Category Archives: Sermons

Become Your True Self

Posted on November 5, 2025 by salooper57

The fulfilled you, the forever you, beckons you on. People mistake that beckoning for hunger, boredom, sexual desire, ambition, but it is more enduring than any of these. To use the theological term, your soul’s deep longing is to be glorified. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get Closer to Jesus

Posted on October 22, 2025 by salooper57

If you’re being mugged, a policeman is good news and a great relief, but if you’re the mugger, a policeman is bad news and a serious threat. If you are living your life as if you were god, the real God is bound to be bad news. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Covenant: What It Is, How It Works

Posted on October 15, 2025 by salooper57

The God who would become a man – a descendant of Abraham – represented both parties on the perilous walk. God called the curse down on himself should the covenant be broken. And the One who sees the end from the beginning knew exactly where that would lead. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Peace with God, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Covenant Flyover

Posted on October 8, 2025 by salooper57

God kicked them out of “The Perfect Earth” program and exiled them from the Garden training center, but – and this is important – he did not give up on the plan. He still intends to have a perfect world stewarded by perfect people, ruling in his name with wisdom and love. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Mission, Sermons, Truthfulness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Now You See Me

Posted on October 5, 2025 by salooper57

You see, it is not that Jesus emptied himself even though he was in very nature God. He emptied himself because he was in very nature God. This is what God is like. This is what he has always been like. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Family Business: A Sermon from John 5

Posted on September 18, 2025 by salooper57

When bad things happen in our lives, we might think about God the way my parents thought about the police: Why isn’t he doing something? Someday, we’ll discover that he was. But, unlike the police, he wanted us to join him in his work. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Mission, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Party at My House! – God

Posted on August 14, 2025 by salooper57

Jesus is telling us something about God in this story, and he is definitely not the cosmic killjoy that people (and the devil) make him out to be. If anyone ever loved a good party, it is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God Is Father

Posted on July 24, 2025 by salooper57

Our biological parents often don’t really know us. They make the mistake of treating us as if we were younger replicas of themselves. “But you like to fish. I’ve been taking you fishing since you were in diapers!” “Of course, you’re going to play the piano.”
… But our heavenly Father knows who we are. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Did Sin Lead to Jesus’s Death?

Posted on July 19, 2025 by salooper57

The crucifixion is a microcosm of sorts, displaying how human sin, from envy to ethnic and racial hatred, results (both immediately, at the time of the crucifixion, and over the millennia of human rebellion) in rejection of, and hatred toward, God. J Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Sermons, Theology, Truthfulness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The God Who Is Light

Posted on July 16, 2025 by salooper57

He took all the things he ever heard Jesus say about God and, after spending decades thinking about them and talking to God about them, he summarized them in ten words (in Greek): “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Encouragement, Faith, relationships, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment