You can find all my sermons here. Actually, not just my sermons, but the sermons from my lay preaching team. And not just my sermons – all the talks I give that I can get my hands on. I collect them all here for you.
Below, you can also find the sermon previews I publish each Sunday.
They include the full manuscript of the sermon and the discussion guide for each message. If you’re going to join us at Catalyst Church on a Sunday, try reading the sermon before hand – it actually helps you engage more fully in the message!
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JR. Forasteros - December 19, 2021
Tiny Christmas
From Series: "O Christmas Tree"
The Christmas tree has become a central symbol of our celebration of Jesus' birth. How does this symbol invite us deeper into the Christmas story - a story that reaches from the ancient past toward a hope-filled future?
More From "O Christmas Tree"
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Tiny ChristmasJR. Forasteros - December 19, 2021 |
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The Bright SadnessTom Fuerst - December 12, 2021 |
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Christmas LightsJR. Forasteros - December 5, 2021 |
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The Christmas BranchJR. Forasteros - November 28, 2021 |
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Sermon Previews:
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Just Play the Hits
We all bring expectations with us into relationships, and not having them met can be a source of real pain and conflict. Palm Sunday illustrates how Jesus refused to meet the expectations of anyone - not Rome, not the leaders in Jerusalem, not the pilgrims with whom he traveled. In fact, it was their refusal to see Jesus for who he is - and not who they wanted him to be - that led all these groups to conspire to crucify him. How can we learn from their failure to be very careful to align ourselves with Jesus' agenda, and not the other way around?
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When God Fails Us
In our most honest moments, we recall times God has let us down. Prayers unanswered, illnesses unhealed, relationships not mended. We wonder, in those times, what the point of faith is. Why follow God if God does not (cannot?) keep us from harm, from grief. Jesus' approach to Lazarus' tomb reveals much about the God who does not leave us in our grief - even as we hope for something better.
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God Goggles
What makes a good leader? A good boss? A good partner? A good Christian? In a world with so many competing ideas of what's worth imitating, it can be hard to know what God's way is. The stories of King David's anointing and Jesus' healing of a man born blind remind us that God's values are upside down from the culture around us. So how can we be sure we're seeing things God's way?
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Afraid to Ask
How often do you ask God for what you want? For a lot of us, even the idea sounds wrong - as though we're annoying the greatest being in the universe, making ourselves a burden to the one who has far more important things on their plate. But Jesus reminds us that God cares deeply about our needs and is aware of them even before we voice them. So... what are we afraid of? What's holding us back for asking for good gifts from our creator?
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Reflections
God created us to reflect God's love to the world around us. What keeps us from faithfully reflecting God's love? And how can we reconnect to God so we can once again show the world the same love we receive from God?
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Permissions and Prohibitions
How often do we associate religion with a list of don'ts? These prohibitions often seem to be the heart of religious life. But this first Sunday of Lent reminds us that God created us primarily for permission. God created us for freedom - and an essential component of real freedom is boundaries. How do God's prohibitions orient us toward the true freedom God created us for?
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Preparing to be Changed
Despite the popular depictions, spiritual transformation is a process - more a journey than a singular experience. That being the case, how do we prepare well for a journey of transformation? What do we need to do to ensure we're ready for the change that's ahead of us?
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Songs of Resistance
A faithful people lives in solidarity with the vulnerable. But what if we've already been living unjust lives? What if we've spent years ignoring the vulnerable? Moses' final speech to Israel reminds us that with God, it's never too late to be righteous. So how do we seek justice in our time and place?
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Not So Fast
For a lot of folks, the heart of religion is spiritual practices like reading scripture or fasting. But God didn't create us just to watch us do tasks. Practices aren't the heart of faith - relationship is. What happens when our social relationships are unbalanced? What are the consequences for our faith? And how does God call us to heal that imbalance?
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Old Time Religion
Where do we find Jesus today? According to Jesus, we find him among the outcast and marginal. And that's not a new idea - even for Jesus. Real religion, old time religion, the way God created us to be, looks like being a people who lives in solidarity with those who fall through the cracks in our society. So where do we find those people today? After all... that's where we'll find Jesus!
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