Weekly Sermons, Announcements and Events
First Mennonite Church November 8, 2020 For the Sake of the Name, Neither Fight nor Flight Text: Acts 5:17-42 Chapter five of Acts begins with a really sad and sort of scary story. Ananias and Sapphira were caught in their dishonesty. They wanted to pretend being selfless about their giving to the church, when in … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church November 1, 2020 Guiding Principles from the Early Church Text: Acts 2:41-47; 4:32-37 Here we have two snapshots of what the Christian community looked like in its very early stage. These two brief descriptions are plain and easy to understand. But the question is, are those descriptions about the early church prescriptive … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 25, 2020 Then They Will Know That We Are Companions of Jesus Text: Acts 4:5-22 In Acts 3, we find the story of Peter healing a crippled beggar. That was the first miracle Peter performed after Jesus’ departure and after the investiture with the Holy Spirit. The miracle caused a stir … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 18, 2020 A Message of Repentance Text: Acts 2: 29-42 Our passage this morning is the conclusion of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost. As we saw last week, on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples as they were gathered, about 120 of them. The … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 11, 2020 Pentecost: What Does It Mean? Text: Acts 2:1-12 When Pentecost came, the disciples were gathered in one place—the upper room, but it seems, as if representatives from “every nation under heaven” were also gathered in one city—Jerusalem. Pentecost, which literally means, “fiftieth,” was also known by other names: the … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church October 4, 2020 Forty Day with Convincing Proofs Text: Acts 1-1-11 Today, I want to start a new series of sermons from the book of Acts of the Apostles. We should know that there are several reasons why this book is so important for our understanding of the Christian faith, history of … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 27, 2020 The Holy Spirit’s Involvement in Salvation Text: John 16: 1-11 Let me begin with the not-so-good news, although, it is nothing you do not know about: the world is being hurled around by many kinds of storms. Some storms are closer to home, while others rage and destroy communities … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 20, 2020 Salvation Involves the Forgiveness of Sins Text: Acts: 13:13-17 In some way, today, I will be elaborating on what I spoke about last Sunday—doing the will of God. But what is the will of God, you might have asked yourself? I will tell you in a nutshell, but this … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 13, 2020 Discipleship: A Commitment beyond Words Text: Matthew 7:21-29 Max De Pree, the well-known businessman and leadership author, is fond of saying that beliefs shape practices. If you want to know what you truly believe, you only need to examine your behaviors. Jesus stated it very clear, first, when he … [Read more…]
First Mennonite Church September 6, 2020 We Can Only Have One Master Text: Matthew 6:19-21; 24-34 Matthew chapters five, six, and seven are what is known as the Sermon of the Mount. Besides the Beatitudes, Jesus also addresses interpersonal relations: anger, adultery, divorce, making oaths, loving the neighbor and even the enemy. Jesus then proceeds … [Read more…]