You can access the weekly sermons of Pastor Jeff Ponder-Twardy on this page. You can listen to the audio or read the manuscript. For access of more inspirational messages, visit his blog.
"I was certain about pursuing a doctorate of ministry degree. That certainty transformed into and remained a certainty of what I was supposed to do, what I was to return to doing and being. For a particular reason? That's not the right question right now. All I'm certain of is that I'm where I am supposed to be, to do what I'm meant to do."
"'Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.' I once heard a preacher put it this way: 'WHEN YOU SPEAK, WE COME ALIVE INSIDE.' Peter knew there was nowhere else to go and no one else to go to. When Jesus speaks, we come alive inside. Peter then made his confession like he did in the other gospels in Caesarea Philippi, 'You are the Holy One of God (the Christ, the Son of the living God).'"
"Congregations keeping to themselves because they might come in contact with people of a different class or a different race or a different orientation will not get the attention of folks who long for the grace and mercy those congregations know about. Herod began hearing about Jesus' name because lives were being changed. It's that simple."
"Things do happen in a series of moments, in a day and can be captured for posterity in a snapshot. Quite often, those snapshots don't end up in an album or the hard drive of your phone, but, rather in our hearts and memories. It is the will and way of God to impact us in a moment with eternal ramifications."
"They believed God was real like never before, they believed they could be used greatly by the God who had come to them, and they wanted God to step into their here and now to set them free. They believed, and they didn't know how to use their new found belief. They'd come to experience the faith of the suffering woman and Jairus."
"We so often live our spiritual lives as those who search for a path of access to the God of our salvation. Such a pursuit or struggle wears us out in the long run. We then find meager contentment in believing we're saved and heaven is our home when we die. Scripture, however, conveys to us WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION."
"It's not the rattlesnakes that'll work. It’s the love of God that makes all the difference. It is the divine, unmerited favor of God in Christ Jesus that inspires belief and addresses condemnation. It is the grace of God that brings forth light to expose darkness and reveal what only the blood of Christ can cleanse."
"He was rejected by his own and died on a Roman cross surrounded by the jeers and curses of those who cheered him when he arrived days before - trust what he says. He arose from the dead, walked through locked doors, showed his friends the nail holes and told them signs and wonders will follow those who believe - trust what he says. Alleluia."
“'Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.' FISH WERE NOT ENOUGH FOR THESE MEN. They wanted something more. Simon Peter and Andrew were casting their nets in hopes of catching something when he invited them to do something else. James and John left their father and the hired men and followed Jesus. FISH WERE NOT ENOUGH FOR THEM."
"There've been those we've invited to share in such a feast. They, perhaps, didn't believe such a feast was possible or truly available to them. They didn't come, or they had other things to focus on other than an opportunity to share a place such as this with the King of glory who has inspired us to invite others in order to fill this banquet hall."
"The tenants rejected the will and their agreement with their landlord. That was true in the story. The builders reject a particular stone, as described in Psalm 118, but by the actions and will of God, that stone becomes a cornerstone. What might be rejected or cast aside, God accepts and makes amazing. THAT IS MARVELOUS."
"We pick up from where we were last Sunday. From that time on, Jesus told his disciples he had to go to Jerusalem, be arrested, suffer, die, and rise from the dead. Peter, Rock, the one disciple who confessed first faith openly that Jesus was the Son of God, was also the one who first said that none of this must ever happen. First to say he believed then first to say Jesus should never suffer in Jerusalem and die."
"Again, we know who Jesus is. We learn who Peter becomes in this story. And we learn who we are by our belief in Jesus just like Peter's belief in Jesus as the Son of God. So, who are you? When we come to understand and believe who Jesus is, we are confronted with an understanding and a belief in who we are."
"Jesus responds to her with the cultural and religious prejudicial answer of the day: "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." All that Jesus knew in the moment was that this woman, this mother, was determined to get his attention and to get him to help her daughter. She was persistent. She was insistent and didn't care what she looked like or sounded like."
This story describes the realities of life (the boat battered by waves), our beginning of faith (the disciples saw him walking on the water and were terrified), the revelation of Jesus ("Take heart, relax, it is I - it's me; don't be afraid"), the confirmation of our Lord before us (He said to Peter, "Come out."), and the struggle to believe despite the storms of life.
Jesus told the disciples, "I discerned their illness, and they were healed. You discerned their hunger. You feed them." Jesus had compassion for them at the shoreline. We never hear of the disciples having compassion for the crowd when it was evening. Regardless, they don't need to leave. THEY HAVE ALL THEY NEED RIGHT HERE.
"With the visitation of the Lord, the disciples were given/offered understanding. We have the potential to understand when we perceive our visitation, the Lord in our midst. The disciples are given understanding in the company of Jesus to the parable of the sower. This is an illustration of how WE can be given understanding."
"It’s depression and discouragement over what we haven’t seen manifested to our satisfaction that’s heavy and burdensome. The yoke and burden of doing good for the infant and the weary, for the broken and the troubled, in the name of Jesus, with the focus on the goodness of God, this yoke and burden is easy and light. Why? WE COME TO HIM FIRST."
"We share in a mission to bless in his name, to heal in his name, to bring light into darkness in his name. When we are welcomed to do so, Jesus is welcomed. In the moment, HE may look like you, HE may sound like you, HE may dress like you. You're not the one being received or welcomed. Our Lord and Savior is being welcomed, received, heard, experienced, showing signs of the coming of his kingdom into the life of the one you're loving in the moment."
"We are bound to live new lives in him and in relationship with all whom he loves. Unashamed of his name, we have a new life and new relationships in him. We can be ashamed of him at home or in the mission field. We can be fearless in saying his name and sharing the good news on the road or at home. Regardless, when his name and faith in him grows in us, EVERYTHING CHANGES."