Jordan Rimmer Sermons

Lift Dedication Sermon

This short sermon was recorded during an outdoor service. There is background noise and I am projecting my voice because we did not bring out a sound system. The occasion was the dedication of our vertical platform life (think small elevator). It was a pretty exciting day that we were not sure would ever come. The sermon was followed by the story of the lift, a dedication, a prayer for the lift and those who use it, and the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness." After the service, we had some fun and ate a great picnic lunch.

Book of the Twelve: Malachi

With this sermon on Malachi we come to the end of the Minor Prophets. It was all summer, but I found them to be an amazing journey. These old books still had new things to say to us today. I guess people don't change that much over time.

Book of the Twelve: Zechariah

Sermon on Zechariah and his compelling and challenging imagery.

Book of the Twelve: Haggai

Sermon on Haggai. I actually didn't press record on Sunday so I recorded it in my basement at a later date.

Book of the Twelve: Zephaniah

Sermon on the book of Zephaniah. This is a book that once again looks at the judgment of the Day of the Lord, but also has an amazing description of God's saving presence that will come to Jerusalem. We know this hope to be Jesus.

Book of the Twelve: Habakkuk

This sermon is on the book of Habakkuk. Can you trust God? That is a difficult question. But the harder question is, can you trust God with the timing? You are not really trusting God if you are not trusting God with the timing.

Book of the Twelve: Nahum

 

In this sermon I look at the book of Nahum by telling the history of God's relationship with the Assyrians.

Raise the Roof: An Image of Intercessory Prayer

I take a break from my journey through the Minor Prophets to look at the healing of the paralyzed man in Mark 2. I use the story as an image of what intercessory prayer is. I have to thank my teacher Leonard Sweet for challenging me on this text. Also, thanks to my dad who preached this text on the same Sunday and swapped ideas with me.

The Book of the Twelve: Micah

This sermon takes a look at the book of Micah. I look at the book as a whole and peak into a few specific sections.

The Book of the Twelve: Jonah

In this sermon I walk through the story of Jonah with an observant eye and try to cast a vision for the book in our lives today.

The Book of the Twelve: Obadiah

Sermon on the book of Obadiah. This little book of only 21 verses has some strong words of judgment for the neighboring nation of Edom, but it also has some great underlying theology.

The Book of the Twelve: Amos

This is a sermon about the book of Amos. I look at a couple of texts to get the lay of the land in the book. I can't help but be amazed at how much Amos has to say about our world today.

The Book of the Twelve: Joel

Sermon on the book of Joel. Joel is strangely not specific about the sins of Israel, so much so that scholars don't agree about when it was written. But it is a great call to repentance and a strong claim of the grace of God.

The Book of the Twelve: Hosea

This sermon takes a look at the book of Hosea. We might get a little offended when God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute, but we cannot help but be amazed at the power of the imagery as the story unfolds. Hosea could be called the first Gospel, and it is good news that we need every bit as much as Israel did.

The Book of the Twelve: Introduction

This is the intro sermon for my summer series on the Book of the Twelve- often called the Minor Prophets. I plan to do an overview of each book every week. There will be some gaps throughout the summer for special Sundays or days I am on vacation.

For this intro sermon, I do a quick introduction to the Old Testament, give a big picture overview of Israel's history in the OT, and then look at what prophets do in the Bible.

The Temptation of Jesus (and us)

In this sermon I take a look at the temptation of Christ on four levels. Satan is tempting Jesus to act like God and not like man. The temptation mirrors the temptation of Adam and Eve. It parallel Israel. It is also symptomatic of our own temptations.

A Sermon about Sermons

In this sermon I talk about sermons--what they do, how they developed, and what kind there are. I focus especially on how to listen to the sermon and the responsibilities of listening to a sermon. 

So I Send You

In this sermon I take a lot at what it means that we are sent by Jesus just as the Father has sent Him.

A Lame Trip to Church

Sermon on Peter and John healing a lame man on the way to the temple.

Finding Your Identity in Christ

This sermon was very focused on that particular Sunday. It moved into communion, where people were asked to look into mirrors before and after partaking in the sacrament. I also showed a commercial that is listed below.

https://youtu.be/XpaOjMXyJGk

        

Easter 2016: Why the Resurrection?

This is my sermon from Easter 2016. I talk about why Christianity is not Christianity without the Resurrection.

The Chronology of Holy Week

I gave this sermon on Palm Sunday in order to set up Holy Week. I lay out the events of Holy Week chronologically and talk about what is going on politically, what it is like for the disciples, and what Jesus is doing and thinking about in the Gospels.

The Cross: Recapitulation

In this sermon I talk about the work of Jesus on the cross as a Recapitulation or a Recap. Jesus is the "New and Even Better Adam" who sums up and retells the story of humanity. This sermon helps put together the whole Bible as well as helping explain how people work. I am indebted to the work of Scot McKnight particularly in the book The Blue Parakeet. In this sermon I drew a picture which is included here to help the listener understand what I am talking about.

The Cross: Substitution

In this sermon I look at the idea of Substitution. To illustrate this, I had several people wear shirts that said things out of Isaiah 53 like Guilt and Sin. I then, playing the role of Jesus, put on their shirts and took them to the cross. I then gave them new shirts that said things like Righteous and Peace. For this part of the sermon I walked all over the sanctuary changing shirts and talking. The recording catches what I am saying, but it obviously misses the visual.

 

The Cross: The Courtroom

This sermon is about the motif of a courtroom and legal language that is so prominent in the Bible and specifically related to the cross. I use 5 images to teach on the topic. Those pictures are below. I also a couple of times tell Spike when to switch the slide which makes sense in person but may sound funny on the  recording.

 

The Cross: Ransom and Redemption

This sermon continues my series on motifs of the cross in scripture. This one looks at Ransom and Redemption. We talk about ransom with kidnappings and redeeming coupons, but these words are loaded with meaning and images in the Bible. What do they tell us about the death of Jesus on the cross?

The Cross: The Blood Sacrifice

This starts my Lent series called "The Cross." I am taking a look at the metaphors and motifs of the cross in scripture to explore why Jesus went to the cross and what the cross accomplishes. Here I look at one of the most used metaphor for the cross in the Bible- The Blood Sacrifice. This is probably also the most uncomfortable metaphor for us today.

The scripture is from 1 Corinthians 2. I forgot to hit record as I began so the recording starts halfway through the passage.

Paradox: You Give to Receive

In this sermon I wrap up my series on paradoxes of the faith by talking about how you have to give in order to receive. This is an idea foreign to our world today.

This series was inspired by the book Paradoxes for Living by N. Graham Standish. I highly recommend that book.

Paradox: Maturity is being Childlike

In this sermon I take a look at the paradox that for Christians maturity actually means becoming childlike. I distinguish this from being childish and from how the world defines maturity. The sermon is light and short to fit the occasion. The children of the church led worship including reading the scripture from Matthew 18:1-6. They even led children's songs for the hymns. It was very fun and this sermon was written to fit with and accentuate our childlike worship service.

Paradox: Small is Big

In this sermon I take a look at the paradox that in God's kingdom small is big and the trivial is often important.