Sermon Text: Luke 21:25-38

Sermon text: Romans 16:17-20

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Wow! What a busy week. Friday was a real pain because I got stranded in London. You probably saw the email . . . Thanks for all your help via Western Union.

Let me give you a real quick update on where we are at in this series. We have been going through the various “acts of the sinful nature” in Galatians 5. We only have a few weeks left. This Sunday we are talking about “dissensions” . . . next week Todd will be giving the sermon on “factions,” then I will be doing “addictions” on the 8^th, then on the 15^th Dave Timmerman will finish the series with a sermon I know you have all been waiting for on “orgies.”

I was having lunch with someone from Riverside this week and we were talking about the sermon series and the Timmerman's last Sunday, which is the 15^th. And the waitress was listening to us. I said that Dave was giving the sermon on the 15^th, but that I had not pointed out yet to him what the last sin in the “acts of the sinful nature” was. When I said “orgies,” the waitress’s eyes got really big. Then I told her that she should come and check it out. I am not sure, but I think she may have went into the back of the restaurant and called the police.

I am not sure if Dave will call the sermon, “orgies.” In all seriousness, though the word is translated as “orgies” in the NIV and probably includes what immediately comes to mind, but it also includes all forms of disfunctional, abusive and perverted community. That, I imagine is what Dave will focus on.

This week we are discussing dissensions in the Christian community.

Phillippians 2:1-13

Sermon text: Mark 3: 1-6

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Last night was playing around with my sermon on our laptop and I had just added a few thoughts that I thought might be helpful.  I reached over for my glass of water and somehow I hit my wrist on the power button of the computer and off it went.  Awesome.  I had not saved my notes since I added the new stuff, so I waited for the computer to reboot to see if the content was there and sure enough it was gone. 

So today’s sermon is about anger.

I know that not everyone here this morning is a sports fan, but this week has been really wild in terms of NBA basketball.  One of the best players in the league, Lebron James, recently became a free agent and entered into potential negotiations with several NBA teams.  There has been a ton of speculation about his decision and which choice he would make.  He has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers his entire career, but decided on Thursday via primetime hour special on ESPN that he is now going to play for the Miami Heat with a couple of his friends.  The media hype and the 1 hour decision special was a little over the top, but what has really made this a spectacle is the reaction to Lebron James’ decision. 

The anger has been amazing, especially from people in Cleveland that believe that James has betrayed them.  There are photos of people weeping and screaming at their televisions.  There are photos of people burning Lebron James jerseys.  And then I could not help but be a little shocked when I saw the anger of the Cleveland Cavaliers owner in an open letter that he wrote to Cleveland Cavalier fans and posted on the team’s website.  See if you can sense a tone to this letter: