Preaching Calendar 2010-2011

Boot Camp

A series on spiritual disciplines. Silence, fasting, prayer, generosity, simplicity. May 23: Fasting May 30: Walking by Faith June 7: Stillness, silence, meditation June 14: Study June 21: Tools for your prayer kit (Erik preaching, Steve gone.) June 28: Serving as an act of worship (guest preacher.) July 4: Prayer and communion on the land.

The Godfather

A 2 week series on Philemon and the importance of forgiveness and right behavior whether you feel like it or not. Bring out Pauls underlying threat toward right behavior and enjoy some of the godfather aspects of this book, like when he says, its not for me to mention that you OWE ME YOUR LIFE and prepare a place Im coming to visit. July 11: Power of inuence July 18: Jake preaching

July 25: Global Sunday. Primarily hearing from Albania team and students from their trips.

How to Be Rich

based on Northpoint Church series. Intentionally provocative title because so many people want to get rich, but the Bible says we are already rich (not metaphorically, but relative to the rest of the world) so it wants to teach us how to BE rich. Key phrase, thats a rich persons problem. Aug 1 Guest Craig Blomberg Neither Poverty Nor Riches. Aug 8 Aug 15

Aug 22

Unstoppable

A series on the great commission. Love God/love others. That is who we are, who God is forming us to be, what were about etc. Aug 29 Love God Sept 5 Love Others: Jakob Brown preaching Sept 12

Everyday Joe Fall Kickoff series

Over arching theme of series: Based on the life of Joseph from the OT. God uses life circumstances to form our character. Our responses to circumstances also shape our character. God uses this formation to equip us to be his children and servants. Sept 19 Genesis 37. sold into slavery by his brothers. Main theme: when you do everything right and it all still goes wrong, whats next and where is God? How do you seek God when it all seems to be crumbling? Subtopic of dealing with injustice when someone is out to harm you. Song: Video: Sept 26 Genesis 39 Joseph tempted by Mrs Potiphar. Main theme: make an exit plan before you enter temptation. Many folks wait until the moment before deciding what to do. Joseph had already made a plan and thus kept himself from sin. Sub theme: a word for those stuck in temptation and cant get out of it. Song idea: Stuck in a Moment? Video Idea: men roundtable on handling temptation? What about something for women? Oct 3 Gen 40: ourishing where he is planted (in jail). Main Theme: God desires faithfulness over success regardless of circumstances. Sub theme: Gods will in any circumstance is that we turn toward Him. Many of us wrestle with Gods will, but it is always faithfulness from his people.

Song Video: Oct 10: Gen 41. elevated to power workplace politics Theme: how do you practice your faith in the workplace? When youre recognized for your gifts, when business can be cutthroat (literally, in Josephs place) what does faithfulness to God by serving the boss look like today? Song: Video: roundtable of men and women in the workplace. Do they love their job or just a paycheck? How do they see their role as a Christian? Any stories that are an inciting incident type thing?

Loving God, Serving Others Philippians book study

Overall theme of series: customer service worldview change. Oct 17: Phil 1: 1-14. Welcome from Paul, he who began a good work in you is faithful to carry it out to completionmy prayer is that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Main theme: The lifetime journey of following Christ and the practices that help us abound in love, knowledge and depth of insight. How can we posture our lives to make this prayer a reality in our lifetime journey? (Paraguay emphasis during announcements) Oct 24: Phil 1:19-30: To live is Christ and to die is gainwhatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospelit has been granted to you not only to believe on him but also to suffer for him. (Fred Afwai Q&A that day, The Q&A will be both around Freds ministry and where he sees God providing and also his take on this passage. Ill then give a shorter message 7-12 minutes on the passage, or possibly if the Q&A is going well, Ill leave it at that.) Main theme: how does Fred live the reality of to live is Christ and to die is gain and what can we learn from his example? Oct 31 Phil 2 1-18. Family Sunday, Baptism Sunday Humility hymn therefore continue to workout your salvation with fear and trembling.shine like stars as you hold out the word of life to a crooked and depraved generation Main theme: Starts shining together is beautiful, majestic and awe inspiring. How does God ignite us to shine? Tangible ways he calls us to

shine. Sub theme: what does it mean to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling? Could it be that too often we are ip about this great salvation and we dont continue to work it out? Nov 7 Phil 3: 1-11 watch out for the dogs.no condence in the esh I want to know Christs resurrection power and fellowship of his sufferings Main theme: Leaning into the resurrection power and joining God in suffering is essential food on the gospel journey. What ways do we today put our condence in the esh? What tangible ways do we put our condence in God? Nov 14 Phil 3: 12-21. I press on toward the goal to which God has called meour citizenship is in heaventherefore this is how you should stand rm Main theme: living as a citizen of heaven when we want to be citizens of this world. Like previous themes, well seek to look at tangible concrete ways we can get a green card to heaven and live here only as resident aliens with a citizenship designed for eternity. Nov 21 Phil 4: 1-9. Euodia and Syntyche should learn to get along rejoice always, let your gentleness be evident.do not be anxious about anythingwhatever is pure, noblethink on these things. Main theme: show how getting along with your own people, rejoicing, lack of anxiety is all related. John says that love of God and love of people are deeply linked. Paul agrees here and offers a path to peace in an anxious world. Nov 28: Phil 4: 11-13 contentment in all situations, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Main theme: yet again, taking these grand expansive writings of Paul (I can do all things) and trying to esh them out into our daily existence. Well look at discontentment triggers, how to notice them and how God invites us in that moment to be content in him and his strength and power.

Ancient Christmas or Advent

Advent is all about preparing our hearts with expectation to receive the Christ child. This year well use Old Testament prophecies of Christmas. Gen 3:15, Is 7:14, Is 9:6, Micah 5:2, First day of Advent. Gen 3:15

Dec 5 Is 7:14 Dec 12: Micah 5:2 Dec 19: Is 9:6 Dec 24: Christmas Eve services. (Friday night this year.) Dec 26 NO CHURCH

And that brings us to 2011 One Thing

The Bible mentions the phrase one thing 17 times. One thing I ask, One thing you lack, One thing I do: forgetting what is behind, striving to what is ahead. One thing I know etc. A new years resolution series on focusing on one thing you must do to grow.
Jan 2: One thing is needed: abiding over abounding Luke 10:42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. Jan 9: One thing you lack: Jesus over your money Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Jan 16: One thing: did you receive the spirit: are you a Christian? Gal. 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Jan 23: One thing I do: letting go of past behaviors Phil. 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Jan 30: One thing I know: on sharing your testimony John 9:25 He replied, Whether he is a sinner or not, I dont know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!

Unseen Hands

Study of the book of Esther. Key themes: God is never once mentioned in the book of Esther. God is also not overt in todays culture either. In this study, we get to see a group of people doing their best while God is

in the background orchestrating events for good. As John Dickson wrote in his song called Unseen Hands,: God is secretly close, silently near. This is echoed in the story of Esther. Feb 6 Feb 13 Feb 20 Feb 27

Wont You Be My Neighbor?

Alterntaive title is Othering - when you reach out to others - people not like you. The church needs a lot more othering - we tend to gather with those just like us, but the Bible reveals a grand, expansive vision of Gods Kingdom and one of its dening characteristics is others. Others are welcome with us to worship God. This could also be a good time to launch the neighbor project - 8 names around you - Dave Runyon stuff. graphic: how about Erik, Jake and me dressed in cardigans, glasses and hair parted, Fred Rogers style? Im sure Shanelle would use her studio if needed. Some questions for this topic: Are we a church that allows brokenness? Do you have to have a good marriage and good kids to t in it at Discovery? Can you be single, gay, addicted? How is our back door and how are we connecting people? How are we doing at reaching our primary target? (unchurched, irreligious, self sufcient, broken people?) Are we a church that allows people to watch on the sidelines or do we compel people to jump in? March 6 2 Kings 7, we ought not keep this good news to ourselves. March 13 Luke 10, good samaritan March 20 March 27 1 Peter 3, always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have.

Prophet, Priest and King

probably from Hebrews. Each sermon has two parts - the role of a prophet and how Jesus is a prophet. Role of priest/Jesus, role of

King/.Jesus then nal week on how Jesus is prophet, priest and king. April 3 Prophet April 10 Priest April 17 King April 24 EASTER SUNDAY: how to be forgiven by God

The Grudge Report

A 3 week series on forgiveness. The challenge of forgiving others, living in ongoing community, what it means to be forgiven by God. Maybe base this series on the story of Mephibosheth? When he was dropped and have you ever felt dropped by someone? When David forgive him based purely on his dad etc. or how about picking Joseph back up and covering the chapters surrounding his brothers and Jos forgiveness. what you intended for harm, God intended for good. May 1 forgiving others May 8 seeking forgiveness from others.

Please Hammer Dont Hurt Them

A series on the life of Samson (Judges 13 - 16) and the lessons for us from his tragic life. Interesting to note that the author of Judges mentions that, many more were killed by Samsons death than through his life. Is this a foreshadowing of Christ? Many more were saved through his death than through his life. For purely frivolous reasons, each sermon is named after an M.C. Hammer song or album. May 15: Pray May 22 Cant Touch This May 29 Have You Seen Her? June 5: 2 Legit to Quit

Summer 2011 Stories With Intent/guratively speaking

A series on the Parables of Jesus. 8 10 weeks. Based on Klyne Snodgrass and Craig Blombergs scholarship on the parables. Craddock says, (Interpretation: Luke pg 108 109) that parables are to be interpreted by the listener and not to be taught with control or resolution. A series on the parables would lend to potential interaction for a season during sermons.

Fall 2011 Unscheduled sermon series ideas:

Below are sermon ideas that have been brewing for a while and well probably slot them in sometime in the next 2 years.

Fear Not

a series on fear. how fear holds us back from living by faith, what the bible teaches about fear, and maybe even fear mongering that happens when we rally against people we disagree with. (This American Life episode 234 has the man who listed his 183 fears.)

Washed and Waiting

Wesley Hill writes, my identity as one who is forgiven and spiritually cleaned and my struggles as one who perseveres with a frustrating thorn in the esh, looking forward to what God has promised to do. A series on living as a disciple between the now and the not yet. Maybe a good title for a sacraments series?

One Another

I think it is the book of John where Jesus mentions one another 43 times. A series on the importance of faith outside the one hour church gathering

Consuming or Being Consumed?

We live in a consumer society and we approach many things from a consumer mentality. The Bible also talks about consuming, but in those passages, we are being consumed, were not the one consuming. God is

consuming us. It seems that the path of discipleship is a journey from consumer to being consumed.

Body Armor

Two primary metaphors for Gods church are body and army. The body of Christ is centered on community; the army of God is centered on cause. Healthy community ows out of a unied causenot the other way around. A sermon series on the church that God has in mind - cause oriented (the cause of Christ and his Kingdom) and community is the result as people come join the cause and join with each other, in community with God through worship.

Walk Through Acts

Another long series. 12 weeks. Look at the birth of the early church and the practices of the early Christians. Try to closely connect those practices with ways we today can live our faith.

Counterfeit

A series on the idols in our life the things that look true, but are fake and make shallow promises they cant deliver on.

Temple Politics

4 or 5 weeks about the tabernacle in the OT, then the temple and how it was the meeting place of the divine and mundane. Also a couple of weeks on Jesus temple talk and why it got him crucied basically that he claimed to be the temple (the place where you meet God) and God coming to you outside the veil. Then a closer on Acts and the Holy Spirit how Paul says that we are the temple of God and we should live in this new reality that the Spirit of God is in us.

Customer Service

A series on how the church should exceed in customer service and how the challenge of 21st C discipleship is for people to realize that they are not the customer. God is always the customer and we should exceed in serving Him.

Youre the Man

A series on the Bible and gender. What does it mean to be a man of God/ woman of God? Give clear teaching on the Eph passage about submission and the sheer absurdity of a man using it to power over his wife. Also address the common dynamic of a woman wanting her man to lead the household spiritually, and the man not stepping up because his wife keeps asking him to.

AC/DC - a series addressing Power.

God is a God of the powerless, notices the powerless. Becoming a Christian is an act of giving up power. Many public Christians today seem to seek power or gather people to inuence decisions, but God gives us power to serve and invites us to use our power to serve, not to dominate. A series on how a Christian is to relate to their power.

7 Respectable Sins.

Covering the 7 deadly sins, and the sins that we all let each other get away with, focusing on the sins of the heart and sins of omission. 7 week series.

Gods Concern: dignity, solidarity, reciprocity, relationship

Several weeks on the obscure but very tangible laws in Leviticus and Exodus showing Gods concern for the needy neighbor. (gleaning, loan, interest rate laws.) (interesting article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/774419/ the_commandments_in_the_old_testament_pg4_pg4.html?cat=34)

Stockholm Syndrome

Inspired by the name of a Derek Webb album. Stockholm syndrome happens to someone who has been kidnapped/abducted and who shows loyalty to his or her abducter. A series about how modern Christians have fallen in love with their captors this prosperous culture. The culture is more in us than the gospel.

Practical Atheist

Alternative title, The Christian Deist. A series about people who believe in God in their mind, but show no evidence in their life. Based on Craig Groeschels book. Free graphics from Lifechurchs open website.

It Came From Within: The Shocking Truth of What Lurks in the Heart
A 4 week series on guilt, anger, greed, jealousy. Anger says, "You owe me"; greed says, "I owe me"; guilt says, "I owe you"; and jealousy says, "God owes me." based on Andy Stanleys book of the same name.

Heavy Cloud No Rain

Book study on Jude who talks about people who are clouds without rain and faithless in their actions. Interesting that Jude is James brother, as they both have a polemical tone to their writing.

Show and Tell

A series on evangelism. How we share our story. How our good deeds display the gospel. Words and actions based. 2 or 3 weeks. Maybe this is a good series before our Fall kickoff.

Kings

A study on the lives of the Kings in the books of 2 Samuel and Kings. The author of these books judged each King by two criteria: did the King appropriately worship YHWH and did the King care for the orphan and widow? A series on loving God and loving neighbor

The Fine Print

A series on the ne print of the Bible/ Either obscure texts that people arent familiar with, or perhaps the Brauch Difcult Texts of the Bible. Would be neat to do a survey of folks, asking them to suggest ne print texts Anyway, it would be texts that we dont read, but that have implications in our life kind of like the ne print of terms and conditions when we click for software or web pages etc.

The Way, The Truth, The Life

Three week series on John 14 starting with the way on the ways that Jesus is the way, to quote Eugene Peterson.

The Numbers of Hope

A series on John 3:16 (and maybe 1 john 3:16.) a series of messages on the Gospel. Or maybe, preaching on each phrase in Jn 3:16. Max Lucado has a book called 316, The Numbers of Hope.

Jesus is Lord of.

A series seeking to put tangible action to the Lordship of Christ in our lives. Jesus is Lord of (one each week) heart, mind, soul, money, time?

Biography Channel: Peter.

Take a look at Peter through the progression of his life of following Christ. Call to follow, Acknowledgement of his sin, acknowledgement of Jesus as Messiah, Power of Holy Spirit, Acknowledgment that Gods grace is for everybody.

Book study on Revelation Momentum, Entrope, Impulses and Intertia

A physics approach to discipleship in 21st century United States. How do we wither in our faith, what direction do we set on our own, how hard is it to change, how do we receive Gods direction? We have a momentum away from Christ that needs an external force (impulse) to change our direction.

Divine Sexuality

4 - 6 weeks on biblical view of sexuality. Ive been wary of preaching on sexuality for a couple of reasons: 1. I dont wish to exclude singles and 2. I dont believe I can appropriately cover homosexuality in one sermon. So perhaps its time to do a long series on the theology of sex. A few weeks on homosexuality and a few weeks on theology of heterosexuality.

Lent and Lament

Denying yourself a pleasure to prepare to receive the power of Christs resurrection through prayer, repentance, giving, self denial. a literary study of Lamentations and a participatory time of Lent.

Put on, Take Off

Paul has several put on passages, Put on the armor put on love etc. Should also check on take off or remove passages. make for a good

series. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/ soulwork1611.htm