November 11, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." This week we look at three parables of Jesus which help us understand God's passion for the lost. The words linking these three parables are; "lost," "found," and "rejoice." Unlike the grumbling of the Pharisees, we ought to celebrate with God when those who are far from God draw near to him.
Passage: Luke 15:1-32
November 4, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." This week we look at three parables of Jesus which give insight into the nature of his kingdom. Christ's kingdom is tangibly here in our world, but it is not yet here in its fullness. Instead of a kingdom that comes suddenly, with great power, Jesus teaches that it starts off small, even invisible. But it will grow, by the power of God into the inevitable conclusion that God desires.
Passage: Luke 13:18-30
October 28, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this installment Jesus gives his most famous parable, the Good Samaritan. In response to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus turns their cultural understanding of neighborly love on its head. He encourages the Hebrew people to stop trying to determine who is my neighbor, and to start being a neighbor. There is much for us to glean from this text today as well.
Passage: Luke 10:25-37
October 21, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this installment, Jesus expresses the cost of being his disciple. Will we choose to follow the path of the world, or the path of Jesus?
Passage: Luke 9:23-27
October 14, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this installment, Jesus performs two healings. Two individuals in the community are desperate for his help. Jairus, an official in the synagogue has a twelve year old daughter who is dying, and an unnamed woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. See how Jesus lovingly responds to both.
Passage: Luke 8:40-56
October 7, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this installment, we see the pinnacle of Jesus' ethical teaching in the gospel of Luke. Jesus' teachings are instructional to us, and provides examples of what it looks like to love our neighbor. This is hard teaching, but Jesus promises provision to those who would take up his charge.
Passage: Luke 6:20-49
September 30, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this installment, we see one of the early healings of Jesus. What is noteworthy in this encounter, is not the healing itself, but the events surrounding the healing. Pastor Chris helps us see our need for friends who can support us when we struggle, the facades that we put up veiling our sin, and the need to move towards Jesus in faith.
Passage: Luke 5:17-26
September 23, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this episode we see Jesus kicking off his ministry by teaching in the synagogue. The Scripture that was chosen for him to read that morning came from Isaiah 61:1-2, and it contained many promises of God which points to the kingdom he is bringing here on earth. Jesus claimed the authority to bring this kingdom and the crowds were incredulous.
Passage: Luke 4:14-30
September 16, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale continues our sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this episode, we look at the baby Jesus being presented at the temple. In that setting, there is a particular exchange with Simeon, an older man who God made a promise to. As Simeon finally saw the fulfillment of the promise in Jesus, we also are encouraged to have hope that God will follow through on his promises.
Passage: Luke 2:22-38
September 9, 2020
Pastor Chris Ansell of CityReach Church Swissvale begins our new sermon series, "The Way of Jesus: Lessons from the Teacher." In this series we will look at how Jesus encouraged us to live our lives. In an age of secularism, we need people who are rooted in the things of God and not tossed to and fro by the tides of culture.
Passage: Luke 1:1-4
