Jordan Rimmer Sermons

The Blessing of Tingling Ears

In this sermon I look at the call of Samuel and especially at the idea of "tingling ears." I then ponder how we hear, discern, and follow God's leading in our own lives.

The 4-Chapter Gospel: Chapter 4 Restoration

This is the final sermon in my 4-Chapter Gospel series. I must say this has been a very rewarding sermon for me. It has pushed my theology and my way of explaining the gospel, and it seems to have helped others do the same. In this final chapter, I look at how it is not enough for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and take us to heaven. The story requires the restoration and consummation of all things.

The 4-Chapter Gospel: Chapter 3 Redemption

After a recap, I look at the redemption chapter. While we often say that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, I show that the story is so much bigger. It is not just our sins that have to be redeemed, but the whole world must be redeemed. Further, it is not just the death of Jesus that is saving, but his life, teachings, miracles, healings, resurrection, and ascension that all play part in the salvation, salving, or salvaging work of Christ.

The 4-Chapter Gospel: Chapter 2 Fall

In this sermon, I recap the 4-chapter gospel and my main points about creation. Then I look at the Fall, and how humanity (and creation with them) has missed the mark and fallen short of God's glory. This impacts our lives every day.

The 4-Chapter Gospel: Chapter 1 Creation

In this sermon, I follow up my introduction to the 4-chapter gospel by looking at creation. I emphasize that everything is God's, everything is good, that we order and fill in the image of God, and we rest becasue we are not God.

The 4-Chapter Gospel: Introduction

Here I begin a sermon series on what has been called the 4-chapter gospel. It is a model of talking aobut the grand narrative of the Bible and our faith as Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Many Christians, unfortunately, only have a small understanding of 2 of the chapters. We need a robust and full picture of what the good news really is.

God-Words: Psalm 23

This wraps up my sermon series on the Psalms. I take a look at the most familiar and beloved Psalm, but there is a lot more going on here than most people realize. Some of the problem is that this text is overly familiar. Some of the problem is that we are reading figuritive language that is 2,000-3,500 years old in the Bible and we have to do some work to understand them. Particularly, we have to understand what 1st Century shepherds were really like.

God-Words: Psalms of Reorientation

In this sermon, I continue to look at the Psalms through Walter Brueggemann's scheme of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I take a look at Psalms written for after the storms and the wisdom that they have for us.

In my conclusion, I read some pieces from a lecture that Charles Spurgeon did. You can read it at

http://www.the-highway.com/articleSept99.html

God-Words: Psalms of Disorientation

This sermon continues my series on the Psalms inspired by the work of Walter Brueggemann. In this one, I look at Psalms for those times in our lives where we are disoriented and dislocated.

God-Words: Psalms of Orientation

In this sermon I use the structure of story to introduce a paradigm for reading the Psalms. I use Walter Bruggemann's concept of Psalms of Orientation, Psalms of Disorientation, and Psalms of Reorientation. I then look quickly at Psalm 8 as an example of a Psalm of Orientation.

God-Words: Intro to the Psalms

This is the beginning of a sermon series on the Psalms. In this sermon, I introduce how the Psalms work and what the Psalms are like. Along the way, I try to make the argument that we miss something when we don't use the Psalms as a cornerstone of our spiritual lives.

Being Church: Personal Practices

In this sermon, insired by Diana Butler Bass and Harvey Cox, I talk about the order of our faith. I think that the Jewish faith and the early Christian faith began with belonging, then moved to behavior, and then finally beliefs were developed to give langauge to what the people were feeling and experiencing. Somewhere along the line, we reversed the order, and we have prioritized belief. What we have tended to neglect in our faith is our behaviors--the practices of the faith that build our belonging and make our beliefs alive. In this sermon, I talk specifically about Sabbath, Scripture, and Prayer.

Being Church: The Sermon

In this sermon, I take a look at what a sermon does, how I approach sermon, and how to listen to a sermon.

Being Church: The Worship Service

In this sermon, I break down the Reformed order of worship. Why do we worship the way we do, and what does that tell us about the meaning of worship?

Being Church: Worship Space (Children's Sermon)

This is actually an extended children's sermon that I did on our church worship space. I decided to include it on the podcast because a lot of people found it helpful to learn about our sanctuary as a Tabernacle or Temple. Enjoy.

Being Church: The Future of the Church

In the previous sermon, I took a look at what happened to the world and the church. In this sermon, I consider what the future is for the church and how the church should respond.

Being Church: What happend to the church (and the world)?

In this sermon I follow the lead of the tribe of Issachar, which Chronicles tells us "understood the times and knew what Israel should do." Here, I analyze how our world has changed and how we can understand our times. In particular, I talk about how we now live in a post-Christendom and postmodern world in the West. Net week, I will talk more about how we can respond.

April Fools or Jesus Rules

 

This was an interesting Sunday. It was Easter, but it was also April Fools Day. I had a little fun with it.

Why Palm Sunday?

I have a confession to make. I have never really understood why Palm Sunday is such a big deal. At least, until this year. And this sermon is the result of that study.

Redeeming Ruth: Chapter 4 and Conclusion

In this sermon, I finish the story of Ruth. I look at how Boaz remains a man of honor in the way he works toward marrying Ruth, how Ruth ends up being the great grandmother of King David, how the Book of Ruth shows the love of Jesus, and what the book teaches us about faith.

Redeeming Ruth: Chapter 3

Here we go into chapter 3. We have to do a lot of background work to understand what is going on, but with the idea of redeeming and the idea of winnowing. Also, is this some kind of illicit midnight rendezvous?

Redeeming Ruth: Chapter 2

This sermon continues with the story of Ruth. Here, she goes out to gleen and meets and man named Boaz. She and Naomi are blessed by him, and the question of God's goodness and kindness start to be answered.

Redeeming Ruth: Chapter 1

This begins my Lent sermon series on the Book of Ruth. This sermon paints the context and starts the story of Naomi's return to Bethlehem with her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth.

Ministers of Reconciliation

In this sermon, I take a look at the four relationships that we are created in and how the fall breaks them on. I then look at how Jesus heals all four relationships and calls us to be ministers of reconciliation.

God Brought the Growth

In this sermon I take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:1-15 and the way Paul talks about Christian maturity. We need to move past being a fleshy or carnal Christian and learn to live both trusting God to bring growth while also being faithful to what God calls us to do.

Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

Here I take a look at the process that people (and churches) go through as the mercies of God transform us into something new and how part of that process involves us renewing our mind.

I am the Vine

In this sermon, based on John 15:1-11, takes a look at the image of the vine and the branches. I then apply these ideas to the practice of discernment. Finally, I share my journey of discernment which led me to Northminster Church.

The Parable of the Prodigal God

Why is the parable of the prodiagal son a bad name for the parable? How does the audience of the parable help interpret the parable? Why are there details like pigs, a fatted calf, a cloak, and the sound of dancing? In this sermon, I take a look at this familiar parable that we are not so familiar with.

I am indebted to Timothy Keller, Matt Chandler, and Kenneth Bailey for helping me rethink this parable every time I study it and preach it again.

Epiphanies about Epiphany 2018

In this, my first sermon at Northminster Presbyterian Church, I take a look at the story of the Wise Men--who were they and what do their gifts mean?

Change, Adaptability, and Goodbyes

This was a difficult and bittersweet Sunday, as I said goodbye to Westminster Church. I talked to them about how we all struggle with change, but how important it is that we learn to trust God and remain faithful in the process.