It is quite possible to preach a sermon that appears to be from the bible … but is not at all biblical. How do you do that? By taking interesting, provocative, preachable verses, yanking them out of their immediate surroundings in the text, and preaching them as if...
. . . I decided to doodle my Top 10 -- or 15 -- male tennis players of all time. How'd I do?
Last week (Monday, March 27 - Sunday, April 2) had an interesting "full circle" arc to it. Here's what I mean: Monday -- I began the week making a Monday morning visit to a young adult in the behavioral unit of an area hospital. Towards the end of a conversation in...
The message used ... a video montage of Nick Saban & Bill Belichick; a still photo & quote from Hugh Jackman; a demonstration involving Chris Macedo playing Eric Clapton; and an exploration into the strategy and psychology behind Pontius Pilate's question...
In these weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we are exploring that which Jesus finishes. What he is done with. What he is so over. We've seen how he is so over celebrity and talked about how he is done with pirate playing. This Sunday, it will be all...
Below you will find the transcript of Chris Thayer's sermon from this past Sunday, March 26. We diverted from our usual Sunday program in which Zoar Road gets my sermon on hologram (hi def, life-size video). Instead, to celebrate the one year anniversary of the...
For 2017, we have added Staff Seminary to our repertoire of how our staff gathers. What is Staff Seminary? It's a monthly workshop in which our staff receives interactive training in the skills of ministry. We have scheduled ten such gatherings in 2017, and I am...
While it can be dangerous to attach too much importance to single verses of Scripture -- thereby yanking them out of context -- nevertheless there is something so powerful about certain sentences in the bible. Especially those that speak of eternal life. These are the...
This one was different. Instead of following the ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE format inspired by Andy Stanley, yesterday's message began with the text itself, Luke 22:47-51. Actually, it began with the texts before the text, exploring how Luke 22:36-38 and 39-45 put swords and...
We've got . . . Swashbucklin' Sword swingin' Ear choppin' Jesus lovin' all in store for this Sunday. In a story that makes so much more sense when you know the story behind it, we seeing what Jesus "finishes" next as he heads to the ultimate "It is finished" moment....