Sermons by Ben Kuerth
How Good to be Together…With Jesus (Transfiguration)
Pastor Ben’s farewell sermon on Transfiguration Sunday. Mark 9:2-9
New Year Revolution: Purpose
The world teaches us that the best thing we can be doing is looking out for ourselves, promoting ourselves, satisfying ourselves. We weren’t created for this kind of living. Sooner or later it leaves us feeling empty and listless. Jesus was other-focused in his life and in his death. This is what we were created for. This changes everything for us. Sermon Text: 2 Timothy 1:8-10
New Year Revolution – Identity
The world causes us to question ourselves. Have you made it? Are you good enough? Does your life really have any value? Way too many of us feel that we don’t measure up. But we’re looking for personal value in the wrong place. We’re looking to what we do and don’t do. We’re focused on what other people think. It’s what God thinks that truly matters. Galatians 3:26,27
Eternal Perspective (New Year’s Eve)
New Year’s helps us remember God’s presence throughout our lives. While another year is passing, and we look forward to the coming year, we recognize that in both our joys and our sorrows, God has been and is with us. It is his gracious presence in our lives that not only gives us purpose but also fills us with peace. It is his presence that gives us hope for the future. Lord, give us an eternal perspective on your presence! Psalm 90:1-17
What the World Needs: God Himself
Through this series we’ve come to see what we really need: a wake-up call, the honest truth and a savior. But today we’ll see that not just any savior will do. This world, including us, is broken beyond repair—human repair. We need a Savior who can fix us. We need God himself. Isaiah 9:2-7
Humility
It’s just human to view our situation from our own vantage point. Yet, our vantage point is skewed. Of course, we’re going to want to think that we’re right, that our motives are pure, that we’ve got the other person in mind. We need a mirror that will show us what we really need to see—the truth. We need someone who loves us enough to be honest with us. Isaiah 40:1-11
Generous Heart
We sometimes think that we can’t be “generous” because generosity inherently means giving away lots of something and we don’t necessarily have “a lot” of anything. But generosity, as we’ve learned is a matter of the heart and is measured in sacrifice.
Generous Life
We tend to think that generosity relates only to our money and material possessions. Yet, the scriptures teach that everything we are and have comes from God. That means generosity is an attitude of the heart that touches every aspect of our lives and behavior. Luke 16:1-15
Here I Stand (By Scripture Alone)
Martin Luther lived in a time when the grip of human tradition on the church (along with all its errors) was so tight it seemed nothing could turn the tide. Risking his life in the process, Luther held tight to the Word and its truth and the power of the Word literally changed the world. It can certainly change our world too!
Fear No More (By Faith Alone)
So many of the truths God teaches us and the promises he makes cannot be comprehended by the human mind or seen with our physical eyes. To accept them, believe them, build our lives and the hope for eternity around them, we must rely on God’s gift of faith. Sermon Text: John 5:24-29; Hebrews 11:1,2,8-12
Destiny: Where Are We Going When We Die?
Is there life after death? If there is, what will that life be like? From a completely human perspective it would appear as though this life is all there is. When you die, you’re dead. In the Scripture, however, we discover that death was not a part of God’s original plan for the world, that death is God’s judgment against sin. That makes death frightening and ugly, but God found a way to destroy death forever. We now look forward to Paradise restored!
Sermon Text: Genesis 3:16-24
Morality: What Is Good?
Who determines what’s right and wrong? Shouldn’t the individual have the right to determine that for himself or herself? That sounds good to me. But how is that actually going to work in the real world? Is morality subjective or objective? A scriptural world-view makes no bones about it. The Creator calls the shots.
Sermon Text: Genesis 3:1-15