Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 7: The Joy of New Beginnings

Juneteenth

Joyous Juneteenth to fans of liberty & justice for all! I opened worship this weekend with a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. As a history dude (with an actual Bachelor's degree in the subject), I am ashamed to say that I was unaware of Juneteenth until the late 2010s. But I've come to view it as an essential part of "Freedom Fortnight." In a brief 2 week window, Americans can celebrate Flag Day (June 14, 1777), Father's Day (3rd Sunday of June), Juneteenth (June 19th, 1865), The ratification of the U.S. Constitution (June 21, 1788), & of course Independence Day (July 4, 1776). Note: I mention that there will be songs sung during our worship service that are inspired by African-Americans and the struggle against slavery. Because of the sound quality, I am not sharing the audio of the songs, but they can be easily looked up if you want to hear better singers sing them: (1) He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, (2) Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, (3) Lift Every Voice & Sing, & (4) Amazing Grace.

Sermon: Walk in the Light, as He Is in the Light (1 John 1:5-10)

There is a tug-of-war between the extremes of hedonism & legalism, with neither side being the righteous choice. Instead, the Apostle John teaches us to "walk in the light, as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7), emulating Jesus rather than chasing an extreme. In today's sermon, we see that the Apostle John teaches us that (1) the Gospel starts with the glory & perfection of God, (2) our aim should be to emulate Him, (3) neither indulging in sin nor ignoring sin is acceptable, (4) only confession and repentance work, & Christ does all the heavy lifting and He fixes our mistakes.

Sermon: The Word Is Alive (1 John 1:1-4)

The Summer 2026 sermon series kicks off (well, besides the introductory sermon last week) where any expository series should start: chapter 1, verse 1. The book of 1st John opens with a poetic, slightly rambling soliloquy about the "Logos," the Greek word for "word" (which is also the key word at the beginning of John's Gospel). In this lesson, we see that (1) the Word is life, (2) the Word is Christ, (3) the Word is real, (4) the Word brings fellowship, (5) the Word brings joy, & that since (6) the Word is light, then we should walk in the light.

Sermon: Introduction to First John

This summer's sermon series is an expository preaching series through the Epistle of First John. This is the introduction, which lays out several overall themes of the book. Join us this summer as we dig into First John.

Sermon - Celebrate with Joy!, part 8: In Conclusion

Memorial Day seems like a nice bookend for this Easter sermon series; beginning and ending on a holiday. In this episode we summarize all that we've discussed the past 2 months regarding the topic of joy.