Soma Spokane Sermons

The world is broken, frayed at the edges — but the King has come, Anointed by Spirit, with healing in his hands! In his life and ministry, Jesus gathers up all this old, sin-tarnished, shame-tattered, sick and dying world in arms, eventually bearing it all in his body on the cross. He takes it all into the grave with him, walking out 3 days later, alive and new, and pulling the world through with him! And he’s gathering a Family — those who’ve heard the news of restoration and are experiencing its in-breaking, who sit and listen and receive his mission and ministry, who cease their anxious striving and put trust in him and his work. And it is that very Family who then respond as he calls them to follow him and his way, participating in the ministry of Restoration. Jesus calls us to join him in the world as Missionaries, proclaiming and demonstrating the kingdom in the power of the Spirit, and as Neighbors, moving with compassionate care toward the frayed edges of the social fabric.

Every character in Luke 9 seems to have the same basic question: who exactly is Jesus? Is he a revolutionary? Is he the Messiah? A circus act? A reincarnation of Moses or Elijah? But when heaven breaks open and the answer is given, his disciples must reckon with Jesus being much more than they imagined... and much more demanding of them. But they will discover that there is more for them as they go deeper in Christ, and he's inviting his disciples into more NOT so they can do more but so they can receive more.  

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.