Sermons

This Lent at Immanuel, we are called to “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” – a spiritual pilgrimage toward Easter, with Jesus and the people of God. Along the way, we will be drawing on a selection of the Psalms of Ascents, which were sung each year by the Hebrew pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem. This journey will teach us perseverance and maturity as we explore ancient themes of security, belonging, restoration and hope.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes makes quick work of human striving and ambition. After experiencing riches, power, and all the indulgences he could imagine, he begins his sermon by saying that it was all meaningless, a mere breath. This Epiphany we are taking the Preachers wisdom to heart and seeking to know what constitutes a well-lived life.

This Advent we will be studying the first two chapters of Matthew. In this season we remember Jesus’ coming to earth over 2,000 years ago. His obscure beginnings in a quiet middle-eastern village were quickly endangered by an oppressive king who feared unrest and the possibility of losing his grip on the region. As a result, his family fled and became refugees in Egypt. Our Lord came into the world amidst dangerous circumstances and did not live a life of safety or privilege. He instead assumed the completeness of being human, with all of its struggle and fragility, so that in his sacrifice on the cross the whole of the human condition could be healed. We remember his birth, his death, resurrection, and ascension, and we await his coming in glory.

More than Sex: Becoming Spiritual Mothers and Fathers is an invitation to joyful maturity as men and women.  This sermon series will provide a roadmap for discipleship in our genders, wisdom in our sexuality, and a Gospel vision for singleness, marriage, and the family of God.

We are currently in a series called “Jesus, Lead Us: Following the Savior to the Promised Land.” In this series, a team of guest preachers will be leading us through Jesus’ conversation with the disciplines in the Upper Room in John 14-17. In these chapters, Jesus prepares his disciples for their mission by casting a vision for their life together. No matter what we face as Jesus’ disciples, we can partake directly in God’s love and power in ways that will transform us and the world around us.

The book of 1 Peter is a letter to urban Christians who had been exiled to Roman colonies in Asia. This Eastertide we will be studying Peter’s words as he encourages the believers to hold fast to the hope that is found in the resurrected Christ.

How do we mature into the free and full human beings we were designed to be? This Immanuel Anglican Church sermon series from Matthew 3-7 seeks to answer that question by studying the biography and teachings of one of the greatest men who ever lived: Jesus Christ. Each week features a fundamental question each human being must answer as they grow into maturity.

This Advent we will be learning about Jesus’ birth as told in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke’s account of the nativity we find a well researched narrative that emphasizes that Jesus’ coming to earth is Good News! Jesus’ birth was undoubtedly overwhelming to the Hebrew nation who at the time were occupied by the Roman empire and holding on to a four-hundred year old promise that God would send a savior to liberate the people. Today, we have the hope of Jesus’ return. In our current world of political, racial, and economic divisions the promise that a merciful and just Savior will one day come to set all things aright is indeed Good News for Troubling Times.

It had been hundreds of years since the Hebrews first arrived in Egypt. After generations of flourishing, the nation of Israel quickly found themselves as slaves under the heavy hand of Pharaoh. The King of Egypt feared the great nation of Israel and that fear led to an attempted genocide through the murder of innocent babies. The Lord had promised Israel that He would make them into a great nation, but now set in the most trying circumstances they were left to cry out to God and hold fervently to the last strand of faith they had left. Their prayers were answered. God proved himself to the Hebrews and the rest of the world through the unimaginable redemption of His people from the Egyptians. In our own time we face fear, racism, rumors of war, and ideologies that set themselves against the truths found in the Bible. With the oppression of our heavily mediated society, it is not difficult to feel disconnected from the God we read about in Exodus. We invite you to join us in this series as we look at the incredible power shown to Israel and seek to encounter the living God in our own disenchanted age.

Over the course of Jesus’ ministry here on earth he offered many metaphors, ‘I Am’ statements, that helped his disciples begin to understand their teacher and what he would accomplish on the earth through his death on the cross. In this series we will look closely at these ‘I Am’ statements that Jesus gave and, like the disciples, seek a greater understanding of who Jesus is and how we can become more like him.

In Chicago As It Is In Heaven will be focusing on the reality of God’s kingdom reigning and expanding in the city of Chicago. Drawing from  Old and New Testament prophecies about the heavenly city to come we will seek to understand more fully God’s purpose and ultimate plan for every city on earth.

“Life After Death: Seven Conversations with Jesus” looks at seven different conversations Jesus has with his followers after his resurrection.  These gentle but powerful encounters leave his disciples forever changed.