going to do about this?" is a question that many in our world ask when everything falls apart, pain and struggle hit their apex, and the unjust seem to win the day. In the final chapter of Mark's gospel account, God answers this question directly with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God..." What if I told you that Mark 1:1 was one of the most subversive lines that could be written in 1st Century Rome? How can that be? Also, What is the Gospel and why is it Good news? Begin this new journey with us as we open up the Gospel by Mark and begin to see Jesus' life, Teachings, and Miracles as the markings of the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth.

How did things in the world get so bad? How do we fix it? In Scripture we understand that the state of our world is the result of a broken vision of God's peace (aka Shalom). Many of us have our own vision of peace, but does it match God's?