First Things At First

Sermon for July 17, 2011Click HERE to listen.Mugshots and Magazine CoversHumans really can be easily fooled by appearance.  Most of us assume that bad guys look like they do in mugshots and good guys look like the pretty folks we see on magazine covers.  But what if the real measure of a person has less to do with how we look, and more to do with what fruit we bear?Matthew 13:24-30, 36-4313:24 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;13:25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.13:26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.13:27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?'13:28 He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'13:29 But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the

Sermon for July 09, 2011Click HERE to Listen!"I'm in That Story?"Today's text invites us to find ourselves in the parable of the sower and the seeds, but which seed am I?  Maybe we are all of them...Matthew 13:1-9, 18-2313:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.13:6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.13:9 Let anyone with ear

Sermon for July 3, 2011Click HERE to Listen.Energy CrisisThis weekend we celebrate America's independence.  On a fun note we retired our sanctuary flag and installed a new one this Sunday and in the process of planning this we realized that our flag had 49 stars.  Yes, I think that flag was ready to be retired.  As it is an historic flag it will be placed on display. Matthew 11:16-19, 25-3011:16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 11:17 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; 11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." 11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the i

This sermon is for June 25, 2011Jazz ServiceClick HERE to listen. So, what do you do?(June 25th was the date of our first Jazz Service.  Hopefully soon we will have our photos up at our Photo Page and maybe even have the video of it on YouTube)In every instance of small talk with strangers sooner or later you get to the "do-be-do" question ("So...what do you do?")  We aren't asking what you do for a living, we are actually asking who you are.  Beware, sometimes the answer to that question can surprise you...Romans 6:12-236:12 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.6:13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 6:15 What then? Should we sin because we are not

This sermon is for June 19, 2011Holy Trinity SundayClick HERE to listen!Can You Define That?Happy Father's Day.The miracle of the the trinity is a mystery to even the most well educated theologian, but what we do know is that mysteries require belief.   But, what do we mean by "believe"?Matthew 28:16-2028:16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.28:17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,28:20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

This is the sermon for June 6, 2011 Ascension Sunday (observed)Click HERE to Listen now.Why Pastors are not Stuntmen(Ascension Day is technically the 40th day of Easter, which is to say Thursday of last week.  But since it is not commonly celebrated in America it is usually observed on the Sunday that follows)Luke 2424:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 24:46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,  24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 24:48 You are witnesses of these things. 24:49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with po

This is the sermon for May 29th 2011Click HERE to listen now.It is good to be back in Ohio!  Here is our sermon from Sunday:Never OrphansJohn 14:15-21 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.14:18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.14:19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.14:20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.14:21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

We would like to thank Pastor Grotjohn for filling in while Pastor Yoak was on vacation.  Here is the sermon from his fill-in Sunday:LISTEN

This is the sermon for May 15th, 2011Click HERE to listen now. Shepherding is not for sissiesJohn 10:1-1010:1 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 10:2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.10:4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.10:5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."10:6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.10:7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.10:8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.10:9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in

This is the sermon from May 8th, 2011.Click HERE to listen now.Love and BreadTaken from:Luke 24:13-3524:13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,24:14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.24:15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,24:16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.24:17 And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad.24:18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?"24:19 He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,24:20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.24:21 But we had hoped that he was the