Sermons on Aram:

God Chose You

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

Some of us might have trouble believing that the big, eternal God would ever even notice little old me. But Paul, right from the start of his letter to the Ephesians, emphasized that God had chosen them to be his.

This is our third Sunday now focusing on the book of Ephesians. At last we're getting around to starting at the beginning. We have already peaked at parts of chapter 2 and chapter 3 because of special themes for Epiphany and Human Relations Sunday. But now we get back to a more orderly ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14

You've Got A Lot Going For You, Part 1: God The Father

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

Too many Christians feel inadequate to be any use to God or their church. Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians of the resources they have going for them.

In any church you’ll find some members who sit on the sidelines, feeling like they don’t really belong on the team. They have heard a number of times that God loves them, but in their hearts, they wonder. They feel a little lonely at church, a little on the sidelines. And they’d like to get to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

You've Got A Lot Going For You, Part 2: The Trinity

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

It can be confusing to talk about serving one God who is 3 persons. We may think we can just ignore abstract ideas like that. But this part of the nature of our God is one of the richest blessings of being a Christian

Last week we started looking at the main body of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He starts out with a very high falutin statement of the glory of God, listing first, blessings we have received through God the Father, then through God the Son, then through God the Holy Spirit. Starting out like ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

God The Son Series

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

We may think we can make our own way to be good enough, but our only hope is in the redemption won by Jesus.

We are still at the beginning of working our way through one of the most amazing books of the Bible, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It presents the most beautiful picture of the church and the Christian life, a picture that really stretches your mind. The last two weeks we have been working ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

The Holy Spirit

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

The Christian faith focuses on what God did long ago and will do in the future. But an experience of the Holy Spirit is a taste of what God means to us here and now, deep in our hearts.

Today we’ll finish up with the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Because of holidays and our communion schedule we haven’t done the chapter in order. Some weeks ago we started looking at the trinitarian opening of the letter, with Paul’s introduction of God the Father, God the Son, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed Be You

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

Maybe you have heard many promises of blessings in Christ, but aren't experiencing them for yourself. Perhaps the next step is an act of faith to receive those blessings.

The last two Sundays we’ve taken a break from working through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Those were Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. And those Sundays are always a treat. But today we go back to the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. And that’s a different kind of treat. If you ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23

You Are The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jul 29, 2019

Many times, if God is going to touch someone, it will be through us.

Today we celebrate the baptisms of three children of our congregation. A lot of things are happening in a baptism. Their parents are asking for God's blessing on their children and making promises to provide Christian nurture for them. God is making a statement to the children, that he ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23

Ruth: Refugee With A Human Face

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Jun 21, 2021

The Book of Ruth doesn't get much attention, but it can remind us that God sees refugees and can use them in his purposes.

I imagine we probably all have a favorite book of the Bible. The gospels should be high on everyone’s list because they tell us the story of Jesus. And when the church’s heart and mind are fixed on Jesus, everything comes together. When we lose sight of Jesus things go wrong. Luke is my ...read more

The Best Mother's Day Ever

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

Mothers care that their kids are well provided for. That is close to God's heart of concern for those less fortunate in our world.

We all know what mothers are supposed to want on Mother’s Day. A card is great, whether professionally made, with a beautiful picture on the front and a sentimental poem on the inside, or maybe home made, decorated inside and out with crayons that are handled with more love than professional ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:16-21

Not A Tame Lion

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

We like to keep things calm and happy in church, but one day Jesus really upset folks in his home synagogue. Are you ready to follow him?

You’ve heard me say before that I love The Chronicles of Narnia, written by C.S. Lewis. We read them over and over again to our children as they were growing up. Maybe a year ago one of them, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, came out in a very successful movie. That inspired me to read ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:14-30

Membership Has No Privileges

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

Do we come to church for what we can get or for what we can give?

Our sermon text for today is really scene two of one of the key moments in Jesus’ early ministry. We looked at scene one several weeks ago, that was Luke 4:16-22, and Kurt just read it for us again as a refresher. Scene one is a proud moment. Jesus has been speaking in synagogues in a number ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:23-30

Jesus Spoke With Authority

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

The modern mind doesn't like to submit to authority, but if you don't recognize Jesus's authority, you don't recognize Jesus.

Three weeks ago we left off of our series on the early ministry of Jesus as he was walking out of his home town, Nazareth, very much alone, having been violently rejected by the people of the synagogue where he grew up. What a tragic story. We don’t know that he ever went back. If you missed ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:31-37

Devoted To Good Works

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

If we follow Jesus, he will call us to service of others

I am endlessly fascinated by Jesus Christ. I have been seriously studying the New Testament for more than 4 decades, and I am still coming to new appreciations of the life he lived. Over and over again, as I come to understand what we have written about him, I am stretched as I see how he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:31-37, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, 1 Timothy 6:18, Hebrews 10:24, Hebrews 13:16  (view more)  (view less)

A Broader Vision

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 7, 2022

Our lives can get so cluttered with good things that we miss the best.

Our text for this morning is Luke 4:38-44. “After leaving the synagogue Jesus entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:38-44

Jesus And The Crowds

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Feb 16, 2022

Are we content to just see the same people in church week after week or do we really want to welcome many more?

We are working our way through the life and ministry of Jesus, as told in the Gospel of Luke. We’re still very early in his ministry. And in today’s text a problem starts to emerge that will come to be a difficulty for Jesus on many days. It’s the problem of too many people wanting to come and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-3