Langdon Palmer

The Song of Songs has some awfully sensual langauge in it. Spicy Language. In fact spices are mentioned over 40 times across 16 books of the Old and New Testament. Jesus himself enjoys giving sensual experiences to people. What is going on here? Is there a whole side of the bible we have been missing? What about the Cross? It turns out that after the Cross, one of the primary images of the scriptures is the Table. Come join us as we learn how to live in the space between the Cross and the Table - as people able to delight in physical senses because we first delight in the giver of all good gifts!

What does Jesus mean when he says "He who has ears - let him hear?" Why does the bible talk so much about listening for God? It was God's idea to give us the gift of physical hearing in this physical world. It turns out that the kind of sonic environment God designed and intended for our emotional and spiritual well-being included a lot more silence than most of us are experiencing today. In this interesting study we explore the famous parable of the sower, the soil and the seeds and think about what it means to listen to God, listen to other people and how to tell others about Jesus in a way they can hear it.

How is it that something can be right in front of our face and we don't even see it? If I had been there to see Jesus when he was walking the earth - would I have noticed, or totally missed it? I don't want to miss what God is doing in the world all around me here and now. It turns out that God has given us two books - the book of Scripture and the book of Nature - to help us pay attention to what is really important. This world is full of sign posts and wonders - if we only have eyes to see... The video referenced in this sermon is http://vimeo.com/32071937. For more information on this series see http://www.southridgeworship.com/nudge.htm

No matter how hard we try to avoid it, we are going to wait. The question is not whether we are going to wait but how we are going to wait. Mary teaches a way to wait that redeems the time and frames our life and our waiting in the big story of the redemption of the universe!

Recent neuroscience research indicates there is far more going on inside us then we realize. This is why it is so hard to change our selves - we don't even have access to some of the things that are broken in us - but God does. John the Baptist shows a way to live that opens us up to God's work deep beneath the surface of our lives. It is also a way to prepare for Christmas, it is the way of life that Advent is all about - Preparing and Turning to God. See http://www.southridgeworship.com/examen.htm for the spiritual discipline discussed in the Podcast as the perfect way to prepare for Christmas.

LYRICS Why do we tear down everything we cant explain? Break it all to pieces till it all looks the same We reduce mighty men, honest men of great deeds To a pocket full of unmet needs. CHORUS: Somebody tell me why we turn Mountains into Molehills we turn Mountains into Molehills we turn Mountains into Molehills Better change them before they change you Why do we tear down everything we cant explain ? Does it cause us that much pain? Who stole our wonder for this wild world - who stole our eyes? There's bigger things here than you and me - I 'll take scary reality over comfy little lies CHORUS We've close all the windows that face towards heaven Locked all the doors against unexpected answers But lately I've been thinking about the things we tossed in the name of reason - you can't last long in a sealed room Oh God, Somebody, -get me out of this tomb Take me to the mountains Take me to the mountains Take me too

How do we read the book of our own lives? How do we read the book of Revelation? It turns out there are three questions and how we answer them will impact the course of our lives - who and where we will be five years from now. And those three questions are the very ones that the book of Revelation is trying to get us to think about.

Does life ever seem meaningless to you? Or, have you made some bad decisions, or are you facing some hard choices? In each of these cases what we need is wisdom - godly wisdom... and it can be found the section of the bible known as the books of wisdom. Job,Proverbs,Ecclesiastes are known as the books of wisdom and together with Psalms and The Song of Solomon are also known as the books of Poetry. Each of these five books gives a different type of wisdom that we desperately need to hear. Today we look first at a guiding principles for understanding each of these books, then apply this approach to the first two chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes. It turns out that in the very place that seems so hopeless - a man crying out "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless" - true hope can be found! A worksheet for this sermon can be found at http://www.southridgeworship.com/how_to_read_the_bible_for_yourself1.htm

Can you really be content in all circumstances? Why does Paul say things that seem harsh ? Have you ever been inspired to read a book of the bible based on a great quote you saw, only to find there was a lot of other stuff in the book that seemed not so great? Was Paul grumpy in some of his comments to the Philippians? All of these questions turn around how we interpret the Epistles - the letters of Paul. Reading the Epistles is like reading someone else's mail and so we really need to understand the context if we are going to get what the author is trying to say. Today we look at Paul's famous verses about being content in all circumstances. We start by realizing that this was a letter written on a specific occasion - Paul is writing a thank you note to good friends for a gift they gave him. We end by looking at the secret of Paul's contentment. This recording starts several minutes into the sermon.

If Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God, then the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are a crucial and logical starting point for our first readings in the bible. The gospels contain both the story of Jesus' life and his teachings. It turns out the Jesus of the gospels is much more startling than the Jesus of American imagination. We illustrate two practical tools for reading the gospels and then apply them to the section of Luke's gospel that gives us both an example of narrative (Jesus exeperience with Zaccheus) and example of Jesus' teaching (The parable of the Minas).

Like reading a book with a pair of glasses, we all read the bible through our presuppositions, through the conclusions we have before we even start to read it. Some glasses distort what we read while others correct a defect in us so we can actually see what is there. It turns out that when we realize that God's primary characteristic is generosity we begin to see both the bible and our selves in focus.

If God sent you a prophet - would you actually listen? What if he was gruff, loud, and self-confident? How can you tell a true prophet from a false one? Why do the old testament prophets have so much doom and gloom? What guidelines can help me to read the old testament prophets for myself ? Join us to find out!

Why are there so many strange laws in the Old Testament? Do the laws of the Old Testament still apply today? We look at the TV Series LOST, and white water rafting to discover a set of basic principles that will allow you to read the Old Testament Law in a way that makes sense for today.

In part 2 of "How to read the Bible for yourself" we realize that if you really want to know what the bible says you need to recognize that it includes many different genres - proverbs, songs, laws, history, letters - and that do justice to each we must read each according to it's particular genre. This week we look particularly at how to read Old Testament narratives as they were intended. Is so doing, we discover an amazing insight into how to think about our own family history and how to live within it

We dont like people invading our personal space, but the whole point of the gospel is that Jesus came to invade our lives... and save them. We look at this beloved psalm including the part no one wants to talk about. Join us as we look towards the one who knows us better than we know ourselves

Do you sometimes think 'If only I was more organized, and my house was more organized, and my schedule was more organized, then I could have some real peace and satisfaction? Maybe what is more important than being organized is what your life is organized around. With our busy schedules and hectic lives, is it possible to be both active and still and centered on God? Yes. We contrast the deep peace of the Psalmist in Psalm 131 with what organizes the grumbling woman and the artist described by C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce. We discover three basic clues in Psalm 131 on how to live with our heart and soul located in the very presence of God, regardless of how crazy our lives are!

Why are there such awful things in the bible? Today we look at one of the most difficult passages in all of scripture: "Blessed is he who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!" How can the bible be the word of God if it contains a verse like this? It turns out this verse is crucial for helping us understand our sense of rage and indignation at the unfairness of the world. We look at the history of ancient Israel and discover the true story behind this verse.

What if there was a book only 22 sentences long that covered the following topics: The nature of God, the nature of human beings, what actually happened on the cross, the role of social justice in the Christian life, the role of personal morality in the Christian life, and how to live a life full of meaning! Psalm 103 contains 22 windows that not only allow us to look out and get our bearings but also allow the light of God's self-revelation to break in and illuminate our world. Join us as we work through Psalm 103 and along the way learn from C.S. Lewis a helpful way for Christians to read and understand the entire Old Testament !

Ever have a day where nothing is going your way and then you see someone who seems to have it easy even though they are a jerk? If God is real, why isn't life fair? Why is there no justice? I think one of the reasons the Harry Potter series is so successful is that JK Rowling gets what it is like to live in an unfair world. It turns out that Psalm 73 shows us the way to live in a world where the wicked prosper.

Ever feel like you are in a wrestling match with yourself - where part of you is trying to hold on to your faith and the other part of you is questioning the whole Christian thing? Do you know someone who has walked away from the faith? This morning we find in this ancient psalm a brutally honest examination of how doubt works and we find a clue to the way out in a really surprising place!