Scottsdale Nazarene

What do we do in response to the ascension? What does Jesus mean when he tells the disciples to preach a message of a changed heart and life? This sermon from Luke 24:44-53 considers what comes next for the disciples and for us.

We hear Jesus say "Whoever loves me will keep my word," and we have long misunderstood what Jesus means. We think we need to prove that we love God, but that is not what this passage is about! This sermon from John 14:23-29 considers what Jesus meant by these words.

Jesus' one and only command is to love each other - but what does this mean? This sermon from John 13:31-35 considers what it means to learn to love as Christ loves us.

The Easter Season invites us to reflect on two questions: What kind of Messiah do we want Jesus to be? And what kind of Messiah IS Jesus? This sermon from John 10:22-30 explores these questions. -May 8th 2022

We have heard the good news of resurrection, but now what? What comes next? This sermon from John 21:1-19 considers these questions and the way God works in and through the ordinary to bring about resurrection and the renewal of all things.

We are often so caught up in the things we think we should hope for (like success and power and status) that we ail to realize the way God is at work. This sermon from Luke 24:13-35 considers what true Christian hope is, and how God's work is revealed through resurrection even though our imaginations are limited. 4-24-22

It Certainly feels as if death has the final word - but Easter tells us it is resurrection that has the final word. This sermon from Luke 24:1-12 tells the story of Resurrection Sunday and considers the role memory plays in helping us to understand resurrection. - April 17th 2022

Palm Sunday is a day of celebration in the midst of Lent - but it also serves as a warning to us. It warns us just how quickly we can (and do) change our allegiances, and it warns us what can happen when we change our allegiances. But it also reminds us that there is hope for us when our allegiances change. This sermon from Psalm 18:1-2, 19-29 considers the warning of Palm Sunday.

In light of our circumstances, it is easy to be irritated with Psalm 126. It might be hard to believe that God can, will, or even wants to change your circumstances for the better. But even if you are annoyed with Psalm 126, this psalm is good news. It is good news because even now, against all odds, God is at work and making all things new. This sermon argues that it is okay to be annoyed with this psalm and urges us to make this psalm our prayer anyway.

Confession is a common theme throughout scripture, and confession has been an important part of the church since the beginning. So why does confession give us so much anxiety? This sermon on Psalm 32 explores what confession is and is not. Is confession an invitation to disgrace or humiliation? Is confession an invitation to rejection? Or does confession invite us to come home?

There is a theme of "protection" in the Lenten psalms. But what does God protect us from? This sermon on Psalm 63:1-8 considers the ways we might try to answer this question and the importance of obedience.

As we continue through the season of Lent, we pray through Psalm 27. Listen as Pastor Corey gives a beautiful sermon on finding Hope in the Lord in the midst of trying times.

We often misread texts like Psalm 90:1-2, 9-16. We think these words promise us that the "truly faithful" do not suffer. We have used these words to justify the belief that our suffering means we don't trust God enough or that we are not faithful enough - but that is not what his psalm promises. This sermon, preached on the first Sunday in Lent, considers how faithfulness and suffering coexist, and asks the question of where God is in our suffering.

In 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Paul writes, "where the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom." But what exactly is this freedom? We have been taught to understand freedom in certain ways, but is our understanding of freedom what Paul is talking about? This sermon seeks to answer these questions and considers how the freedom of the Spirit is not just a freedom FROM, but a freedom FOR something.

If resurrection is the ultimate end, then why does this life matter? Are we just passing through this life? Are our lives and the problems we face insignificant? This sermon from 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 considers what resurrection means for this life. God is the God who makes all things new, not all new things - which mean this life does matter.

Resurrection is an essential part of our faith. But sometimes, we emphasize resurrection to the point of downplaying death- which has led to the belief that we do not have permission to grieve. This sermon from 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 considers what it means to practice resurrection hope and grief.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Paul stresses the importance of the good news. Paul's words point to faith - but what IS faith? This sermon (from 2/6/22) explores some of the ways we have come to understand faith, and considers how faith is embodied as trust and ultimately calls us to delight.

This sermon is about the greatest gift - love. 1 Corinthians 13 is all about love, but what exactly does Paul mean by "love?" This sermon considers some of the ways to define love, and it explores which type of love Paul writes about in this passage. It reminds us that we love because God first loves us, and it calls us to be known for how we love one another.

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Paul seems to contradict himself. We have long understood Paul's body analogy to mean there is a hierarchy in the church. But is that what Paul means? Is Paul even the first person to use this analogy? What is Paul REALLY saying? This sermon considers these questions, reminds us that our differences come from the one Spirit, and celebrates the beauty we find in our diversity.

This Sermon (preached on January 16th) is about 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. We often think the beauty of his passage lies in the spiritual gifts- but the real beauty of his passage is in the way it draws our attention to the Giver and calls us to delight. This passage invites us to ask, "what is good? What is beautiful? And what is true?