Canceling the Gospel of Grace

"Canceling the Gospel of Grace" - a sermon by Dr. J. R. Norwood

Today, so called "cancel culture" has run amuck!  Anyone goes against popular opinion or fads is quickly shut down... they get "cancelled" by the public.  Any who challenge the momentary fashionable "group think" becomes ostracized and outcast. 

As Jesus proclaimed the truth of salvation... the very people who should have been happy to hear it were instead offended by it... instead of embracing it, they walked away from it... instead of rejoicing over it, they attempted to cancel it.... they shut their ears and turned their backs and left. Unbelievers turned away from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ then and they still do today... they still try to cancel the true Gospel of Grace.

John 6:66-69 (ESV); 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Your Primary Identity

"Your Primary Identity" - a sermon by Dr. J. R. Norwood

This sermon is based on Jude 1:1-2 (ESV); 1  Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2  May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

A person's immediate, gut level response to the question of “who you are” is their primary identity. It is the foundation upon which other aspects of a person's life are based. It is the underlying chief value that orders decisions and behavior. A person's primary identity guides the way they live, the way they think, the way they view the world, the way they interact with others. 

Because your primary identity is the way you view yourself, first and foremost above all other things, then - for a disciples of Jesus Christ - being a servant of Jesus Christ, a follower of Jesus Christ, a worshiper of Jesus Christ, one who has been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ… must be, in an ever-increasing way, your primary identity.

Re-Thinking the Meaning of Christopher Columbus

 This audio recording* is from the American Myths Symposium held at the Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, PA on October 7, 2015. The moderator and second speaker is Dr. David M. Krueger who invited Dr. John Norwood to also speak at the event.  Why are so many in the U.S. preoccupied with the notion that America was discovered? Columbus’s exploration of the Caribbean is often understand as discovering a “New World.”

What God Requires - Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, Walking Humbly with God

What God Requires - Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, Walking Humbly with God

Dr. J.R. Norwood 

Preached on June 7, 2020 - Ujima Village Christian Church

12th Online Sermon during Coronavirus Pandemic Lock-down

The Prophet Micah lays out a charge against the sinful hearts and actions of his people…  He tells them that God himself has indicted them… Micah 6:2 (ESV); “2  Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.”

 

Micah not only lists the charges against his people, but also proclaims the will of the Lord.  He not only condemns their sin, but also summons them to faithfulness… In the dog-eat-dog days of the privileged elite ignoring the plight of the oppressed downtrodden… when people of every station point out the faults of others but justify their own fault… when we shout about the sins of others but don’t repent of our own sin, the words of our text ring out… Micah 6:8 (ESV); “8  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Get Right With God

A sermon by Dr. J.R. Norwood delivered at the 2019 Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Pow-Wow Sunday Morning Worship Service held on June 9, 2019…

Grace Makes the Difference

A sermon by Dr. J.R. Norwood delivered at the 2018 Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Pow-Wow Sunday Morning Worship Service held on June 10, 2018…

Nothing Can Compare

A Sermon by Dr. J.R. Norwood delivered at the Harmony United Methodist Church of Millsboro, DE on May 6, 2018…

Deep Clean

 Deep Clean - Jeremiah 2:22

by, Dr. J.R. Norwood
June 11, 2017

In this sermon, preached at the 2017 Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribal powwow worship, Dr. Norwood explains that there is a depth of dirt, an insidious stain left by sin that leaves each and every one of us staying by sin. We need deep cleaning! We need a cleansing that goes beyond our own capability! We need to be washed not only outwardly but inwardly.  Click the red title above for the audio.

A Talk by the Water

The Clearly Quaker Podcast recorded an informal "Talk by the Water" presentation by Dr. JR Norwood on October 1st, 2016 at the Tri-Quarter Meeting of Friends held by the lakeside at Camp Ockanickon in Medford, New Jersey. 

"The Unknown Jesus" Preached at the 2016 Pow Wow

A sermon by Rev. J R Norwood, PhD

Delivered outdoors at the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Powwow on June 12, 2016

"Not Good Enough" - Preached at the 2016 Spring Gathering

A sermon by Rev. J R Norwood, PhD

Delivered at the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Spring Tribal Gathering Worship on May 22, 2016

We Have Come this Far by Grace

by Rev JR Norwood, PhD

For many people, the presence of tribulation means the absence of God's grace.  But, this could not be farther from the truth.  In this sermon from April 27, 2014, Pastor Norwood is preaching at the Harmony United Methodist Church of Millsboro, Delaware, on the occasion of their Native American Sunday observance.  He speaks about the fact that the presence of difficulty does not necessarily mean the absence of grace.

We Have Come This Far By Grace - 2 Corinthians 4:5-10 

Prayer that Avails Much

By Rev JR Norwood, PhD

It would be hard to find a believer who would disagree that prayer is an important part of our walk of discipleship.  In this sermon, preached on April 19, 2015 at the historic Indian Mission Church of Millsboro, Delaware, Pastor Norwood examines what effective and fervent prayer is all about.

Prayer that Avails Much - James 5:16

How Can You Be Christian?

Many times people will ask American Indians who are followers of Jesus how it is that they could accept Christianity, given all the suffering it has caused tribal people.