Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church Sermons
Web Site: Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church
Total Sermons: 102
Total Amens: 3
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Do Not Be Afraid - He is Risen!
This Easter morning, both visually and in the message, our attention will be drawn to the cross that stands so prominently in our sanctuary. As a symbol, the cross is capable of evoking great passion, but it is the events behind the symbol that are capable of producing not only passion, but great change for good in each of our lives. As the Scriptures clearly teach, something happened in the crucifixion and resurrection, not only to Jesus, but to us as well. The practical value of the mystery of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection is hard to see for many. May God give us the grace today to see that in our union with Him, crucified and risen, our deepest needs and greatest hopes find their fulfillment.
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The Dark Side of Palm Sunday: Lessons from a Worshipping Sufferer
If you’ve been around for Palm Sunday in the past, think back on those experiences. Recall the atmosphere of worship. Perhaps you were with a congregation that grabbed palm branches and waved them high during a jubilant hymn or song. Maybe you sang those famous words, sung on the very first Palm Sunday: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!†In most (if not all) our experiences of Palm Sunday, churches tended to pull out all the stops, coming in at 100% on the joy-meter. But there was a dark side to Palm Sunday, which we will explore today through the eyes of King David. Why dampen such a festive day? We’re willing to do it because the one person who saw and experienced the dark side of Palm Sunday was none other than Jesus Himself. Today, we’ll walk the Palm Sunday that Christ walked.
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Serve
Hi, Welcome to Youth Sunday! We are thrilled that you are here. One of the movie characters of all time is Ebenezer Scrooge from the movie A Christmas Carol. He is great because of what he ultimately discovers about the joy of serving others. His entire life and reason for living is transformed the moment he chooses to stop being a vicious, mean-spirited boss and become a gracious man finding delight through serving others. It’s a great story! Ebenezer’s amazing change is like the change people experience when God’s Spirit transforms them. They move from selfish to servant. This change happens to those who allow God’s purpose of ministry to fill their lives and give them power to do what is unnatural-serving others rather than themselves.
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People, meet your stereotype before it meets you
The Lectionary texts for today speak about thirst for life. The people thirst for water in the wilderness. The Samaritan woman at the well meets the One who gives the water of eternal life. Paul speaks of God’s love being “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.†The Samaritan woman didn’t recognize her need for “Living Waterâ€, instead we find a woman who is secluded to an island in her own life. Simon and Garfunkel in their song entitled “I am a Rock†express this idea well: “A fortress deep and mighty, that none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and its loving that I disdain. I am a rock, I am an island...I have my books and my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island. And a rock feels no pain; and an island never cries.â€
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Born of the Spirit
Today's gospel reading contains probably the best known verse in the Bible, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The mystery of eternal life, what it is and how we experience it, is the most profound of all mysteries. Nicodemus, then one of the most revered teachers of the Jewish people, approached Jesus and asked him to explain. Though Nicodemus was a theologian with a significant background in the study of the Scriptures, he was unprepared for the answer that Jesus gave. The Lord's answer to him is God's answer to us when we ask as well. We don't have to be theologians to receive the greatest gift of all. We just have to have open hearts and open minds!
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Temptation - Getting to the Bottom of it all
Today’s lectionary texts are fitting because they have to do with something common to all of us: temptation. Even the Apostle Paul confessed his struggle with temptation and sin when he said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it,†Romans 7:15-20. The Lenten season serves to remind us that we are mortal and that we are sinners in need of a Savior. There is good news in knowing that the great Apostle struggled with temptation just as we do. There is even better news in knowing that we “do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need,†Hebrews 4:15-16. We hope that this will be your experience as you worship with us today.
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The Fire at Mount Tabor
The Biblical account of the Transfiguration is a fascinating one. In today's Gospel reading we will hear Matthew's description of this unusual event when Jesus' "face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light." For many of us this is one more proof of the divinity of Christ and perhaps of symbolic value, but it is often hard to connect it with anything practical in our lives. The eastern Orthodox churches have always held this to be of central importance not only in the life of Jesus, but in the lives of believers down through the ages. They have seen this to be of major practical value and their insights are significant ones. As with so much of the Bible, this account is given not merely to inform us, but to transform us and it is in this transformation that we find the practical value of this beautiful passage.
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Follow The Leader
Leaders. We are obsessed with the question of leadership as we head into an election year. And yet, truth be told, the world of human leadership is poised to let us down. In four to eight years, we will feel about our new leaders the way we feel about our old leaders. In the midst of all the disappointment, Jesus calls us to “follow him.†Today in the Word, we will be thinking about his call in the context of our lives. It is a call that rings true in the church and the world.
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St. Andrew's Bucket List
Today is Vision Sunday. We will be discussing our mission and vision as a church. Before Christ, what do we need to be, and what do we need to do? These questions inevitably drive us back to the great commission and the great commandment. Today in the Word; we will be helped by looking at the role of the early disciple Andrew and what he wanted to accomplish.
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