If you have lived in Florida for any amount of time, you know a thing or two about how to prepare for hurricanes. You buy batteries, water, and food; and you put down sandbags and put away the loose objects in your yard. But have you ever considered what is involved in spiritually preparing for a hurricane, or any other storm of life for that matter? This sermon explores some key ways we can get ready when we know a storm is coming.
View SermonThe Rev. Christopher Klukas
The Race that is Set Before Us
Just like struggles of athletic training and competition, the struggles you face as a Christian may hurt or require you to make difficult decisions, but they also help you to grow stronger in your faith and the way you live it out.
View SermonPatriotism, Nationalism, and the Kingdom of God
Two similar and yet increasingly different words have been frequently used in talking about United States politics in recent years: patriotism and nationalism. Both words talk of love and affection for one’s country, but nationalism has come to mean exalting your country (or your agenda) above all other countries (or agendas) with no regard for the needs of the other. The truth is, as Christians, we must love the Kingdom of God, which transcends all races and national boundaries, more than the nations of this world, even as we seek the welfare of the nation where we have been planted.
View SermonBuilt to Last
It has often been said that hindsight is 20/20. King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes at the end of his life, looking back and reflecting on all that he had done. He was a man with no lack of resources and he wholeheartedly pursued whatever caught his attention and interest. Overall, however, he found that most of these pursuits were nothing but “vanity and chasing after the wind.” What is our life is worth pursuing? Where can we find happiness and fulfillment? Ultimately there is only one thing that can bear this weight.
View SermonA Son of Laughter
Sometimes when we hear God’s voice, it can take a long time for his promises to come to fruition. This was the case with Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament as they waited for God to give them a son. When this happens we can be tempted to take things into our own hands or fall into despair and disbelief. God calls us to another way, patience. We have a God who always keeps his promises and he is always faithful to deliver. Let us put our trust in him and wait with patience.
View SermonLoving your Neighbor
We can see needs around us all the time. How often do we stop to help? There are lots of reason we might give for not helping, and some of them are probably good ones. But if we always pass by without helping, it may be evidence of a heart problem.
View SermonLaboring in the Harvest
Our vision at Good Samaritan is to help people find God, love God, and share God. But how do we go about sharing God with others? In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sends out 72 of his disciples into the towns where he himself was about to Go. As he sends them, he gives them some helpful advice which continues to be very applicable today as we share our faith with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers.
View SermonPreserving the Faith, Engaging the Mission
A lot has happened in the Anglican Communion over the past sixteen years. Structures are shifting, but the faith has not changed, God is still good, and his Kingdom is still expanding. When Elijah was at his darkest moment, God reminded him that he was not alone, and that there were still 7,000 people who had remained faithful. In our dark moments God continues to do the same, he reminds us that we are not alone and that there will always be a faithful remnant ready to continue the work of the mission of God.
View SermonThe Near and Distant God
The tension between God’s “closeness” and his “otherness,” his transcendence and his immanence, is part of what led to the doctrine of the Trinity in the early Church. As Christians we believe that God is one God in three Persons. It is hard to get our mind around how this could be, and yet, this is how God has revealed himself to us. It is Jesus, the second person of the Trinity and the “image of the invisible God” who reconnects us with our heavenly Father and makes the distant God near to us once more. For those of us who are “in Christ,” God now dwells within us in the person of the Holy Spirit!
View SermonScattered Lego Pieces (Pentecost)
Many of the stories in the Old Testament describe the fracturing and scattering of people, largely as a result of human sin. On the Day of Pentecost we see the opposite happening, God uniting people of many nations together through the preaching of the Gospel, and each hearing in his or her own language. God loves unity, it is a major piece of his plan for redemption. This unity is already beginning to happen through the sacrifice of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
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