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!

    You can also subscribe with these links: 

    iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS

    JR. Forasteros - November 26, 2017

    The End of Lament

    Good Grief

    In times of trauma and grief, it feels like all the structures that keep our lives stable have been stripped away. But as we enter into the process of Lament, those structures begin to reemerge. It’s not daylight yet, but we can begin to sense that the long night of our grief is ending. Hope draws us together and invites those voices who have long been silenced to be front and center.

    Related Topics: Lament | More Messages from JR. Forasteros | Download Audio

    From Series: "Good Grief"

    We avoid pain and grief as much as possible. When faced with someone else's grief, we avoid or offer platitudes. But the book of Lamentations invites us to sit with grief, to enter into the prophetic process of Lament. In this series, we'll explore how to grieve and how to be a friend to the grieving. Ultimately, we'll see how the process of lament invites us to be agents of healing in the larger world.

    Manuscript     Discussion Guide

    More Messages From JR. Forasteros...

    Powered by Series Engine

    Sermon Previews:

    Recent SermonsVIEW ALL

    • Do They Know It’s Christmas?
      Do They Know It’s Christmas?

      It's easy to get so wrapped up in Christmas that we forget Jesus came for the whole world. But the truth is that Christmas means peace for the whole earth, and good will for all people. How can we have a global perspective on Christmas?

    • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
      Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

      Our preparations for Christmas are all about minimizing suprises - we'd prefer the only surprises be what's inside the gift wrappings. But the first Christmas was one surprise after another. That's how it's always been with God - God relentlessly refuses to conform to our agendas. How can we be sure we're watching for what God is doing this Christmas?

    • All I Want for Christmas is You
      All I Want for Christmas is You

      "All I Want for Christmas is You" is the best-selling Christmas song of all time. At its heart is a vulnerability that's essential to the Christmas season. Hope requires risk, an admission that where we are is not where we want to be. How can we choose to be vulnerable as we approach Christmas?

    • Last Christmas
      Last Christmas

      Have you noticed Christmas decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier? First it was Thanksgiving... now Halloween is in danger of getting swallowed up by Kris Kringle! But with a world so full of war, plague and division, is it any wonder we want to throw up Christmas Cheer like a shield? Can you blame us for wanting a garland-strewn respite? But is it possible that, by closing ourselves off from the pain in the world, we miss the truly liberating power of Christmas?

    • Baby, It’s Cold Outside
      Baby, It’s Cold Outside

      During the Christmas season, we celebrate God coming to earth. In a world marked by violence, division and bigotry, God's arrival means a big shake up. Are we sure we're ready for God's arrival? If not, how can we prepare?

    • Curiosity (2023)
      Curiosity (2023)

      Christians aren't known for being curious. Why would we be, when we have a monopoly on truth? But that attitude is at odds with the God who created our universe and invited us to explore. It's at odds with the God who calls us to welcome the stranger and go into the whole world. What does a church that cultivates curiosity look like? How does prioritizing curiosity shape our mission and engagement with the world around us?

    • Change 2023
      Change 2023

      Read the Manuscript | Join Worship | Get the Discussion Guide What does it take to change?  Like… think of a subject you’ve really changed your mind about. Maybe you’re not part of the same political party you were when you were younger.  Or maybe you swore you’d never get married and now you have […]

    • Collective Liberation (2023)
      Collective Liberation (2023)

      Even though diversity has become a buzz word, it's hard to find any organization that takes it seriously - especially churches. What does it look like to take diversity seriously? The radical truth is that none of us is free until all of us is free. So how can we chase that together as a church?

    • Friendship 2023
      Friendship 2023

      We're in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and far too often, churches are part of the problem. How can that be, when Jesus insists that he made us his friends? What does it mean for a church to take friendship seriously, particularly in the midst of a culture dying to connect?

    • The Road Ahead
      The Road Ahead

      There's no way around it: change is traumatic. That the change is good doesn't alter the reality that it's really hard. Paul's paradigm-shifting transformation on the road to Damascus illustrates the pain and joy of following God's radical call to something new. How does faith enable us to follow God faithfully into the unknown?

    Previous Sermon Series:

    Recent Series VIEW ALL