Sermons About Mike-gunn
Fellowship of Joy: A Study in Philippians
Our prayers are often soaked with ourselves, and our own needs, but when we begin to know the love of God in our lives and we connect to His mission in this world, our prayer life will begin to change, and our joy will be made complete as we see God working in the lives of others.
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Fellowship of Joy: A Study in Philippians
I am excited to begin this short letter of Paul to the Philippian (Macedonian) church. This church is exemplary of the reality of the church of Jesus Christ. It is a “Beautiful Mess!” This is a church that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 as an incredibly giving church, who desired to always “Participate in the gospel” (Philippians 1:5), yet they struggled with unity and humility (see Philippians 2:1-4; 4:1-3). There is no “Perfect” church.
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What does it all mean?
What is the Church? Why does the Church exist? What is the Church supposed to do? The Church is the Body of Christ nurturing the community within by the transforming power of the Gospel of Christ and sharing that work with those that are called outside the buildings walls.
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The Glory of God in the Gospel of God, Reading the Cultural Texts Around Us
How does the gospel best move into a culture? Is it through power and influence, or is it through an informed band of believers living out their life on every level of human culture? How can we be involved with culture and engage it intelligently, without falling into the mechanisms and world systems that ultimately destroy it? How does the gospel story intersect the human one? Only by reading the culture, can we answer that question.
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The Glory of God in the Gospel of God, How Has the Culture Shaped the Gospel?
We are called to be ambassadors of the Gospel of Christ to the culture by using the culture to illustrate it as Paul did to the Gentiles but we should not let the culture shape God's Gospel or our theology. The worldviews and philosophies within a culture often shape us without us knowing it. God gives Adam and Eve a clear story, yet they chose to believe in another “Has God said…?” (Genesis 3:1). It is this restructuring toward our own desire to be god that shapes the gospel we preach.
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The Glory of God in the Gospel of God, What is the Gospel?
What the Gospel <b>is not</b>: 1.The Gospel is Not Therapy 2.The Gospel is Not Law/Moralism 3.The Gospel is Not “Self Discovery” 4.The Gospel is Not “Enlightenment” 5.The Gospel is Not Social Restructuring/Nationalism The Gospel <b>is</b> God’s “Good News” of His in-breaking into human culture in order to justify and save His people (Through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ), and establish His kingdom/Lordship (Through the establishment of His Church) to the glory of His name.
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Who Is the Holy Spirit, and Why Does It Matter?
The Holy Spirit may be the most misunderstood in all of scripture! Is He an energy force? Is He a manifestation of power much like Kali is a manifestation of Shiva in Hinduism? Is the Holy Spirit God, and what does He do? God’s mysteries are amazing, and I think a reminder of His infinite being and our finite minds.
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Genesis: 25 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
Why does God chose whom he choses? In this passage we see three incidents where God seems to choose one group/person over another. The answer may be as simple as the gospel is more about God and His glory than it is for our own glory. God blessed Isaac, because He had chose this line of Abraham to be the line that would one day produce the Messiah. God continually appears as the sovereign one here, which leads us back to the question why again? Romans 9 attempts to answer this question, but I would also say that the story we have unfolded in these past 12 chapters also helps us understand, why.
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Genesis: 24 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
We do not “Control” God in any way. This is true in healing, miracles, etc. These are done for God’s will, in His timing. Are we trusting God for key issues in our life? Do we consult God when it comes to decisions such as whom we are going to spend our lives with? What are you struggling with in regards to God’s will, and your life? Are we trusting that God loves us, and is acting on our behalf on a regular basis? Are we giving God gratitude for what He does regularly in your lives?
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Genesis: 23 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
Death is ultimate and inevitable we cannot put our hope in temporal healings and desire to keep ourselves alive. Death reminds us of our mortality, and brings us into a sobering reality that our life, as we are living it, will cease someday. Death is not natural, and is the very thing that Christ conquers in His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead.
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Genesis: 21 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
What is joy, what is blessing? Our church culture today spends much of its time fabricating joy, and chasing blessings that are fabricated, temporal and ultimately meaningless. There is one popular TV preacher (Identity withheld) that wrote, “God is a partner who exists primarily to make sure we’re happy.” It isn’t just a false gospel that can write this stuff, it is ultimately a joy robbing statement. If God exists for us, we can pity this world, because there is nothing greater than the things we can fabricate. There is nothing, or no one to worship, but ourselves, which is ultimately what aberrant theology does; move our eyes from Him, to ourselves!
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Genesis: 20 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
Abraham was protecting himself or the promise. Either way he was trying to save himself on his own terms, and failed to trust God, and allowed his fear of man dominate his relationship with God and his wife. He often stumbled because of this fear, whether or not it was a fear of man, or a fear of his wife, he wasn’t able to be bold when he needed to be, because he was trying to protect some very dear things in his mind, and he feared giving them over to God.
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Genesis: 22 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
In today’s epic, we will see not only an incredible transformation of Abraham’s heart, but an incredible picture of God’s grace in our own lives. Abraham displays a great faith, but the hero of this story remains God, who gave him that great faith. Faith is so often mischaracterized as: the more faith you have the more change you will see. However Jesus said that all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed (Very small seed) to move mountains, the size of your faith is not the issue, but the one whom which you place it.
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Genesis: 17 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
Why circumcision? That question has been asked forever, but I think there are at least a few things that can be added to the conversation. A ritual called circumcision expressed the sign of the covenant. The ritual, like many other rituals in the bible are not necessarily unique to the bible, and demonstrates that God is truly a missional God, who uses many customs in the culture he is speaking into in order to contextualize His message, and often complete the story with His own.
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Genesis: 16 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
This week Sarai and Abram take the promise of GOD into their own hands rather than trusting and waiting on GOD in HIS perfect time. Our couple take an episode from Desperate Tent Wives and break the covenant GOD gave us through marriage. Any sexual act outside of this union is wrong because it deconstructs the sexual function from being pro-creative, emotionally satisfying and God glorifying to being only emotionally satisfying without the commitment of the other two. We are a work in progress, there will be many times in our lives that our doubts, and our desires will get the best of us, even when we are trying to please God with our desires. There will be times when we will give in to the desire to try and please God through your own works, instead of allowing God’s promise to be fulfilled in you.
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Genesis: 15 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
God is our Protector and Our Prize; God’s Promise is Not Limited by Our Doubts; Faith Has Always Been the Gateway to God’s Righteousness; God is Completely Sovereign in our Missional Lives; God is The Faithful Covenant God: How does God’s sovereignty comfort you? How does it confuse you? What does it mean to have God’s righteousness counted on your account? What does this say about you and your identity in Christ? Are we supposed to understand it completely?
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Genesis: 14:17-24 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
Can you imagine what it would be like to leave the comfort of friends and family for the complete unknown, and then realize the area you are led to is not a very friendly place, especially for your people? In this segment of scripture we see a couple of things that are intriguing. First, Yahweh is greater than any obstacle you will face, and secondly, He is also responsible to defeat the obstacles that would hinder His call on your life. Let’s journey on with Abram and Sarai, as God continues to reveal Himself and His vision to them in quite unconventional ways.
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Genesis: 14:1-16 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
So often ignorant people look into the pages of the Old Testament and see a mean, capricious God. This is because they can only view the text horizontally from their own human, 21st century perspective. Our text today sounds like the gulf war (1991 version), with many nations participating, but these kings are more or less kings of cities, rather than countries. This is why “Kings” (Feudal Lords) would bind together to fight, because it would strengthen their armies against the surrounding Kings. Therefore Abraham’s armies of 318 would have been formidable, especially as it combined forces with the remaining armies of the defeated kings. This isn’t a story of great faith, or great warring; it’s a story of a great God who is sovereign in our lives, and who is providentially connected to His design and plan in the world.
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Genesis 12:1-9 The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham
God called Abram (“Exalted Father”) to make his name great on His terms. This story is the lynchpin connecting point between the history of humanity and the history of God’s elect; the history of the curse, and the history of the blessing. What’s interesting to see in this story, as well as the story of the whole bible, is God’s sovereign intent for His people and the world. He is not a tribal deity, and His “Chosen” do not exist for themselves, but for His glory and His mission, and it is also important to note that we will all be surprised who God’s “Elect” are!
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The Transformation Series: The Living Water of the Spirit in Us
In Christ, you have been made a fruit tree and enabled to bear fruit even in the midst of trial and pain. You are a child of God and no longer need to try and win anyone’s love and approval. You are free in Christ to enjoy the things that He has given you, and free to break the chains of sin in your life because you no longer need other things to bring you joy and significance.
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Behold the King and His Kingdom!
Follow along or listen to Mike Gunn as he guides us through the Historical Jesus and His importance to us and why we hold Advent and December 25th, as a time we revere the incarnate GOD and His purpose in time for all eternity.
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The Transformation Series: A Change of Heart
God wants us to show obedience out of love and loyalty, not out of law and conformity. The heart is central to obedience. Religion judges the outward appearance of man, and doesn’t see the heart. The idea of “Christ in your hearts,” is not a spatial thing; it is qualitative. It is all too often misused to mean some superficial choosing of Jesus to join our own agendas. This has to do with the Holy Spirit empowering you to live in the love of Christ in everything we do.
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The Transformation Series: Why Are There So Many Thorns in My Garden?
Notice that in many religious systems we are asked either to obey to be loved or to forsake “earthly” things in order to be made right. Yet both of those systems do not get rid of sin, motivate anyone, or change the heart. The Christian walk is not a life of seclusion and separation, but a life of redemption that continues to change a life to reveal what real life is like; expressing that life in a heart change, not a rule change.
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The Transformation Series: Transformation from the Inside Out
We are in a spiritual battle for our minds and our hearts. Everything in this world points you away from Christ toward the next best thing to fulfill you life. Our response is NOT to separate us from the world, because that doesn’t change our heart, rather we are to begin to seek God in word and prayer to change us so that we can engage our world in mission with a heart that is less pleased with the world, and much pleased with Christ.
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The Transformation Series: Taking a Look at Real Reality
Our world really has a hard time believing in the presence of evil personified in a being such as Satan. The Buddhist worldview says that the current world is an illusion Hinduism also believes that all matter is illusory and that our problems are a result from another life. Islam, says that the world is wicked because the world isn’t yet subject to “Shariah” (The laws of the Holy Quran). Marxism/Humanism says that evil is either a product of materialistic reductionism and/or inequity of capital distribution. The Christian message is not merely cognitive (Right thinking) or behavioral (Right actions); it is a surgery of the heart that only God can perform by entering into a relationship with Him based solely on the work of His Son on the cross.
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The Transformation Series: The Good News of Life's Trials
Have you ever felt alone during a struggle because you thought no one would understand? Are you hiding struggles and pain because you’re afraid of what someone may think? In the bible we see many circumstances of the results of sin in people’s lives, including the lives of those that are considered “godly.” The fact is, Heat is a human reality and many times we will believe the lie that God isn’t present. But according to His word, He is, and He cares.
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The Transformation Series: Change God's Way
As believers, it is important to see that God is present in the circumstances of our life, and that we need to see the “Big Picture,” which helps us understand that God is using our circumstances to help us change and be transformed into the image of His Son. That “Big Picture” consists of HEAT, THORNS, FRUIT, CROSS. Instead of trying to change our circumstances, God is trying to change our heart!
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The Transformation Series: "It Takes a Village"
All too often we approach our faith with a western, individualistic mindset. So we interpret passages to mean that they are to be carried out be me and me alone. If we are going to be more like Christ (Which we have seen is God’s goal for us), then we too must learn to live in community. It is living in community that we are truly human.
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The Transformation Series: Who Are You Married To??
What is the goal of our faith? Well we know that the goal of Paul’s instruction is love which should give us a clue to God’s goal for us. We have a perfect metaphor for what God desires to have with us. He desires nothing more than a spouse desires for himself or herself. God demands our passion for Him. His jealousy is often seen as a flaw in His own character. This is simply not true. God seeks our praise because He, and He alone is praiseworthy!
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The Transformation Series: Where is God Taking You?
Do we have what we need to live godly lives? How can our knowledge of eternity help us live presently? Why are people often spiritually ineffective? What is God’s goal for us? In these next few months we are going to be taking a look at how the gospel changes people, and what are the obstacles for transformation in our lives.
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John 20:30-21:25 Grace at the Breakfast Table
Today, we see an ethereal vignette reminding us that God is motivated by His love, and the grace He bestows on all men. He is a gracious, good God! Our story centers on Jesus making breakfast for His disciples. God’s grace is found in the mundane, ordinary events in our human existence. In spite of all of our failures and sins, God still wants to commune with us.
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John 20:1-29 A Resurrection of Hope
We have seen that Christ’s death and burial was purposed by God to kill our sins, and bring forth justice in His cross, and because of that we are free to live for God, and live with Him eternally! Today we will take a look at the importance of the resurrection, without which there would be no power in the promises that God makes to us in His Son, and we’d be dead in our sins, still working our way to a god that is impotent.
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John 19:38-42 Secret Disciples!
Are you a “Secret Disciple?” Nicodemus and Joseph were both wealthy, religious, good men, searching for the kingdom, which is the right thing to do. They were righteous dudes, but they were overcome by the life of Christ, and ultimately changed by His death. What causes us to be transformed? First it is the power of the Holy Spirit transforming our lives, but secondly, it is our belief that in Christ we are “Dead to sin!”
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John 19: 17-37 The Death of God, or the Glory of a King?
The cross is an enigma. It is an event that people can’t seem to come to terms with. It is a barbaric event that God used for His own glory, and our salvation! It speaks of sin, justice, love and the wrath of God. It is a symbol of balance, hatred, grace and shame. The cross is the defining point in human history. It is the event that unites heaven and earth, and clears the way for us to relate to God in a personal way.
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John 18:12-19:16 The Ironic Coronation
It is so easy to blame the Jews or Pilate for the death of Jesus, and not come to a heartfelt understanding that it was in reality our own sins that sentenced Christ to that tree, and that shame. In spite of this, Jesus’ death happened because our sins indicted Him.
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John 18:1-14 A Journey Into Glory
The fact is that those in power often persecute those that disagree with them. We have seen this all through history, and almost no one is exempt from this temptation. This is what Christianity did to Jews when they got in to places of power. The biblical reality is that both the Jews and the gentiles were culpable we are culpable and God was completely in control of His death.
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John 17 Jesus Missional Prayer
As pastor John Piper writes, “His demand for supreme praise is His demand for our supreme happiness.” Atheist Ayn Rand once said that, “Admiration is the rarest and best of pleasures.” If this is true then what we admire is important, Jesus secures this glory as an act of love on the cross for our own sake. Therefore Jesus’ prayer for glory is ultimately a missional prayer for our joy and pleasure. Jesus makes it known that those that are in Him are secure in Him. If God chose us, we do not choose out. We are secure in His grace.
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John 13:1-38 Becoming Good to Great
Until we are “Washed” by God, we are useless for any good works. This is indicative from Christ’s statement in verse 8 to Peter. This act of Christ leads to the Second meaning and duty that is Our Standard of Service/Humility in Christ. We are called to love like Christ loved, unconditionally! His love sacrifices for the other so that His father can be glorified, so that others can enjoy the glory of God! We are definitely in need of a foot washing in order to be experientially cleansed from our sin, but we must see that the gospel of Jesus Christ has cleansed us, and we are free to serve Him, and love Him, and then to love one another!
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John 12:37-50 The Pain of Unbelief
Does God harden your heart, or does your unbelief harden your heart? This appears to be the question of the ages, and one that is a bit of a paradox, since they both appear true in scripture. Our choices bear responsibility and have grim consequences, but God in His sovereignty uses our choices to accomplish His will. Our will/choices are proximate, while God’s remains ultimate. God does not violate our will, but He is in complete control of the results. This may be the grand mystery of how this all works, but it is the heart of a loving God to save, which He has done to His glory through His Son Jesus Christ.
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John 12:27-36 A New Kind of Power in Power 3
Death is not natural and rightly causes distress since we know it to be unnatural. Therefore fear and agony are normal responses. Jesus appears to have more fear and anguish than many men. How come? There are at least two good reasons for His response. First, death is not natural. Secondly, the agony that Christ is about to experience goes far beyond what any death could bring. He who was sinless was about to become sin, and separate from His Father.
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John 12:20-26 A New Kind of Power in Power 2
We spend our time and money to make ourselves happy, but we never seem content. Jesus comes and gives Himself up for the sake of the world, and calls His people to do the same. The best way to fulfillment is in emptying ourselves at His cross, and drinking in His glory on our behalf.
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John 12:12-19 A New Kind of Power in Power
While the world awaits a savior from oppressive regimes, Christ came to bring an end to death. Political upheaval may help to assuage human pain, but it doesn’t change hearts or give eternal life. Political change most often ends in its own form of corruption. It is for this reason that Jesus doesn’t pursue political power, even though He challenges the oppressive political figures of His day.
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John 12:1-11 An Attitude Adjustment
We can easily get our priorities out of whack, and begin to serve God or the poor based on duty, guilt, fear and pride, and fail to recognize that when we properly place our affections on Christ, and the gospel transforms our life doing things like helping the poor become second nature. Christ has forgiven us but we must live our lives in constant reminder that we are sinners in need to repent for our sin.
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John 11:45-47 The Tyranny of the Convenient and the Gift of Grace
It is God who is sovereignly working behind the scenes to use evil for His own glory. He is working to re-center self-centered people on the only center worth living for, God Himself. How often do we reject God for our own convenient reasons, and then justify them with solid reasoning? The religious establishment saw a man raised from the dead, and still had hearts that looked to their own convenience, and places of power. “The Romans will come and take away our place (Their religion) and our nation” (Their Ethnic Identity).
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John 11:1-45 Sickness Not Unto Death!
Who have you lost? What have you lost? How is living in this fallen world painful? Is your Christianity mental only? Is yours based in bitterness towards God for the pain in your life? Our natural reactions are found in Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha, and the people who also loved Lazarus. Jesus wants to show us in a grand way that “This sickness will not end in death.” Our world is sick and messed up, and death is that grand reminder that this world is a messed up place. Jesus is going to use Lazarus’ death to set up the reality of His own death...
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Romans 8:28-39 Living Free in Christ 6
We are either living according to the “Flesh” (Our self-saving, god-mitigating self), or we are living according to the Spirit (Grace, forgiveness, justification). Our salvation is wholly the work of God in our lives, and not our own mechanisms that often fill in the “Gospel Gaps,” that take place of the real gospel of God’s grace in a person’s life. This is where it all hinges on this doctrine of predestination. Our comfort and hope is in this reality, not our own strength, and religious ways to feel righteous. It simply isn’t up to you, but up to the God “who didn’t spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all.”
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Romans 8:13-27 Living Free in Christ 5
If we live by the flesh (Our own self saving, self controlling mechanisms) we will die (Spiritually and eternally). Life’s circumstances have a huge bearing on our growth, and how the heat of life’s trials either move us toward God, resulting in repentance, faith and fruit, or move us away from God and toward the thorns that result in our hardened hearts, when we continue to operate in our own self control mechanisms.
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