Sermons I’ve preached, primarily at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene.
How do we discover life-changing faith? What would your life look like if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt God was real? How would your relationships be different? How would your job be different? In this series, we’ll explore the five things God uses to take our faith to the next level. We’ll learn how we can partner with God to have the kind of faith we thought was only for spiritual giants. God wants you to have big faith. Saying YES starts here!
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How do we know if we’re a whole person? Sin never begins full grown – it starts as seeds buried deep within us. Jesus told us a fully human life is one where we love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. After we explore what Jesus meant by those terms, we’ll see how we can use each as a lens to investigate ourselves. We’ll discover the seeds of sin hiding within us so we can pluck them out before they can grow to full bloom.
![[w]hole redux](http://jrforasteros.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/slidefullgraphic-492x277.png)
We are bad at drawing healthy boundaries. We give and give and give until we have nothing left to offer anyone. Neither God nor our neighbors get our best. The practice of Sabbath helps us learn to say No, to live within the healthy boundaries God created us for.
What’s Summer without a road trip? We’re travelling back to the stories of the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. They lived on the road, and in their travels, they encountered God in strange and unexpected ways. What do we learn about God on the road that we can’t learn when we stay in our comfort zones? How might God be calling us to go somewhere new, following after our creator?
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We like to claim that Jesus’ resurrection changed the world. But how? How does it matter that Jesus was raised from the dead not on Sunday, when we worship, but on Monday, when we dive back into our ordinary lives? In this series, we explore the “I Am” statements Jesus makes in John’s Gospel to see how the new life Jesus offers us is as immediate and relevant as ever, right where we live, work and play.
Do you ever feel like your calendar is broken? Like you wish you had the power to add hours, days or even weeks to your schedule? When did our lives get so out of control? And who is running our calendars? On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the God who took control of time by raising Jesus from the dead. How does his resurrection free us to take control of our lives, to live in the freedom Jesus gives us?
We like to claim that Jesus' resurrection changed the world. But how? How does it matter that Jesus was raised from the dead not on Sunday, when we worship, but on Monday, when we dive back into our ordinary lives? In this series, we explore the "I Am" statements Jesus makes in John's Gospel to see how the new life Jesus offers us is as immediate and relevant as ever, right where we live, work and play.
Ever feel like life is a blur? A constant flurry of obligations and activities and commitments? We keep ourselves so busy we don’t have time to listen for the still, small voice of God calling us. Lent is a chance to slow down, to attend to all the little things that become habits that separate us from God.
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of corporate prayer and fasting. But Jesus instructed us to do those things in private. So how can we do them together?
Ever feel like life is a blur? A constant flurry of obligations and activities and commitments? We keep ourselves so busy we don't have time to listen for the still, small voice of God calling us. Lent is a chance to slow down, to attend to all the little things that become habits that separate us from God.
Does it seem these days that people don’t ask good questions? Questions come with barbs all over them, or are asked in such a way that the answer is already obvious. God coming into the world raises some big questions about how we live in the wake of his coming. But we need to ask the right questions. This series will explore the questions asked of Paul by the Christians in Corinth. We’ll get at the questions behind their questions, to the good news for all of us – even here at the dawn of the 21st century. Jesus has come into the world, and nothing has been the same since.
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Advent is the season in which we prepare to welcome Jesus into the world. It’s a season of hope – the light has not come, but it is coming into the world. It’s the time of day just before the sun peeks over the horizon. As we anticipate Jesus’ birth, we come to realize that God’s story didn’t end at Christmas – it was only beginning. And the story is still being told today – a story of love, hope and promise.
How often in our preparations for Christmas do we forget to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ? While the prophet Isaiah prays that God will tear open the heavens and come to us, Jesus instead comes humbly, in ways we least expect. How can we be alert and attentive this Advent season so we don't miss when Jesus comes among us?
Advent is the season in which we prepare to welcome Jesus into the world. It's a season of hope - the light has not come, but it is coming into the world. It's the time of day just before the sun peeks over the horizon. As we anticipate Jesus' birth, we come to realize that God's story didn't end at Christmas - it was only beginning. And the story is still being told today - a story of love, hope and promise. What does it mean to say that God is still telling the great story of love through us?
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.
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.
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.
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What Lament Looks LikeTim Basselin - October 22, 2017 |
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Sitting with GriefJR. Forasteros - October 29, 2017 |
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When God Gets AngryJR. Forasteros - November 5, 2017 |
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Dust in My MouthKatie Fisher - November 12, 2017 |
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We don’t give the people we consider villains a second thought. They were born rotten, destined for evil from day one. But if we take another look at some of the most infamous villains of all time, we may find they’re more human than we thought. We may see ourselves in their reflection.
What makes you angry? We seldom stop to think about the cause of our anger - particularly whether that cause is justified or not. But we learn from the story of Cain, the first murderer, that anger can be an invitation to slow down and find life before we lash out and do something we'll regret.
We don't give the people we consider villains a second thought. They were born rotten, destined for evil from day one. But if we take another look at some of the most infamous villains of all time, we may find they're more human than we thought. We may see ourselves in their reflection. We might find we're walking the path of villainy - and once we see that, we can turn toward God's life!
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CainJR. Forasteros - September 10, 2017 |
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DelilahJR. Forasteros - September 17, 2017 |
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HerodiasJR. Forasteros - September 22, 2017 |
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JezebelSue Sweeney - October 1, 2017 |
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JudasJR. Forasteros - October 8, 2017 |
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For many, belief is the beginning of a relationship with God. But many others struggle with knowing what Christians actually believe. Many more have doubts and questions that are not easily quieted. Is belief really a barrier to a relationship with God? Or can we learn to follow as we learn to believe? Can believe be an invitation to a deeper trust in the God who wants to help our unbelief?
What do Christians believe? The Apostles' Creed is one of the earliest statements of Christian beliefs. How does the Creed shape our church today? How does it shape our every day lives?
What do Christians believe? The Apostles’ Creed is one of the earliest statements of Christian beliefs. How does the Creed shape our church today? How does it shape our every day lives?