Shows
Gospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannWonderful Work (Genesis 2:15-25)What an awesome marvel it is that God gave humanity a role to play in his work. We are not supposed to lay back and coast and just consume all this stuff, nor are we supposed to condemn the world and the good God put in it. We are supposed to craft it. To work. And God gave the woman to the man to help him in that task. Genesis 2:18-25 , October 26th 2025
2025-10-2724 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe tale of two trees (Genesis 2:8-17)Many myths present us with a "tree of life". But Genesis 2 goes beyond to present us with a sacramental life with God (the tree of life) - living with him and his promises and his grace; or living on our own with the many good things that can either ruin us or wow us. If we make the gifts our god, what will that do for us? A sermon on October 19, 2025 on Genesis 2:8-17
2025-10-2022 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannJoy only follows sorrowThe Christian funeral of Mary Wright embodies for us the great truth that God brings joy after sorrow because of his immense delight in rescuing us. Sermon on Psalm 126:5
2025-10-1909 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannMy identity is with the Triune God who made me like him. (Genesis 1:26-2:7)Who am I? There is no way to entirely answer that question in a few minutes with theology. But the basics will give me so much for my life. A sermon on Genesis 1:26-2:7 on October 12, 2025
2025-10-1327 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannGod created a humanly home (Genesis 1:3-25)It's not enough to describe the world we live in, the world that was created as "perfect". Genesis 1 shows us at least three good things about this world - its real, it's ordered, and it's good. It's a home, and that is what is should feel like. That uncanny feeling that you don't belong can only get fixed with the stranger who made this place his home. A sermon on Genesis 1:3-25 on October 5th 2025
2025-10-0824 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannSubstantive stuff can be filled with sin or the Spirit (Genesis 1:2)Genesis 1:2 is a strange verse; it basically announces chaos after creation to the world. There are at least three ways to handle it. I argue that it is the creation of substantive stuff that can be filled with something. A sermon on Genesis 1:2 on September 28th 2025
2025-10-0224 minGospel for life with Nathaniel Timmermann"In the beginning" (Genesis 1:1)What's the story you are part of? And who is the center of your story? The story begins at the beginning, Genesis 1. A sermon on September 21st, 2025
2025-09-2224 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannHappy to have youWhat an awesome thing that the God of heaven and earth wants us, wants to find us, and looks for us. However much you and I have messed up our lives or done our own thing, we don't have to work our way back or fix things to be with God. He comes for us. A sermon on Luke 15:1-10 on September 14th, 2025
2025-09-1722 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: Summary and conclusionDo you love your vocation? Which one? Do you see the Lord working through your vocation? I find it both incredibly convicting that the Lord would work through me (he certainly could do much better) and also very encouraging. Wrap up on vocation. A sermon on September 7th 2025
2025-09-1319 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: The Setting for Human FlourishingEverything has its setting or context where it flourishes. Plants flourish in gardens; football teams flourish in schools with equipment and fields. Where do humans and humanity flourish? An answer from 1 Timothy 6 and Michael Berg's "Vocation" on August 31st 2025
2025-09-0226 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: The setting for spiritual warfarePaul sows us that the most practical activities of our lives - eating and marriage - are spiritual. He lays out ow these are the areas for spiritual warfare. A sermon on 1 Timothy 5 on August 24
2025-08-2521 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: Setting for God's Work in the worldWe've got the awesome privilege that God is working through us. We are his masks. A sermon on 1 Timothy 3, 5 and Michael Berg's "Vocation" on August 10th
2025-08-1025 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannWe want to know youThe people of Peace want to build a good congregation in Otsego-Plainwell that lives well for the people around us. We want to know the people around us and build better relationships because there is one mediator and not just because we share other common interests. A sermon on August 3, 2025 for Friendship Sunday.
2025-08-0518 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: The first vocation of faith and prayerA sermon on 1 Timothy 2 and Michael Berg's "Vocation". On july 27th, 2025
2025-07-2924 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannVocation: "What Should I Do with My Life"The question, "What should I do with my life" is constant refrain. We graduate from high school - what should I do with my life? Finish college - what should I do with my life. Don't like our career - what should I do with my life? Have kids - what should I do with my life? Retire - what should I do with my life. Over the next few weeks, we'll try to answer this question through the lens of "vocation", the Christian answer to "what should I do with my life". Vocation means we are "saved to...
2025-07-2323 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannActs Answers: Do I need a Savior?Charles Taylor explains that while 500 years ago it was almost impossible to NOT believe in God, now it is almost impossible TO believe in God. In so many ways, we've built a life that can be meaningful, rewarding, and successful in some ways without God. Then we use little salvations to fix the problems we still have. But what if each of those little salvations simply pointed to the bigger salvation that was already won for us in Jesus Christ? A sermon on Acts 4:1-22 on June 15th, 2025
2025-06-1524 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannDon't give up on the BibleFor someone who takes the time to investigate the issues related to the Bible, they will likely discover hundreds of questions and problems. There are reasonable answers for many of these questions. The real question is, what is the Bible? Is it data or information? Is it a rule book? if it is these things, it will disappoint us. But if it is something more.... a sermon on June 1st, 2025
2025-06-0226 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCan we believe the Bible?Can a book so old be reliable? Can we trust it and learn from it? What about all the problems in the Bible? This week we consider whether the Bible is reliable. A sermon on Acts 17:10-15.
2025-05-2629 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannWhy does Christianity ruin all the fun?A common problem with Christianity is that it ruins the fun in people's lives. Whether intentional or not, it becomes something of a "straitjacket" that people simply have to put up with. What do we do about this? Why does Christianity take all the fun out of life? A sermon from Acts 11 and other lessons on May 18th 2025
2025-05-2025 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannActs Answers: Why is there so much suffering if Jesus is risen from the dead?The first Christians dealt with some of the hardest questions. One of them - what do we do about suffering? They faced so much. Then they healed. Acts Answers - a sermon on May 11th 2025.
2025-05-1325 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannActs Answers: Is Christianity Good?There are plenty of arguments that Christianity does good things in the world. See Confronting Christianity or Alvin Schmidt How Christianity Changed the World. But Jesus doesn't say Christianity is good because it makes the world a better place or because people do good things because of Christianity. Rather, he says Christianity is good because Jesus died and rose. A sermon on Acts 9:1-22 on May 4, 2025
2025-05-0528 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannActs Answers: Is Christianity legitimate?We still ask a lot of questions of Christianity, and so did the ancient people. Acts answered a lot of the same questions. Lets find out what they said. First study - is Christianity legitimate? is it valid? Should we keep it around? Acts 5:17-34
2025-04-2827 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Easter:Peeps. Crème filled eggs. Chocolate. Bunnies. Chicks. Lambs. Lilies. Tulips. Daffodils. They’re all fun things that are part of spring. But they actually take us back to the real Easter. While the religions of the East speak of dissolving into the ocean of being, and while Islam and the Christian cults portray an otherworldly future, the Bible promises resurrection. This is different. It’s this life laid hold of and turned around. Resurrection is Jesus taking us through the valley of the shadow and out into a happily ever after, complete with best wedding ever. Without Jesus, life...
2025-04-2124 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannRenewed by repentanceRepentance can be difficult, almost terrifying. Yet it is renewing, and God is desperate to renew us. A sermon on Psalm 51:10-13
2025-04-1816 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannHuman life is sacred.Don't murder - protect human life. But we can't imagine our desire for violence. We've got to see the incredible value and worth we have from the one who gave up his life for us. The 5th Commandment.
2025-04-1417 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannTell the truth about yourself and others - the 8th CommandmentDo we really know ourselves well enough to tell the truth? Death and resurrection can firmly ground us and give us a place to build from. Sermon on April 6th, 2025 on the 8th Commandment
2025-04-0724 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannChristians construct and create, we don't consume - The 7th CommandmentWe've been convinced that consumption is the way of life. It is a spiritual practice that fills our souls. The 7th Commandment points us to a different way. We stop living off the backs of others and consuming everything we can get, and start constructing lives. A sermon on the 7th Commandment on March 30, 2025.
2025-04-0231 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannHow to steward our sexuality - 6th Commandment part 2If sexuality is something sacred to be stewarded, how do we steward it? How do we manage it and care for it and let it be something that leads to flourishing? We have to begin by not just expressing our sexuality. A sermon on the 6th Commandment, March 23, 2025
2025-03-2521 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannSexuality is something sacred to be stewarded - the 6th CommandmentThere are a couple of different stories you and I can choose to live with our sexuality - and we should choose a good one, because it is an incredibly powerful force. Which are you living? A sermon on March 16, 2025
2025-03-1731 minGospel for life with Nathaniel Timmermann"Honor your father and mother" - the 4th Commandment and authorityTo modern ears, "honor your father and mother" and it's implications sound crazy. 'I owe someone respect not because of their accomplishments or their status?" That's what the gospel wants from us because Jesus gave up his authority. We can respect people who stand in God's place. A sermon on the 4th Commandment, March 9th, 2025
2025-03-1120 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReflections on Repentance: Do we need it?There are a lot of questions to ask about repentance. One place to start: do we even need it? Do we need to practice repentance? This isn't a great answer, but part of the answer comes from the Great King David. He models repentance in Psalm 51.
2025-03-0615 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe gospel is the gloryHave we lost glory as we've closed down our world? How has that hurt us? Let's reclaim glory for our lives. Sermon on Luke 9:28-36
2025-03-0324 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannYou have declared worthWe've got a lot of different games and rules that we can play to prove our worth and value. There were at least two specific ones in the Bible - ethnicity and obedience. Those are still popular today. Jesus sets up a different system in the sermon on the plain, one were we can still get a win. Luke 6:17-26 on February 16th, 2025
2025-02-1725 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannJesus wants sinnersWe rarely feel wanted in life. It turns out that a lot of people aren't actually wanted in life. It makes sense that we wouldn't feel wanted. It's quite rare. It testifies to the fact that we are sinners. But Jesus wants sinners. A sermon on Luke 5:1-11, February 9 2025
2025-02-1019 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannBeliefs and behaviorsIt's really hard to get our beliefs and behavior to come together. Some people might say it doesn't matter, but it shows up in so many ways. Why? Jesus gets at the root problems and brings our life back together today. Sermon on Luke 4:38-44.
2025-02-0323 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannRejected receive acceptanceWe've all been rejected at some point. We were all rejected from Eden, our eternal home. But Jesus was kicked out of his hometown so he could make us the favorites. We are the chosen. We are the outsiders he has made insiders. A sermon on January 19, 2025 based on Luke 4:14-30.
2025-01-1923 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannJesus identifies as one of usWhat's your identity? How do you identify? Look at the baptism of Jesus and see how he identifies himself. A sermon on Luke 3:21-22, January 12 2025
2025-01-1243 min2024-12-2923 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Christmas means Real LifeWhat does it mean to really have life? Christmas gives us life. A sermon on John 1:1-5 for Christmas Day, 2025.
2024-12-2519 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Christmas is chaotic and creativeDo you feel like Christmas and the holidays are chaotic? You are on to something. God captured the chaos of our lives with his Christmas invasion. But Christmas also remakes the chaos through his creativity.
A Christmas sermon on Philippians 2:6-8, December 24, 2024.
2024-12-2420 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Christmas means Real ChangeChristmas is wonderful, but it definitely makes us ask if we're doing enough - do I have enough gifts, nice enough gifts, have I given enough. John makes us ask the same question and points to a different answer - making the fruit of a new person. A sermon based on Luke 3:7-18
2024-12-1523 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Christmas: The manger is the source of loveSomehow, Christmas manages to bring out some of the most romantic stories of our lives. How? Check out the source of love. A sermon on December 8th 2024 based on Philippians 1:3-11
2024-12-0921 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannReal Christmas: The manger shows our lackFor Christmas to be real for you and me, we have to see we lack. We might want all kinds of things. But the fact that God sent his Son, not a pot of money, not a new set of laws, and not a new family, means that we don’t just want all kinds of things. We need something that we have no idea what it is. Real Christmas means you say I lack. I lack and only God can give what I need. A sermon on December 1, 2024 based on 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
2024-12-0220 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThankful for youIt can be easy to be thankful for the good and easy people in our lives. Most of us have to plenty of project people - imperfect people who we work and live with. Can we be thankful for them too? Sermon on November 27, 2024 for Thanksgiving 2024
2024-11-2815 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannForever: A differenceThere's 8 billion people on this planet, and he is calling each of them to himself in his own way, there's been many billions more in the history of all humanity. God has not forgotten each of them, either. He makes a difference in their life, just as he did in Abraham and in Noah and in Isaac and in Jacob and in David and in Solomon and Saul and Elijah and Elisha and Peter and Andrew and James and John and Paul and Augustine and Martin Luther and Calvin and John Wesley. And in you and in me, he's...
2024-11-2622 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannForever: ShineWhether we know it or not, recognize it or not, we want to be right. We are desperate to be right. We are eager for the day when we will be right forever and shine. A sermon on November 17th, 2024
2024-11-1726 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannForever: HappyDo I actually want to go to heaven? For so many people, heaven doesn't actually seem like a good place to be. We have to learn to long for a distant country that we've never been to and have no idea what it is like. If it is a great place, you can learn to like it. Sermon on Isaiah 35:1-10 on November 10th, 2024
2024-11-1123 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe ruled can ruleWe need to know that the real path to ruling is the one who came to serve. We will place ourselves beneath others because there is a throne waiting for us. We need to be prepared for that throne someday. The only way to be shaped and made into that person who can sit and rule on that throne is that we are ruled today. A sermon on Revelation 20:4-6.
2024-11-0417 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannRestore to ReformAlthough we are really good at restoring certain things like cars, generally we struggle to restore things in life. We are much better at tearing things down. This is part of our cultural moment. A better way is to realize that to restore things will mean to reform them into something new and often better. A sermon on Galatians 6:1-10 for Reformation 2024, October 27, 2024
2024-10-2719 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannYou have a call from a king. You have a vocation.Whatever job or work we do, we can't just do kingdom work some of the time or part time. We have a high and holy calling. We have a vocation to help fight sin. A sermon on Mark 10:32-45 on October 20th 2024
2024-10-2022 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannMarriage and families, for most people, are the path to flourishingI've seen plenty of examples of the destructive effect of marriage. Nevertheless, God says and shows that marriage is the path to flourishing, for most people. A sermon on genesis 2:18-25 on October 13.
2024-10-1322 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannLoved: pastor and peopleEvery believer should work for the good of neighbor. Through the work of Jesus, we have been made priests of God. That doesn't minimize or eliminate the work of pastors. We benefit each other when we work together in love. Sermon on September 29th, 2024.
2024-09-2918 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannLOVED: By othersBeing loved does some great things for us. But it isn't easy to be someone who can be loved. It means being vulnerable and dependent. That's what someone else has done exactly right for us. Sermon on Sept 22, 2024, 1 John 4 and others.
2024-09-2218 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannLOVED: By GodGod is the love the drives the world. That very love means life for all. Do we actually want someone to love us? Can we endure love with us, for us, and beside us all the time? Know the love of God for you. A sermon on September 15th, 2024 on John 3:16
2024-09-1627 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe gospel gives you something to giveChristianity has something to give. Whether you know it or not, feel it or not, or even have the right thing, whatever sickness, hardship, or trial you run up against in life, the gospel gives you something to give. A sermon on Act 3:1-10 on September 8th, 2024.
2024-09-0826 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannPeople might do great things, but little people lead great lives that bring glory to someone else.Kids know the importance of giving honor and glory to someone else. They boast about their parents at school. We give glory and honor to things to by our lives - perhaps to money, or family, or our career. But do we honor good things? Do we glorify the right things? And what could it do for us if we honored someone else who honored us first! A sermon on Deuteronomy 4:1-9 on September 1, 2024.
2024-09-0123 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannPress, don't pass, on the pressure to live by faithOur age pressures us simultaneously to be both filled with faith and to turn away from faith. We aren't going to get away from that pressure. The only thing we can do is press into it. We can do that because Jesus pressed on to push back against sin, death, and the devil. A sermon on Hebrews 11:24-28 on August 25, 2024
2024-08-2522 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannGrace for Darker Days: As Wild as the WeatherThe solution for days of wild weather is not to try to tame it, control it, or somehow think we are gods. It is to get a king who is truly as wild as the weather is. A sermon on Mark 4:35-41.
2024-06-2421 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe need for a SaviorThe postmodern, postChristian world has involved a massive shift that has essentially removed a Savior and replaced it with a self. That analysis can be seen in Genesis 3. A sermon on Genesis 3:8-15 on June 9th, 2024
2024-06-0924 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannResurrection REALityAll of these things are part of our reality.
We know that the world is loved and loved to death. * We know that such love is the very essence of God himself.
We know that behind history there is the witness who is the great witness of all things right.
We know that the above the values that we hold to is the one who values us.
There's something that you and I can say in every situation. And that's the resurrection reality that God wants for you and I today. An Easter sermon on March 31, 2024 based...
2024-03-3120 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe Good Life: Relationships Central and CenterA good life has to navigate the stages and transitions of life. Relationships are central to both the stages and the transitions. One relationship needs to stay at the center. June 25, 2023, Sermon 2
2023-06-2523 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe Good Life: Rebelieve RelationshipsWe say good things about the importance of relationships, but we're wired personally and culturally, in so many ways, to resist relationships. In order to love, we will rebelieve relationships. Matthew 19 June 11, 2023
2023-06-1124 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannBe Better BuiltThere are a number of practical reasons to be part of a local congregation. It is frequently difficult to be part of congregation and go through the experiences, on a regular basis, that will really form us into God's people. But Jesus was crushed so that even if we are hard pressed, we will never be crushed and destroyed. He is a foundation so we are better built. 1 Peter 2:4-10
2023-05-0723 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannA new person into a new worldThere are so many good things in our world, but there is plenty too that we'd like to be rescued from. There is an offer to make us new people in this world; and there is an offer to give us a new world. But Christian salvation offers us salvation as a new person into a new world. It's better than we could imagine. Acts 2:32-41
2023-04-2321 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannFirst steps: You can pass the testAfter the disciples thought they saw Jesus dead and risen, the whole thing almost came to a halt for various reasons. They were stuck in the mess of their time. They were changed, and they went forward with fresh confidence and boldness. Will we get past all the mess of our time, or we will be stuck for our own reasons? Peter assures we can receive the mark of "genuine". We can pass the test. 1 Peter 1:3--9
2023-04-1724 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannHe lives!Everything in life has results and consequences. Some we like, some we don't. If we go to school, we can probably get a job and make a living. If we find a spouse, we can have kids. One action had more consequences than anything else in life - the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus lives, _____________. How do you fill in that blank? John 20:1-18
2023-04-1020 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCome and eatThe struggle with evil, with pain, with difficulty, with challenge is real. We sit and wait for deliverance, freedom, and liberation. While we sit, we eat. This is food for the fight. Not burgers, but the food of Christ, the true Passover Lamb. Mark 14:12-17
Maundy Thursday 2023
2023-04-0616 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannYou can live in the light. You can live in the truth.Even the Bible does not always seem to tell the truth or the facts. Did Jesus tell the truth? There is a lot that we need to investigate and search out. But there is a depth to the truth that we cannot imagine. Darkness fell on Jesus so we can always have the light of truth. John 8:12-20
2023-03-1922 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannQuestions give clarity to avoid a crisisLife is filled with tough questions and difficult, dangerous situations. God provided a tabernacle for the people to provide security and safety for their difficult journey. Jesus is the true tabernacle for safety and security on our trip. Ask the tough questions and find that every path in life leads to him. John 7:1-52
2023-03-1224 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannStop, sin.Jesus meets a man paralyzed for 38 years. He doesn't just heal him. He stops sin in its tracks. Will we? If he has stopped sin, will run the other way and keep away from sin? John 5:1-15
2023-02-2725 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannWe might not feel good. He will fill us with good.I marvel that the woman talked to Jesus about so many problems in her life and still went away saying, Come and see. That's not how we tend to feel. Jesus might not always make us feel good. But he will give us something different than we can get anywhere else. The gospel will fill us up, even if we don't always like the fact that we need it. John 4:1-26
2023-02-1922 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannNot just a better you, a different youReligious people often have the impression and give the impression that God wants better people. It's true Jesus teaches basic principles and truths to live better lives. That isn't the main thing. Chiefly, Jesus wants us to have a new life. A different life. John 3:1-17
2023-02-1224 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannOnly Jesus gathers people to GodThe temple was established by God as a way to get near God. Jesus came in and rejected the conveniences it offered in an attempt to help people get God's gifts. None of it could get people close to the holy, consuming God. What are we relying on to get us close to God? Do we have anything better to keep us in the presence of the holy, good God? Jesus offers a better temple in John 2:13-22.
2023-02-0522 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCome to the party. Enjoy the party. Be part of the party.This new world that Jesus gives us is not only or primarily a world of rules, codes of conduct, regulations, and ways to live a better life. It is first and foremost a world of grace, where God in Jesus pours out his good gifts to us to cover over our embarrassment, shame, and disgrace. We see that wonderfully at Cana in a wedding. John 2:1-11
2023-01-2924 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannLive in the light. Reflect the light.God gives us a new world in Jesus - a world of connection (love), creation, reconciliation, justice, and forgiveness. Jesus reveals God's light to lead us into this new world. He directs us to hope, peace, a future, and forgiveness. That is where we live, and that is what we reflect.
Isaiah 8:14-9:4
2023-01-2220 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannI want God’s worldBig businesses want to offer us a very specific world. A world driven by consumption and dopamine hits from trivial pursuits. The devil wants to offer us a world of self-gratification. God offers us a world defined by connection, reconciliation, truth, justification, and forgiveness. John 1:35-42
2023-01-1522 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannLove has come downThere is really only one gift of true love for this world - Jesus. If you feel the pressure to love everyone around you well enough that they can finally enjoy life again, let his love be the love of their (and your!) life.
Merry Christmas
1 John 4:2-12
2022-12-2511 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCome and help: We will waitIt's easy to tell people who are waiting for someone else compared with people who don't. If you're waiting for grandpa and grandma to visit, you might clean the house quickly and excitedly watch from the window. If you're waiting for a new baby, you've bought the car seat and crib and are just a little anxious. If you're waiting to get a new job, you're learning new skills. We do specific things when we wait. Christians cry, "come and help". That is just the beginning of our waiting. Like Joseph and Mary, we return home and wait for...
2022-12-1123 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCome and help: Repentance revealsJust what are we saying when we say, "Come and help"? Certainly we do a lot of good and there is a lot of good about our lives. There is also a lot of good in the world. When we say, "Come and help", we are saying that nothing else in the whole world can rescue us from both the personal issues we face and the systemic corruption and destruction the world experiences. As good as hospitals, financial counselors, therapists, doctors, coaches, trainers, and everyone else is, there is only one Savior. And repentance on our part reveals who...
2022-12-0425 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannCome and help!God shows us what a great helper we can expect. That's why we say, "Come and help". Matthew 21:1-11
2022-11-2817 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannUnexpected thanksWe normally give thanks for good things we get. But there are lots of things that even God gives us that we don't think are good things - when God doesn't do what we want, or when God doesn't tell us why, or even weakness or pain.
These unexpected things are causes for unexpected thanks. Let's add them to our thanks.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
2022-11-2020 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannChrist aloneThere are all sorts of rulers and powers that claim control and influence over our lives. Most of them end up destroying our lives as much as helping them. The Son is different because he holds all things together.
Colossians 1:15-23
2022-11-1420 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannSatisfying ScriptureEveryone recognizes that there is a kind of slavery only truth can get us out of, and that slavery runs deep. Scripture tells us a story that can break the slavery of lies. John 8:31-36
2022-11-0720 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannFabulous faithWe can either live a live that is lived through faith or through our works and performance. There are good reasons to live through faith. Romans 3:19-28
2022-10-3020 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannGreat graceMost relationships are dictated by laws and our adherence to certain standards - performance standards, relational standards, behavioral standards, etc. How amazing to have a relationship with the king of the universe based on grace.
Romans 6:15-23
2022-10-2321 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe Word will get you what you wantSomehow or another I'd like to get what I want in life. What will get me what I want? Money? Miracles? Jesus tells a powerful story to help us get what we really want.
Luke 16:19-31
2022-10-1620 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannBold Builders for the glory of GodIf we are just trying to be famous as a congregation, we'll do big stuff. If we're just trying to have a good reputation, we'll be good and nice and never rock the boat. But if we're working for the glory of someone else, we'll do whatever it takes so that God is spoken well of. That is what Jesus has done in our place. Haggai 2:6-9
2022-10-0218 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannBold Builders obeyTo build God's congregation and house requires that we do things that seem abnormal to us or are so unusual that it is hard to imagine they will lead to a great place. This challenge rings out to us, and we obey, only to discover that God really is our father and he will do for us what we ask in his name. Haggai 1:12-15
2022-09-1814 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannBold BuildersThe people of Israel returned to Judah and found a land in shambles. Surprisingly, they had the courage, the heart to stay. When there is lots of work to do, will we stay? This is a time to live out of grace. This is a time to be bold builders.
Haggai 1:1-11
2022-09-1120 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannEncouraged by the encouragerThe Holy Spirit teaches us everything so that we can have peace. Not just happiness or comfort or the sense of tranquility, but the awesome awareness that we are with the God who is perfect, holy, and set apart.
This is what Phyllis Curtis discovered. John 14:25-27
2022-09-1111 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannPray your way through the fight. Pray for your lifeIf we don't see the level of the spiritual fight we are in, we won't see the unique way that the armor of God equips us for this fight. F18s, M1Abrams, and other serious equipment might seem the best fit for the fight, but we are really properly equipped when we can ask God for what we need.
Ephesians 6:10-20
2022-09-0427 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannWork out your worry. Watch your Father.A crisis can cause any of us to become caught in a chain of negative thoughts about the future. What if's and what about's abound. When we look at the Father, we can work out our worry. Luke 12:22-34
2022-08-2927 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe Final FailureIn the years leading up to 587/586 BC, the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem fell down. It was the final failure of a long and storied nation. It experienced the consequences of all its failures. And yet the people were not destroyed completely. There was a savior, a rescuer from the final judgment. What we should do then is to stay, to wait, even if we think he has walked away. 2 Kings 25
2022-08-2120 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe failure of idolatryIs religion about being a good person? If so, why did an entire nation fail because of something else entirely? Not politics, not economics, and not even morality.
2 Kings 17, especially 7-37.
2022-08-1420 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe failure of corruptionIn 1 Kings 21, powerful officials use a weak system to take advantage of a citizen. The failure of corruption destroys not only the citizen, but eventually the officials too. Where is justice? At the cross.
2022-07-3121 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannThe failure of despairEveryone deals with sadness, failure and struggles in life. We should reflect on those failures and how we feel. When we do that, we've got to learn to separate how we feel about ourselves (despairing of ourselves) from how we feel about life in general. Elijah teaches us.
1 Kings 19
2022-07-1718 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannKnow the Truth So We Can All LiveThe story of Abraham and Abimelek, Genesis 20:1-18. Abraham did not just tell a version of the story. He himself first believed a version of the story. That was the start of his failure.
2022-06-2721 min2022-05-1518 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannGod does a new thing for the old youGod's response to the spiritual crisis in our lives is not to say he is done with us, or to get rid of us, but to do a new thing for us. He turns sin into our salvation. He turns death into our deliverance. He makes the broken into a blessing.
Isaiah 43:16-24
2022-04-0419 minGospel for life with Nathaniel TimmermannJesus the great encouragerYou can't be encouraged without facing the reality of who you are and what is going on. That's why Jesus' encouragement always says woes and difficulties. Then he has opened up his heart and poured it out, so our hearts can be full.
Enjoy Luke 6:17-27
2022-02-2117 min