Sermons on Rodney Buchanan:

God's Plan For Fathers

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 17, 2001

Fathers need to take leadership seriously and engage the family by exercising sacrificial leadership.

A prestigious private school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has recently outlawed the celebration of family holidays. In a letter to parents, they said, “after much thought and discussion, [we] will not be celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.” One of the school’s directors explained that, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:11-17

Denomination: Methodist

Learning To Be A Disciple

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Feb 8, 2001

We learn to be a disciple when we make a commitment to learn, to grow and to be in relationship.

As we have thought together about what it means to be the church, we have considered what it means to worship, what it means to have a relationship with God, and what it means for us to be in relationship with each other. This morning we consider what it means to truly be a disciple of Christ. I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:1-9

Denomination: Methodist

Kingdom Living

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Oct 6, 2002

Kingdom living means: 1. We live with an awareness of the kingdom. 2. We understand that the kingdom is within. 3. We experience the blessing of his reign. 4. We are a part of a subversive movement. 5. We wait for it expectantly.

Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon begin their book Resident Aliens with a story from their youth: “Sometime between 1960 and 1980, an old, inadequately conceived world ended, and a fresh, new world began. . . . When and how did we change? Although it may sound trivial, one of us is tempted ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:18-21

Denomination: Methodist

Ho-Hum

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Apr 2, 2006

We are lost in the swamp of compromise, because: 1. We value security over significance. 2. We value what is easy over what takes effort. 3. We value the material over the spiritual. 4. We value mediocrity over excellence.

John Steinbeck, winner of the Nobel Prize, decided to travel around the country he loved in order to explore and enjoy it more deeply. He was also planning on writing about his experiences in a book, but he was surprised that very few people encouraged him to go. Some even said that it was too ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-5

Denomination: Methodist

Got A Ticket?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jul 2, 2006

Objections to "Ticket Theology": 1. It trivializes the Christian life. 2. It misses the point of the Christian life. 3. It reduces the Christian life to a formula.

A man in Kiev, Ukraine wanted to be a modern day Daniel. He went to the zoo in Kiev earlier this month and lowered himself by a rope into a den of lions. The lion enclosure is on an isolated “animal island” surrounded by thick concrete blocks to protect people from the lions. The zoo was packed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Denomination: Methodist

Christmas And Culture

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 23, 2006

1. Christmas informs the culture. 2. Christmas transforms the culture. 3. Christmas forms a new culture.

Christmas is about God breaking through at surprising times, and showing up in unusual places in the world. You never know when, where, or how God is going to show up. The Bible is full of stories of how God broke into the world at the very time that people thought he was nowhere to be found. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:25-32

Denomination: Methodist

Distraction

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Mar 5, 2006

You need to move from: 1. Pragmatism to passion. 2. Being fractured to being focused. 3. Wandering to living life on purpose.

Men are notorious for being distracted. Most of us could qualify for having ADD — Attention Deficit Disorder. In fact, I heard about a guy who was so distracted over one thing and another that he had to have his wife tell him almost everything. One day his wife came into the room and said, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:29-35, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Denomination: Methodist

Doers Of The Word

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Sep 3, 2006

Doers of the Word of God hear with their 1. Wills engaged. 2. Minds engaged. 3. Hands and Feet engaged.

Max Lucado writes: “For some, Jesus is a good luck charm. The ‘Rabbit’s Foot Redeemer.’ Pocket-sized. Handy. Easily packaged. Easily understood. Easily diagramed. You can put his picture on your wall or you can stick it in your wallet as insurance. You can frame him. Dangle him from your ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Denomination: Methodist

Is God Fair?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Sep 10, 2006

To answer the question, we also have to ask: 1. Is God just? 2. Is God impartial? 3. Is God fair?

Life is not fair. Most of us understand that. It was not fair that some children died at birth or had crippling diseases, and I have been allowed to live and enjoy good health. It was not fair that some were born with cerebral palsy and I was able to grasp difficult concepts and get passing ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30

Denomination: Methodist

Trusting God In Difficult Times

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Oct 2, 2006

The beliefs we must commit ourselves to when facing suffering are: 1. God is good, even when life is bad. 2. God can redeem the evil that comes into our lives. 3. We must do the right thing, even when it does not seem to pay off.

Those of you who have seen the classic movie Fiddler on the Roof remember the scene where Tevye, the main character, is walking on a dusty road, pulling both a milk cart and a lame horse. He says: “Ah, dear God, was that necessary? Did you have to make him lame just before the Sabbath? That ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:1-11

Denomination: Methodist

Whose Is It?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Oct 29, 2006

1. The world belongs to God. 2. All we have belongs to God. 3. Our lives belong to God.

It is said that Bishop Edwin Hughes once delivered a sermon on “God’s Ownership” of all that we have. In his congregation there was a very wealthy parishioner who took offense at his message. That week he called and asked the Bishop to come over to his home for lunch. During their visit, the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 24:1-10

Denomination: Methodist

Trusting God With Everything

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Nov 19, 2006

Trusting God results in: 1. the ability to give. 2. the ability to be thankful. 3. the blessing of God.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16

Denomination: Methodist

Entering The Harvest Field

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 12, 2005

Jesus: 1. Saw the crowds. 2. Had compassion. 3. Called to his disciples.

The story goes that Mark Twain loved to go fishing, but he hated to catch fish. The problem was he went fishing to relax, and catching fish ruined his relaxation, since he had to take the fish off the hook and do something with it. When he wanted to relax by doing nothing, people thought he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38

Denomination: Methodist

Blessed Are The Hurting Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 19, 2005

A look at the Beatitudes and how an understanding of the Kingdom of God, present and future, helps us to face the difficulties of life.

Mary Lewis tells this story: “Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., is the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. When his daughter Zoe graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1992, he told this story that happened when she was just three years old. Sanders came home from work one ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:20-23, Luke 6:27-31

Denomination: Methodist

Unbelieving Believers

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jan 18, 2004

We need to make three commitments: 1. Reading the Word of God. 2. Believing the Word of God. 3. Applying the Word of God.

On July 28, 1982, Keith Green, a Christian songwriter, was killed at the age of 28 in a small plane crash. Two of his children were with him and also died in the crash. Keith Green was from a Jewish background, but grew up reading the New Testament. He walked with Christ for seven years, and ...read more

Denomination: Methodist