PODCAST · religion
Christ Church Jerusalem
by Christ Church Jerusalem
Sermons, lectures and teachings from Christ Church Jerusalem, founded 1849 as a center of prayer for all nations with worship reflecting the Jewish context of the gospel.
Episodes
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Lame Excuses - Rev. David Pileggi
In this short story Jesus illustrates the rule of heaven and highlights God’s compassion for those who are being destroyed by sin and Satan. But if we hear his voice, we are warned of the consequences of hardening our heart.
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Broken Images - Rev. David Pileggi
The Pharisees seek to test Jesus with a trick question, and in a brilliant response Jesus exposes their insincerity and reminds us why his teaching will be observed to the end of the age.
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The Righteousness of God - Idan Pinhas
As we reach the end of the Feast of Sukkot, often associated with the return of Jesus, our readings in Isaiah 5, Psalm 80, and Matthew 21 use the vineyard as an image of God’s kingdom and His people. Isaiah reveals that God sought justice and righteousness but found injustice, while Psalm 80 asks...
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The Divine in the Doing - Rev. David Pileggi
As Christians, we often look to the biblical feasts to discover whether Jesus has fulfilled it, or we’re still waiting. But the Festivals of the Lord (especially Succot) have much more to teach us and this guidance is especially important for us today in our age of overwhelming anxiety and fear.
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God, It Just Isn't Fair! - Rev. David Pileggi
It is appropriate that in today’s readings, Jesus’ parable of the Workers in the Vineyard falls on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This story raises some questions about God’s generosity and how it can lead to disappointment and resentment, embittering our relationship with God and...
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The Unforgiving Servant and Those Little Sins - Rev. David Pileggi
Jesus is urgent. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! But we tend to think that because we’re not bank robbers or adulterers we’re OK. But today, as we approach the holiday of The Feast of Trumpets, let the blast of the shofar wake us up to Jesus’ urgent call.
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Beam Me Up, Scotty - Rev. David Pileggi
Often in Christian teaching we focus on how to get to heaven – and until then, how we can dwell in ‘heavenly places.' But the overwhelming biblical focus is that God wants to come down! Jesus teaches us practical ways that we can live in His presence now.
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God's Timing in Deliverance - Pastor Matthew Finch
When Moses was 40 years old he had all of the right criteria to be used as God's instrument for deliverance. He was articulate, well educated, and zealous. However, God's timing is not our timing. By the time Moses was commissioned, he was emptied of almost everything he once was. God will indeed...
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Two Midwives and The Son of the Living God - Rev. David Pileggi
In our lectionary today, we read about two midwives who refused to obey the Pharaoh’s death decree. How did they know to fear the living God more than a powerful tyrant who could bring them death? They are role models for us today and can teach us important lessons about being disciples of the...
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There's Enough Bread to Go Around - Phil Morrow
Genesis 45 sees Joseph reveal himself to his brothers, declare his good fortune in Egypt, and promise to care for them during the following 5 years of famine. Psalm 67, sung daily between Pesach and Shavuot, prompts all the nations to praise the God of Israel for making the land yield its…
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The Tragedy of John the Baptist (Is it ours too?) - Rev. David Pileggi
John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” But later, he began to doubt and sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the One who is to come?” Under great duress in prison and imprisoned by his own eschatological...
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A Family Story: Mercy Received, Mercy Given - Rev. David Pileggi
Jacob’s struggle with a mysterious figure was life-transforming and he walked away with a limp and a legitimate blessing gained without deceit. The encounter enabled him to courageously, yet humbly face his brother Esau and bring healing to a broken relationship. In that context we examine Paul’s...
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For the Birds - Rev. John Arnold
God is already the Almighty King. But what does His kingdom look like on this oft rebellious earth? Drawing on the imagery of Ezekiel, Jesus reveals a kingdom that begins in humility, transforms the world, is worth more than every earthly treasure, and will one day bring both salvation and judgment
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The Long Patience of God - Rev. John Arnold
The kingdom of heaven isn't just some future paradise. God already reigns, but there are many who oppose Him. Why doesn't He subjugate everything to His will now? He is patient beyond our own understanding.
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Good Soil Gives Plentiful Harvest - Rev. Pavel Hollmann
Soil can turn good or bad, based on the care it is given, and so it is with our hearts. A good beginning does not necessarily means a good outcome. We can turn bad soil into a richly producing one with good care, time and God’s blessing. But that is only a start. There are other soils - hearts…
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His Humbleness Carries the Burdens - Rev. Pavel Hollmann
In his only self-descriptive phrase Jesus gives us a key to his ability to carry the burdens given by his Father. His yoke is easy only as and when we humbly accept our lot in life. Yes, under God’s caring hand, but nevertheless, a life full of challenges, and trials, not of our choice. Will we...
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Kierkegaard, Dylan, and the Kotzker Rebbe - Rev. David Pileggi
Is it wrong to expect divine recompense for obedience? Over the centuries many have been perplexed by the binding/sacrifice of Isaac. No matter how this event is understood, it is clear that there is reward for Abraham’s obedience. We tend to think that rewards are given in return for great acts…
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The Fear that Sabotages - Rev. David Pileggi
In our readings today the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, along with that of Jesus calling his disciples, give us much to ponder. Because of that nagging (and all too natural) anxiety of committing our lives to God, we too, often circumvent His best for us. Although fear and the deceit of...
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Subject to the King: Servants, Shepherds, and Sheep - Rev. John Arnold
God is a king who expects His subjects to have compassion and care for those who are sick and those who are wandering. In our hubris, we often do not completely subject ourselves before the almighty Lord and King. We may even think that the servant is above the master. God acts even when we…
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The Healing We All Need - Rev. David Pileggi
The Lord has torn us, but after three days he will heal us", so declare the people of Israel in the book of Hosea. This hope is a good beginning for looking at the healing ministry of Jesus and the overlapping realities of impurity, repentance, and the rewards of a persistent faith.
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Fear and Pride Come Calling (Again) - Rev. David Pileggi
Since the rebellion in the Garden, the human family has been afflicted by the sins of fear and pride. In rejecting what it means to be created in God’s image, we enter the AI age with fears of uncertainty and mortality, and along with the desire to be like gods we find ourselves on a dangerous...
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Free Refills? - Rev. David Pileggi
While the Spirit of God is given freely to all who come to faith, being regularly filled with His Spirit is another matter. Like water that always flows to the lowest place, the Holy Spirit keeps a home in those who live humbly, practice forgiveness, and strive for unity with their brothers and...
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Love and Intimacy / Then and Now - Rev. David Pileggi
The command to love God with a whole heart raises some questions: How can love be commanded? Can love be without emotion? When we understand this love as more than a theological concept, how is it expressed? Not surprisingly, in the Scriptures we find a common thread of thought and practice...
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A Table in the Wilderness - Rev. David Pileggi
The shepherd imagery of Psalm 23 is well known and loved by many. What is not so well known is that this psalm is set in the barren Judean wilderness, not on the lush, green hills usually imagined. Yet God is able to provide abundantly despite scarcity and danger. And like this psalm, Isaiah 25...
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Trust in God - Pastor Matthew Finch
We often find ourselves trusting in our own strength and zeal to live for God, only to end up unsuccessful. However, it is a trustworthy statement that when man fails, God does not. How do we become overcomers? How do we live completely sold out for Jesus? Living for God—and in some cases, dying...
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That Sense of Wonder - Rev. David Pileggi
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we also can be confused and disappointed in how God is working through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But we can learn from the questions asked by the people on the day of Pentecost: What does this mean? What should we do? And we can rediscover that...
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Come and See - Rev. David Pileggi
In some churches the second Sunday of the Easter season is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. When reading John’s account of Jesus' appearance with His disciples we see His divine mercy take concrete form. Like the disciples, we are invited to meet the Risen Jesus with all of our senses. And like…
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In The End Is The Beginning - Rev. David Pileggi
To better appreciate the unique way that Matthew tells of Jesus’ resurrection, we need to remember the themes in his narrative of Jesus’ birth – fear, _im-anu-el,_ intrigue, worship, deception and death, all of which come to prominence in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection....
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Redemption for Jerusalem - Rev. David Pileggi
After weeping over the city He loves, Jesus enters Jerusalem and cleanses the Temple. All four gospels record this event, but only Matthew recalls that the lame and blind come to Him and are healed. In highlighting God's love for the ignored and neglected, Matthew reveals the essential nature of...
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Meditations on a Bay Leaf - Rev. David Pileggi
The scriptures appointed for this week, and a close encounter with mortality prompted this sermon's reflection on death. The fear of death is the work of the devil and its denial and trivialization are symptoms of our inability to come to terms with our mortality. The pairing of Psalm 130 with…
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Bono, The Blind, and the Work of Creation - Rev. David Pileggi
The rich symbolism and connection to the Hebrew Bible in the story of Jesus' encounter with a blind man (John 9) gives us deeper insight into God's grace and our calling to be a light in the world.
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To Do God's Will - Rev. John Arnold
Jesus went where the Holy Spirit led and did the will of God - evenwhen it was difficult. But what of His disciples? Did they go out into every town and preach the Kingdom of God or did they only do so when they felt they had been specifically told to do so?
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The Keeper of Israel - Rev. John Arnold
When enemies surround, do we look at them or do we look to the one who made them?
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Tools to Overcome - Rev. Pavel Hollmann
Summery: The faithfulness and obedience of Jesus, as the second Adam, is in striking contrast to the action of the first Adam. Jesus based his life here fully on the God’s words, thus securing victory for all of us. He made us righteous but also gave us tools how to overcome temptations and carry...
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Where God Speaks - Rev. John Arnold
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God declared, "This is my beloved son." This was not the first time God declared this, He also declared it at Jesus' baptism. But even before that, Peter writes that God spoke these words through David almost a thousand years earlier in Psalm 2. Peter, who...
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You Are The Light - Rev John Arnold
God’s light shines in the darkness, opening the eyes of the blinds and releasing the prisoner. He gathers sons and daughters to Himself. But He then calls us be a light in the darkness. What a responsibility… and what a great privilege.
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The Presentation - Rev. Gerald McDermott
Many Christians traditionally celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, forty days after Christmas. In Luke’s gospel, we are told five times that Joseph and Mary acted in accordance with the law of the Lord. In an age of increasing anti-Semitism and the rush to deny the Jewishness of...
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In Lands of Deep Darkness - Rev. David Pileggi
Ancient Israel was thrown into despair and hopelessness in 722 BC when Assyria conquered much of its land in the north (Zebulun and Naphtali). Yet the prophet Isaiah could foresee a time when gloom would turn to joy because “a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and of the...
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The Lamb of God and Disordered Desires - Rev. David Pileggi
In the first chapter of John we encounter three questions: Who is Jesus? What do you want? Where are you staying? These questions are just as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago, challenging us to set our desires in order and to abide with Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the...
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Fulfilling All Righteousness | Rev. David Pileggi
Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River is commonly thought to be the same rite that is practiced by Christians today. But there are significant differences and much for Christians today to consider carefully in that account – especially John’s call to repentance, hearing the voice of God, and...
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A Journey of Revelation on an Ancient Highway |Michael N.
The Season of Epiphany or of the Revelation of the Messiah begins with the Journey of the Magi, priests of the Zoroastrian faith from the Medo-Persian empire, who set out on a journey to find the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews. In this message Michael N. takes us on a journey through...
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Paranoia Strikes Deep - Rev. David Pileggi
This line from a popular Buffalo Springfield song sums up well the life of King Herod the Great. His insecurity and fear drove him to rule with a cruel hand, killing members of his own family and slaughtering the innocents in Bethlehem. This is not just First Century history; it is also a tale of...
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Right place, right people, and a real baby - Rev. Tom Burden
In this Christmas Day message, Rev. Tom Burden, Director of CMJ Israel, talks about Luke 2:1-20 and how God reached down into the real world to live for us.
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Questions and Confusion of the Faithful - Rev. John Arnold
John the Baptist grew up hearing the promises of the Messiah foretold through the prophets. He also would have heard of his own miraculous birth—and that of Jesus. The prophecies regarding John were not all ancient, his parents knew prophecies and prophesied. John was also a prophet who bore...
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3rd Sunday in Advent - Rev. David Pileggi
The season of Advent calls us to repentance, humility, and spiritual readiness and directs us to align our lives with God’s purposes even in these times of uncertainty and conflict. Biblical hope enables us to trust and remain faithful while looking forward to the fulfilment of God’s redemptive...
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Preparing for the Unpredictable - Rev. David Pileggi
Jesus teaches us to watch and prepare for His return. Yet that teaching is relevant for more than just the Last Days. It prepares us for the unexpected and helps us remain faithful in the face of disappointment, misfortune, or disaster. And it enables us not to miss the day of God's visitation.
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How to Persevere in Good Times and Bad - Archbishop Foley Beach
Archbishop Foley Beach’s sermon “How to Persevere in Good Times and Bad” encourages believers to stay faithful and grounded in Christ no matter their circumstances. He teaches that perseverance is not based on whether life is easy or difficult, but on trusting God’s unchanging character,...
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The End is Not the End - Rev. David Pileggi
When reading prophetic passages we often overlook that they have something to teach us today. Paul, when warning the Thessalonians not to be deceived about the Lord’s coming, highlights the need to love the truth and adhere to the tradition that he handed down to the church. This will also help…
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Out of Context - Rev. David Pileggi
The first chapter of Ephesians is one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament and has inspired uncountable sermons and commentaries. But if we overlook its Jewish context, we miss the full riches of what Paul is teaching about our identity in the Messiah of Israel.
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A Tale for Our Time - Rev. David Pileggi
The parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee may not be as simple and straightforward as it appears. One Jewish theologian has suggested that Jesus set a trap for his listeners in order to expose the ever present self-righteousness and hypocrisy of the human heart. But we just don't hear how...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Sermons, lectures and teachings from Christ Church Jerusalem, founded 1849 as a center of prayer for all nations with worship reflecting the Jewish context of the gospel.
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Christ Church Jerusalem
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Christ Church Jerusalem currently has 500 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Sermons, lectures and teachings from Christ Church Jerusalem, founded 1849 as a center of prayer for all nations with worship reflecting the Jewish context of the gospel.
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Christ Church Jerusalem publishes regularly with 500 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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