Latest Sermons

No one who met Jesus was indifferent–they wanted to kill him or the fell down and worshipped him. Confronted with Jesus–Peter exclaims, Depart form me I’m a sinful man. But when called, he leaves everything to follow Jesus. So too does Levi. Jesus came to confronts people with their deepest need–and he does so with […]

Before he enters into public ministry, Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. He sows doubts about God’s goodness and encourages Jesus to take things in his own hands. How is Jesus trial in the wilderness similar to how we experience the temptation to unbelief and living for our own ends, […]

In the Gospel of Luke, Caesar and Rome are set against John the Baptist and Jesus in the early chapters. The author wants us to ask who is truly king? And, where is power to be found? Through the Baptists preaching, the people of Israel, and all of us are called to prepare our hearts […]

What is true community? Behind the Psalmists evocative imagery of the anointing of Aaron and the dew of Mount Hermon is the three generational relational matrix of an Ancient Israel village and family. Today, in the West, no one lives in villages filled with extended family. How do we experience community? And what challenges oppose […]

In an anxious, stressed-out, performance driven culture–how do we experience the peace that God offers? David, the Psalmist, points to intimacy with the Lord: like a mother with a child, we can know the loving nurture of God, when we look to Him as our hope.

The Psalmist has been greatly afflicted by the wicked–but the Lord in his righteous loyalty has delivered him. The Psalmist recalls his past suffering, God’s deliverance and prays for justice to be brought on the afflicted. When we have endured evil at the hands of others, how do we find healing and hope? The Psalmist […]

Restore our Fortunes, the Psalmist cries, that we may shout for Joy once again. What keeps us from joy, how do we seek joy in ways that will not fulfill and how do we tap into the joy that God offers us through the restoration that is in Jesus Christ?

In a dangerous and insecure world, where can we turn for certainty? The Psalmist assures us that the Lord surrounds and protects his people–that their allotment and portion are secure. We wrestle with worry, guilt, doubt and even self-sufficiency, but if our trust and hope is in the Lord, He guarantees for us what matters […]

In Psalm 124, the Psalmist invites Israel to join with him in giving thanks to the Lord for his deliverance of them. How to we live a life of thanksgiving to God and how to we confront the pride, control and fear that keep us from thanking and trusting God?

The Psalmist complains to the Lord of dealing with the contempt and scorn of the proud. But he does not just turn against his enemies, nor does he turn inward, but he looks to the Lord. He desires the Face of the Lord and seeks the Mercy of the Lord, knowing that if he has […]

In Psalm 122, the Psalmist rejoices to go to Jerusalem–he has a childlike earnestness and delight in going to worship the Lord. How do we worship God with such authenticity and how does God come to us and offer us peace and his presence, so we don’t have to go in search of Him?

Johnny Kurcina kicks off Summer in the Psalms II: Songs of Ascent by looking at Psalm 120–the first of the Pilgrim songs. The Psalmist is in distress and despair but he brings his complaint to God, entrusting himself to the Lord.