Sermons by: Carolyn Moore
Jonah Chapter 3
Oh my, what Jonah is teaching us this month! We are learning from his mistakes how to pray more deeply, live more compassionately, serve the world with more grace. Jonah challenges us not to write off anyone God has not yet written off (spoiler alert: God doesn't write off anybody). What if the people you think are the most lost are actually much closer than you think to spiritual awakening? If that's true, then how would that change the way you pray for them? Let's keep after all that Jonah's story teaches us about God, the world, and ourselves.
Jonah Chapter 2
There is so much in Jonah's story that sounds familiar. He is stubborn and opinionated and sure that God is on his side. I want to say that he sounds a lot like us (or at least me), but I don't want to admit that I can be all those things. Yet, Jonah invites me (and maybe you, too) to come sit in the belly of the whale with him and consider the life we live from the vantage point of God's goodness. And his promise, if we'll join him, is that on the other side of it that we will emerge with "shouts of joyful praise!" That sounds like a fair trade, so I'll see you this Sunday and let's get after it!
Topics: God's People, God's View, God's Will
Jonah Chapter 1
This Sunday, we also begin a study of Jonah. In a world that prefers black-and-white thinking, with clear lines between the "good guys" and the "bad guys," the Book of Jonah challenges us to consider what it means to be God’s people in a polarized cutlure. Do I struggle to hear the call to love people I don’t like? Do I think I know what is best for others while failing to experience God’s heart for them? Do I allow the spirit of offense toward the enemies of God to make me an enemy of God, too? These are the kinds of questions Jonah both raises and this is a great time to be asking them ... as we live into our call to love like Jesus in this world as it is.
The Simplicity of Call
I sensed a stirring in the air last Sunday ... did you? Its as if we were all being drawn into God's heart in a fresh way, both in worship and in mission. What a gift it was to encounter God in that way! This Sunday, we'll be drawn even closer to the mission of God as we talk about that intersection where your passion meets the world's need. We'll watch how it worked for Paul and learn from his example how it can happen for us, too. How has God uniquely gifted you? What's your spark?
You Can’t Be In Two Places At The Same Time
Last Sunday was a great start to our GIC season (can it get any better than GIC Jeopardy? I think not!). This week, we continue the conversation about our GIC core values: "Go. Pray. Give." We will learn from Jesus what it means to be a non-anxious giver in a self-conscious world. We'll also watch a video from Venezuela Now and hear more about the Kids' Mission Workshop. This truly is a season to call our community beyond our walls and back into the world.
Topics: Core Values, Giving
GIC 2023: Get Lit. Stay Stoked.
I'M SO EXCITED! After seven years away, we get to come home to what makes us "Mosaic." Our Global Impact Celebration (October 20-22) is a weekend designed to help us "get lit" for Great Commission work -- locally, regionally, and globally. And this Sunday, we'll start stoking the fires for missions and outreach by exploring how the first followers of Jesus began to spark passion for the Good News in their own communities. I can't wait to introduce you -- or re-introduce you -- to the joys of a good GIC. So ... what's your spark? What lights you up? Think on it, and I'll see you Sunday!
Topics: Global, Gret Commission, Missions
Spiritual Healing
We have learned a lot this month about what healing prayer means in real-life terms. Hearing the stories of Heather and Ardis, practicing prayer together during and after worship, examining the healing life of Jesus ... I hope this focus has helped you become more open to the idea that Jesus does still heal people. And his healing has a unique look in our community. It is both intimate and community-oriented, stunning and subtle, real and effective. Thank you for leaning in to these ideas and beginning to make them your own. Together, in a broken world, we can help people become whole through Jesus. And this Sunday, we'll search the Word one more time for all that scripture can teach us about how to live out that mission well.
Topics: Community, Healing Prayer, Spiritual Healing
Emotional Healing
Somewhere, someone shared this thought with me -- some people heal in leaps, but others heal in layers. Listening to Heather's amazing story last week (if you haven't listened, I hope you'll take time to do so), we are beginning to build a case for just that. Some people heal in leaps, but others heal in layers. This Sunday, we'll hear another story of God's amazing grace poured out over a life and over time. And then we'll listen together to a "healing in layers" story from the life of Jesus. I hope you'll find comfort and confidence in discovering that even Jesus took time in healing others. I'll see you Sunday as we continue the journey toward learning how to be a healing community! ~ Carolyn
Topics: Emotional Healing, healing, Spiritual Healing
The Jesus Stuff
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
~ Luke 4:18-19
What Luke (and Isaiah) said? That's exactly what Jesus did. That was his mission statement. Jesus healed blind people, and raised dead people, and set free those who were oppressed by demons. He met people right where they were and called down healing over them ... over and over again (at least 40 times in the gospels). In scene after scene, we see Jesus touching people and loving them and proclaiming healing over them. Friends, healing is the stuff Jesus did! And as followers of Jesus, we also are called to be healers and to do "the Jesus stuff." Let's talk about that. Let's get inspired by the healing stories among us to step into the healing life of a Jesus-loving, hand-laying, prayer-proclaiming, trust-and-obeying believer! See you Sunday!
Free To Love
On Sunday, we learned from Paul and the Galatians about all the things we are free from as followers of Jesus. “Freedom from” a crucial step in our spiritual journey, but eventually we have to move on to focusing on “freedom to,” which is all about creating. This is where we get to focus on God’s preferred future. Freedom TO is about going through the right doors at the right time for the right reasons. This Sunday, we focus on the "freedom to" life, and learn from Jesus himself just how life-giving spiritual freedom can be.
Topics: Freedom, healing, Holy Choice
