Northwest Church of Christ Sermons

Gifted

So many churches are hierarchical in their organizational structure. But the church is called to be a "pnuematocracy," that is, governed by the Spirit. People should be leading and serving as they are gifted. This sermon explores how we are gifted and for what purpose. Are you using your gift or burying it?

Being Present to Children

After God created family he declared his creation to be "very good." When the disciples pushed the children away because Jesus had more important things to do Jesus welcomed them. We must now recognize that in our church, homes, and world we need to make sure we aren't doing "more important things" than welcoming kids so they can be blessed by Jesus. We also introduce a great new ministry to bless kids.

Faith in Action

This week we focused on the good news of the Kingdom is incredible news, but it doesn't matter much if we only have belief without putting our faith into action. This sermon considers James 2 and other examples of faithful people changing the world through faithful action.

Being With the ”Least of These”

Jesus told his disciples that if they wanted to become the greatest they must become a servant of all. If they clothed the naked, fed the hungry, and served the least of these, they would in turn be providing those blessings and services to Jesus himself. Alton also shared how he encounters these blessings along the Highways and Byways every week.

Proclaiming the Gospel

One of the important ways we practice experiencing and being the faithful presence of God in the church, at home, and in the world is by proclaiming the Gospel to others. If we don't speak it the world can't hear it.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

This sermon explores how we experience the faithful presence of Christ when we become conflict resolvers and peace makers at church, at home, and in the world. Reconciliation is a core spiritual discipline for those who truly wish to follow Jesus Christ, deeply rooted in his own birth, life, death, and resurrection. 

A Shepherd’s Tale

Last week one of our special Shepherds, Henry, passed away. This sermon celebrates his legacy at Northwest and challenges all of us to consider how we are living and what legacy we will leave.

Eating with Jesus and Friends

This week is our first week studying one of the spiritual disciplines that Christians can practice together in the three circles of the church, their homes, and the world. The Lord's Supper or Lord's Table is designed to be a place where we come together to experience the presence of Christ in a way that helps us reflect on our relationship with Jesus and our relationship with others around the table so we can reorient ourselves into Kingdom living. There are different ways to do that in the three circles, but all focus on the presence of Christ and our relationships with one another.

The Three Circles

God is present everywhere. And we are called to embody and become the presence of God by joining in God's redemptive mission everywhere. But we do that differently in different contexts. How we experience and embody the presence of God is different in the church, our homes and neighborhoods, and in the world. In this sermon we consider David Fitch's description of these contexts as the "close circle," the "dotted circle," and the "half circle."

The Presence of Christ

This sermon takes a lengthy look at John 14-17 and how important the ideas of God's presence and the Holy Spirit shaping us into the embodiment of God's presence in the world are to Jesus and his understanding of his role and the role of his disciples.