Langdon Palmer

I cannot think of a conclusion that would change the direction of a persons life more, a conviction that would change their outlook on everything more than the five simple words - The Lord is my Shepherd. In this first part of our series we look at how radical it is that the number one description of God in the Old Testament is as the Shepherd

The evil witch controls Narnia, but "Aslan is on the move." Do you ever feel hopeless? What if God were on the move in your life ?

If Jesus paid for the price of our sins on the cross, why did he need to rise from the dead ? Does your Christianity need a Easter morning? We look at an amazing true story of a world war 1 hero and then the role of a lead climber in rock climbing only to discover that Easter is even better news than we thought!

Would an all loving, forgiving, merciful God really send people to Hell? What is God really like? Get ready to be offended. In our concluding sermon on the Great Divorce we look at the great questions and we discover that our ability to see and enter the gate to the freedom, forgiveness, and joy of eternal life turns upon how we answer the question no one wants to ponder – Do I deserve to go to hell?

Do you make choices or do your choices make you or does God make both? If God is in complete control of how things turn out - how can my choices be real? We look at proton rain, sunlight on a stone, and stupid human tricks searching for answers and find in Philippians 2:12-13 a tiny verse that holds human free will, God's soverignty, and the mystery of human existence together !

A life of manipulation leads to a legacy of ashes. A life centered on God leads to a legacy of love that never ends. Have you ever felt manipulated by someone? Worse yet, have you ever caught a glimpse of your own manipulative ways? C.S. Lewis shows us the strangest ghost yet - a dwarf chained to a mannequin - to show us the truth about ourselves. We turn to Colossians 1:3-14 to find out how to leave a legacy that matters.

Why do smart people do stupid things? Why are bad habits so hard to break? Who are you when no one is looking? How are we to break the cycle of bad habits of thought or deed? In particular how are we to handle pornography and sexual addictions ? How do you kill a red lizard? The answer is found in Colossians 3:1-7. For more resources for this sermon, search for Red Lizard at www.SouthRidgeWorship.com

What do you do when shame or guilt has such power over you that you would choose a life of hell rather than be exposed to your shame. It turns out that guilt and shame are not the same thing, and real freedom can found in the strangest place - a scripture about the dangers or pride.

Why is it that romantic relationships that can provide the greatest joy in life can also produce the greatest misery? We explore 10 key principles that can help us to build relationships that age well. Check the SouthRidge website for a video and PDF of the worksheet.

Do I lean towards Optimisim, Do I lean towards Pessimism, Or do I lean on Jesus? Today we discover that two very common sense approaches to life actually keep us from seeing the Kingdom of God. We take a look at two characters in the Great Divorce, Ikey the Business Man and the Hard-bitten man in order to avoid two dead-end streets. We end with the incredibles words of Isaiah 61:10 which show us the way to live which is life indeed!

What if there was a wall in your mind that was keeping you from crossing over into the wide open spaces of an intimate relationship with God ? It turns out that the idea that we have any rights before God is a wall that shuts us out from the very thing we want. We look at the story of THE BIG MAN in The Great Divorce and discover how to be out of excuses and into grace.

Ever been haunted by a train of thoughts you knew were no good for you ? Ever want to meet C.S. Lewis? We do both as we hear Lewis read from the Preface of the Great Divorce about how the choices we make shape who we become. We look at Proverbs 16 and Romans 13:12-14 and how both they and Lewis call us to go against the flow of our own thoughts when they would pull us away from the good of God. To see the images referenced during the course of this sermon, go to http://www.southridgeworship.com/the_great_divorce_01_the_preface.htm

In a world of winners and losers, of superstars, people who are one in a million like the atheletes we watch on TV, where is your place in this world? It turns out that Jesus has handed you a check for two million dollars to use for good in this world - you just dont know it yet.

Behind all our striving and fantasies, what most of us want is deep peace and deep purpose. We look at the famous scripture where Jesus says I am the vine and you are the branches to discover where deep peace and deep purpose can be found and the Trellis God provides us to stretch and train us so that we can produce the harvest he wants in our lives.

Do I really need to go to church to be a Christian? Churches are so messed up, why should I bother? What is this thing called the Church of Jesus Christ, and how could you tell a good church from a bad church ? It turns out that lying in 4 short verses in Hebrews 10 is a revelation of four signs of a healthy church. Get stoked - the church of Jesus Christ is the Hope of the world!

Does God call us to a specific job or task? How do we figure out what career is best for us? What do you do when you feel stuck in your job or in your life? We turn to Ephesians 4 and discover there that God as 4 callings for us: To work, to walk, to grow, and to build. This is real hope for real lives!

How is your 9 - 5 life going? We look at the most common frustrations in the workplace and most common tensions between mangers and workers, and find there actually is a really good reason to heed the call - Whatever you hand finds to do - do it with all your heart.

What do you do when the dark days come? Why does God allow good things to be taken away from our lives? We turn to the song Blessed Be Thy Name, the scriptures that form its foundation including Job 1:18-22. and ancient painting entitled Hopeless Dawn to discover the way of hope in tough times

The worship song Beautiful One seems so simple and yet carries within it profound revelation of what we mean by Father, Son, and Holy Spirt. We look at a wonderful collection of scriptures this song is based on and discover that Beautiful One is a refrain that proceeds from the foundations of the world !