Soma Spokane Sermons

The further we go in Luke, the more we see Jesus inviting people in: He is preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, but ultimately he’s looking for people who will really hear him and join him. He isn’t interested in large crowds. He doesn’t want to just upend religion and question the status quo. He wants to build a family — a spiritual family of brothers and sisters — who will be with him and do the work of preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom with him. Jesus has come to reweave the fabric of Shalom, and as individuals experience him, his ministry, and his message, they become participants with him in the work. To be a part of Jesus’ family means we not only listen and receive from him, but that we also get involved and do the work alongside him.

Luke continues his message of crystallizing the kingdom and here he gives some great pictures of those who get the blessing and those who miss out. The key to God’s kingdom has always been faith. I believe who God says He is and that He is going to accomplish the redemptive restoration that He said He would. The opposite of faith is to be offended and make ourselves autonomous from the need for God and a savior. Luke paints this picture well in chapter 7.

Jesus came to fulfill the law and reconstitute Israel. He did this by perfectly obeying the law, pushing up against the extra legalistic weight of their rules, and restoring the spirit behind the letter of the law. Jesus also came to bring peace and life to humanity. He did this by perfectly entering into humanity's suffering, pushing against the rules that keep us bound, and restoring life. In this chapter, we see Jesus restore a man with a withered hand and recognize that this compassionate act was much more than physical healing, it was an act of cosmic restoration. Jesus came to restore and claims that everyone who comes to him, hears his words, and does them will flourish.

Jesus is a conundrum: He simply doesn’t fit our preconceived ideas. In Luke 5, we see 4 vignettes of Jesus’ engagement with people, and through them we see the multifaceted ministry of Jesus. In Jesus, salvation is personal, disrupting our sense of self and rearranging our priorities in life. Salvation is also communal, as it restores us to community, connection, and relationship. Salvation is also vertical, dealing with our sin problem and restoring us to God. And finally, Salvation is outward, always moving through us to the networks and neighborhoods within which we have favor. Jesus does extraordinary things, and when we encounter him absolutely nothing can stay the same!

After 40 days in the wilderness doing battle with the devil, Jesus launches his public ministry. He takes Isaiah 61 as his personal mission statement — “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” — a remarkable passage to claim as his own! But when Jesus begins to explain what he means by it — that he’s come to bring God’s kingdom to outsiders, religious failures, and spiritual lepers — the whole synagogue of church folks are filled with wrath and attempt to toss him off a cliff. But Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of God to the least, last, and lowest, and he will not be deterred. He passes through the angry mob and gets right to work healing the sick, freeing the captives, and proclaiming the good news of God’s grace. It's an explosive start!

The goal of Luke's Gospel is to give us Jesus - the real deal, in all his goodness, might, and humility. In response, we say: “Jesus, you are the only hope of the world — you are my only hope. I admit my share in the responsibility for the world as it is. Forgive my injustice. Burn out my idolatrous self-reliance. Make me whole. Make me new. You alone are my salvation, and I give my entire allegiance to you.”

Our desire is to continue year after year to return to the key aspects of following Jesus with an intention to wrap our heads, hearts, and lives around him and his work in the world. 1 Peter is written to “elect exiles,” disciples of Jesus who are scattered all around the Roman Empire, trying to figure out how to follow Jesus in a world radically opposed to Him and His way. He writes to remind them of the Story they are in and the work God has done for them, and to call them to live with a whole-life allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom.

Almost every September we do a short series together on Sundays and in our Communities around our Core Priorities: Gospel Formation, Life in Community, and Everyday Mission. Our desire is to continue year after year to return to the key aspects of following Jesus with an intention to wrap our heads, hearts, and lives around him and his work in the world. 1 Peter is written to “elect exiles,” disciples of Jesus who are scattered all around the Roman Empire, trying to figure out how to follow Jesus in a world radically opposed to Him and His way. He writes to remind them of the Story they are in and the work God has done for them, and to call them to live with a whole-life allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom.

Almost every September we do a short series together on Sundays and in our Communities around our Core Priorities: Gospel Formation, Life in Community, and Everyday Mission. Our desire is to continue year after year to return to the key aspects of following Jesus with an intention to wrap our heads, hearts, and lives around him and his work in the world. 1 Peter is written to “elect exiles,” disciples of Jesus who are scattered all around the Roman Empire, trying to figure out how to follow Jesus in a world radically opposed to Him and His way. He writes to remind them of the Story they are in and the work God has done for them, and to call them to live with a whole-life allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom. His first priority is to see them make a clean break from the ways of the world and to grow increasingly into the character and ways of God, motivated by their new status as adopted children through the precious blood of Jesus.

Through the summer we have been slowing down to spend time in 8 different Psalms, looking a the 8 core emotions. The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Gladness.

Through the summer we have been slowing down to spend time in 8 different Psalms, looking a the 8 core emotions. The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Loneliness.

Over the next several weeks we will slow down to spend time in 8 different Psalms, looking a the 8 core emotions. The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Shame.

Through the summer we have been slowing down to spend time in 8 different Psalms, looking a the 8 core emotions. The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Loneliness.

Over the next several weeks we will slow down to spend time in 8 different Psalms, looking a the 8 core emotions. The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Guilt.

The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides an opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life include our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use our emotions. This week we look at Sadness.

The Psalms invite us into raw, passionate, and emotive life with God. The psalmists regularly expose the truth of their feelings before God, even in ways that may seem taboo in our lives. Many of us have believed that feelings are bad and can not be trusted. We've believed that feelings are poor guides, untrustworthy, and will ultimately lead us astray. The truth is, God gave us our emotions. Each of our emotions are helpful tools, leading us to whole-hearted living. Get this - our feelings can be a pathway to Jesus. Emotions expose our neediness. Our neediness provides opportunity for us to be vulnerable. Genuine prayer allows us to bring our full selves to Jesus. Deep faith and full life includes our feelings. We can trust that Jesus can handle, and even use, our emotions. This week we look at Fear. Fear allows us to experience risk. It awakens us to danger and begins the development of wisdom. We see how David experienced fear and through the wild experience of facing the fear that encircled him, he was a

On Politics and Power: We affirm the need for Christian civic and political involvement to be marked by a thoughtful, intentional, and theologically-informed cultivation of good citizenship. While our primarily allegiance is to Jesus and His Kingdom, we believe we are called to honor our political leaders as servants of God. We are to be marked by reasonableness, gentleness, and common courtesy, resisting the temptation to speak evil of anyone or to misrepresent the perspectives of those with whom we disagree. We are called to be salt and light in the world, people of deep virtue and abundant good works. Like our King, we are to use whatever power or privilege we’ve been graciously given to serve all people. And we are to root our identity, security, and hope in the good news of the gospel, freeing us to devote ourselves to good works, especially toward the most urgent needs of our world.

On Sexuality and Gender: We affirm a historic Christian view of the goodness of the human body, the purposeful creation of humans as male or female, and the sacredness of the marriage covenant between a man and a woman, designed by God to signify the relationship between Christ and his Church. Sexual intimacy is intended by God to enjoyed within that covenant. We believe sin has impacted every aspect of creation, including human sexuality, and that same-sex sexual desire and incongruence between one’s biological sex and one’s gender identity was never a part of God’s intention for humanity. Through Christ, God is redeeming his people, and empowers us by His Spirit to a life of increasing holiness, conforming to the image of Christ, including the redemption of our sexuality and sexual desires. Because we belong to Jesus, we are called to turn away from thoughts, actions, desires, or behaviors that do not align with God’s intentions for human sexuality. In the church — which is the Family of God — relationships

Complementarian: We are deeply committed to the equality of men and women, to the shared identity of brothers and sisters in Christ, and to the complementary roles of men and women in marriage and the church. Both men and women are created in the image of God and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. In the church, men and women relate to one another primarily as brothers and sisters, in relationships marked by honor, care, and sacrifice for one another. Men and women are together charged with the Great Commission, and are recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the church and world. Therefore, men and women are to be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to utilize their gifting in ministry, in service to the body of Christ and in mission to the world. While both husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality in the home, God has given to the man p