Shepherd Of The Hills - Pewaukee, Wi

Key to teaching:  Giving away is the antidote for materialism - we are more blessed to give than to receive - it is a joy to be able to participate in the Kingdom of God through the gifts that God gives us. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Text: Matthew 6:19-21, 24; Matthew 13:44

  Hebrews 11:13-16; 12:1-2

Using the Parable of the Talents, we will discuss these 2 key points: 1) God owns everything and we are His stewards and 2) My heart always goes where I put God's money.  While we are here on earth, we're giving the opportunity to invest in the things that God would invest in - and let our hearts follow our investment in the eternal Kingdom of God.  

Galatians 2:20

Text: Isaiah 40:1-5In this passage we have a message of comfort for God’s people in their hurting. The delightful truth of these verses is that the Lord is FOR his people. And if God is for us, who can be against us? (cf. Romans 8:31). God’s plan will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven!

Text: Isaiah 35:1-10Theme:  Isaiah paints a picture of rivers filling deserts, of blindness seeing, deafness hearing, lameness walking... God coming to bring life and strength and renewal to worn out things, tired things, weak things = Jesus did this when he healed, taught, encouraged, loved and served - AND he continues to do it for us today - AND he will do it in an eternally tangible way someday when he returns.  We will really focus on the idea of Jesus coming to bring Strength to weak knees and salvation to the anxious...

Text: Isaiah 11:1-9God's Word gives hope that there is still life in the midst of death. Out of the stump of Jesse a shoot will come forth. Jesus fulfills this prophecy in Isaiah 11. His victory through His death and resurrection bring peace to God's creation today in a spiritual reality, and Jesus will come again to fully bring to reality the promise of Paradise restored. 

Text:  Isaiah 9:2-7 "On those dwelling in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone! ...  For to us a child is born and to us a son is given..."  Talk about good news in dark days!  What brings joy in the midst doom and darkness? The promise of new days ahead - the promise of light and victory - the promise of an end of the darkness...  This is what God has spoken - this is what God has done - and this is what God will do in even greater ways yet to come.

 Disruption is a guarantee in life - it's unavoidable. How we react to disruption, however, is a decision we make. Jesus invites us into a life of obedience, and it is always disruption that moves us along this path. In the New Testament we can learn from both Peter (Luke 5:1-11) and the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). Main Text: Luke 5:1-11 Other Texts: Matthew 19:16-30; Matthew 16:24-28; John 20:24-31

Jesus didn't have to touch the man - he could have just spoken words, but in touching him, he sought to heal more than just the outside condition, but to heal the condition of his heart - the loneliness and isolation and despair the man had been living in for years - isolated from family and community.  Before he is healed, Jesus touches him - Jesus enters his 'space' as is, then heals him there....   Matthew 8:1-4  /  Mark 1:40-45

 In these challenging times, it seems that we have lost the art of having hard conversations - or any conversations at all with someone who thinks along a different path that our own.  This "Cancel" culture has created amazing division among people in our world - enter, Jesus.  Through His sacrifice, he has made from 2 people, 1 people, joining together what could never be brought together otherwise.  And we, as Image Bearers of God, have the opportunity to join Jesus in "tearing down the wall of hostility" by relearning how to have loving and open conversations that create more unity that ever.  What stands out as Good News these days?  Another opinion expressed with hell-bent passion?  No - what people experience as good news is someone who is willing to meet them where they are, hear what they have to say and love them anyway - right where they are.  This is Jesus.  He came to serve, not to be served - and we follow in His footsteps.  Texts: Matthew 20:20-28  /  Luke 22:24-30  [Who Is T

As we continue in this sermon series of exploring how Jesus meets us in the mess, we dig into the topic of anxiety and depression and hear the words of Jesus discuss worry in the famous passage from the Sermon on the Mount. These verses come immediately after Jesus instructing his listeners that we can't serve two masters. In this context, we should not have a divided heart (serve two masters) when it comes to what our hearts are focused on. We are invited to let the Lord be the primary pursuit of our heart. Not only does the Lord provide for all our needs, he provides us with our identity, as well. In Christ, we are children of the Heavenly Father and, as such, can trust our Father to care for us completely. 

Text: Psalm 2Title: The Messiah PromiseTheme: In Psalm 1 we see the emphasis placed on the Torah - God's Law. In the next introductory Psalm (Psalm 2), the emphasis is on God's Messiah, His Anointed One, and His kingdom. Here we have a poetic retelling of 2 Samuel 7 and God's promise of the Messiah. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 give us a context for reading the rest of the Book of Psalms - a context of Torah and Messiah. This context is still one that we live in today as we strive to follow God's commands, forgiven and redeemed by His Son. 

Text: 3 John 1-15Title: Fellowship is KeyTheme:  John is praising Gaius for his willingness to welcome the traveling brothers and sisters who are working to share the Gospel - even though He doesn't know them.  Diotrephes, on the other hand, is reprimanded because he's just thinking about himself...  This gives us a good platform to discuss what Fellowship is all about in the church.  John talks Fellowship all over the place in his first letter - and even highlights this in his recordings of Jesus' teaching (Jn 17 and other).  We'll use this text as a springboard to talk about what fellowship is all about, from a biblical perspective.

2 Jn 1-13  PA - "Walking in Truth AND Love"

Text: 1 John 5:1-21Title: Being an OvercomerTheme: John gives a simple understanding of the purpose of his writing: To know we have eternal life - which gives us new perspective on our current life: that we have overcome the world by faith in Jesus, the Son of God.  We'll look at how we are overcomers in this world - not as absent observers, but as active participants in the life of Jesus as we continue to follow his instructions to Love... 

Text: 1 Jn 4:1-21Title: This is Love

Text: 1 John 2:15-27Title: Treasures in HeavenThemes: temporal vs. eternal; Jesus is the Christ; lust, envy & pride;The following verses will be read.1 John 2:15-171 John 2:21-23Matthew 6:19-21Matthew 4:8-10

Text:  1 John 2:1-14Title:  Actions Speak Louder than WordsTheme:  As we abide in the love of God, there is a natural outcome that occurs: that love is shared with others.  If we are having a hard time loving someone in our lives, it might be because we're having a hard time letting God love us (or letting that love penetrate deep in our hearts).  If we know God's love, and it is setting roots into our hearts, then we will naturally love others - even the ones who are hard to love.