Bbc Sermons

Despite having all our needs well met and being richly blessed, our society is constantly dissatisfied and unhappy.  We search for fulfillment in the acquisition of “stuff” and in the endless cycle of buying “the latest and greatest.”  What if, instead of focusing on what we lack, we learned the discipline of contentment?  The result may be surprisingly simple and liberating.Listening Note: This is the third in a four-sermon series about stewardship, modeled after the stewardship curriculum Enough by Rev. Adam Hamilton; this sermon is preached by Tyler Wood, the Minister of Children and Youth at Benson Baptist Church.

For many of us, our financial struggle is not a big, glaring issue threatening bankruptcy if not immediately addressed; it’s often “smaller” issues functioning undetected beneath the veil of comfort that a stable budget can create.  One such issue is wastefulness—a little money here, a little money there, a little money spent piece by piece that causes us to ask at the end of the month, “Where did it all go?”  But we can lessen wastefulness by bringing our spending in line with the answer to a simple question: “What is my life purpose?”

Entering Christmas is easy.  It’s leaving December 25 that’s hard.  But perhaps it shouldn’t be.  Perhaps, through the example of some giddy shepherds, we can find a model for how God would have us exit the manger and re-enter the normalcy of life.

What do you get a baby for Christmas?  That had to be a thought running through the wise mens’ minds as they made their toward Bethlehem from the east.  It would have been nice if Jesus could have just told them what he wanted.  This sermon, delivered through a dramatic dialogue, centers around a fourth wise man who was several years late to the scene and got to ask Jesus just what was on his list.

Sometimes Christmas seems just a little too perfect.  It’s possible that, in our idyllic perceptions of the season, we “sanitize” it; we wipe off the less glamorous realities of the manger and the reasons behind Jesus’ birth, and replace them with candy canes and winter wonderlands.  Not to say all of that’s bad, of course, but dirt has a place at Christmas, too.  In fact, if not for the “dirt” of life, we wouldn’t need a Christ in the first place.

Most people think that miracles are hard to miss—they’re these big, loud, unavoidable occurrences.  Just tell that to the innkeeper.  That poor fella missed out on one—the biggest miracle ever, in fact—just because he wasn’t expecting it.  If we don’t want that to be us this Christmas, perhaps we’d be wise to make some space in our seasons and expect to be a part of the miracles God is performing today.

It’s almost Christmas time!  If we’re being honest, most of us have already skipped ahead to that thought.  After all, Christmas is “the next big thing” after Thanksgiving.  But perhaps that’s not the most healthy thing.  Perhaps Thanksgiving is situated quite appropriately on our calendars, like a big stop sign before the most frenzied part of our years reminding us to slow down and be grateful for what we already have.  Not many people do that.  In fact, as a group of lepers revealed to Jesus many years ago, nine out of ten don’t.

Why come to church?  It’s a question that plagues many today, but according to Scripture, it’s been around ever since the Church first started.  Some come to church because they feel like they’re obligated, like they “have” to, but that’s not the type of disciple God desires.  God doesn’t want us to feel obligated to attend church, God wants us to feel compelled—by the blessed community within Christ’s body—so that we have to come in order to satisfy the yearnings of our hearts.

Scripture tells us that we are “wonderfully made” children of God, but sometimes we don’t act like we believe that.  It’s important, therefore, to take time and consider what it means that we have been hand-crafted by the God who declares us “very good,” better than the most breathtaking sunset or awe-inspiring autumn scene.  If we get that, then maybe we’ll start to know—and act like—we’re somebody, because “God don’t make no junk!”

What does it mean that we are connected with a “great cloud” of Christian witnesses who share in our family of faith?  On this All Saints Day, hear Tyler Wood as he challenges us to name the saints in our lives and, considering the qualities that they demonstrate to us, go out and be saints for others.

Hear Danny Hawkins, the Director of Development for the Southeast Region of NC Baptist Children’s Homes, share his perspective on why Baptist Children’s Homes is such a vital ministry.

What are the biblical roots of the word we know as “deacon”?  Well one of the places it first appears is actually at the place where Jesus performed his first miracle—the wedding at Cana.  As we prepare to ordain one of our members to deacon ministry at Benson Baptist, perhaps we can learn a thing or two from the deacons who helped others taste and see Jesus’ first public act of divine power when he turned water into wine.

Over a lifetime, the effects of hunger can add up and even transfer to the next generation.  In this sermon for World Hunger Sunday, we reflect on the potential differences that can exist between two children, one born to a family who feeds him, and one born to another who cannot.

All our lives, we’re building memorials. We store up good memories, we store up hard memories, and we erect in our mind monuments to mark those significant times. On World Communion Sunday, it’s worth taking a moment to observe not only the memorials we build as individuals, but the common act of commemoration that unites us all as the universal Body of Christ.

In keepings with the Mule Days tradition, we once again examine the story of Balaam and his talking donkey!  This year, we have a special “guest preacher” who helps us consider how we treat those things—and people—in the world who many consider voiceless. Listening Note: The other voice in this recording belongs to a hand puppet donkey who shares the pulpit with Paul for a good chunk of the sermon.

Hear from two of Benson Baptist’s amazing young women—Eliza Burgess and Muriel Lasater—as they share messages that God has placed on their hearts.

Sometimes we’re guilty of making prayer too complicated; we feel like, if we really want to get it “right,” we have to recite a long, hyper-spiritual incantation to God.  But it doesn’t have to be that way. Meaningful prayer can be uttered in breath, a word, a verse.  Consider Psalm 19:14—“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”  Could there be a more appropriate prayer to offer everyday?Listening Note: This sermon is preceded by a beautiful vocal rendering of Psalm 19:14 by Stephen Church and Muriel Lasater.

What good is a word if it doesn’t do anything?  James raises a similar issue when he proposes the challenging idea that faith, without action, is dead–it’s just a word.  Perhaps, then, for faith to prove its real, it has to roll up its sleeves and get to work.Listening Note: This sermon begins with a 4-minute video illustration that can be accessed here.

Why would you ever just glance in the mirror?  Perhaps because if you stare too long, you might see some things you don’t like.  Nonetheless, James tells us that when it comes to our faith, we shouldn’t just “glance.”  Instead, we should get an true, honest look at who we are, however sobering that may be, so the images in our mirrors can look more like the One we’re supposed to be reflecting.

It’s quite possible that a couple of useless ministers who never said a thing once preached the sermon we most need to hear regarding our role in worship.  At the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, they managed to get in the way; it’s important that, in our worship, we avoid the same mistake.