First Mennonite Church March 5, 2017 The Foundation Upon Which Discipleship Can Be Built Text: Colossians 3:12-17 Last Sunday we saw Paul’s list of privileges the church has been given by God because of being in Christ, according to Ephesians. We also got to see the high expectations and responsibilities those privileges impose on the … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church February 26, 2017 “Why Discipleship Matters?” Text: Ephesians 4:1-16 Let me acknowledge from the outset of my presentation for today that I will not be able to go over this whole passage. In fact, I will barely start touching it. I will, however, introduce the theme for today: discipleship in the context … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church February 12, 2017 Christian Conversion: How and What for? Text: Romans 10:5-17 Last Sunday I talked about Christian conversion or in the New Testament language, our “turning” or “returning to the Lord.” I said Christian conversion has four main characteristics: it is centered in Christ Jesus, it involves the supernatural, has eternal … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church February 5, 2017 “Have Your Returned?” Text: 1Tessalonians 1:2-10 Today and next Sunday, I want to address a topic that is very basic in our experience as followers of Jesus Christ: Christian conversion. As we might know, there are many kinds of conversions. For instance when for one reason or another a … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 29. 2017 Text: 1 Kings 19:1-18 “What Are You Doing Here?” I want to center our reflection on the following questions: What happens when God’s people are not in the place they should be? What happens when God’s servants fail to live up to their calling? There is something in common … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 15, 2017 What Do These Stones Mean to You? Text: Joshua 4:1-8, 19-24 After forty years of journey through the wilderness, there was one more obstacle before the Israelites could possess the Promised Land: they need to cross the River Jordan. It was the rainy season, thus the river was flooded. … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 8, 2017 Rahab’s Story: A Story of Risk Worth Taking Text: Joshua 2: 1-18 Before I go over this text, I would like to acknowledge that every time we go to the bible we do so looking for characters we can emulate. We admire Abraham, Sara, Ruth, Daniel, Mary, Paul, and … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church January 1, 2017 More Than Four Seasons Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 “Time is precious;” “time is money,” many say so. Sometimes it feels like if we are enslaved to the hands of the clock. Although much has been gained in terms of production, one of the disadvantages is that we have subdivided our lives … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church December 25, 2016 “You Shall Call Him ‘Jesus’” Text Matthew 1:18-25 It is common to hear that news about something is rarely known by those who should first know it. In many cases the last one to know about the bad news is the one closest to the object or subject of … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church December 18, 2016 Being Truly Blessed as Mary Text: Luke 1:26-38 Two Sundays ago, we had this passage for our Sunday school Bible study. We marveled at how God came into the world in human form through Jesus. We wondered, who was Mary? Who her parents were? Was she different in some … [Read more…]