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Wade Berry: Questioning the Identity of Jesus (Luke 8:22-25)
Wade Berry, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Ranger, preached in challenging circumstances. Two days earlier, the church’s building was destroyed by fire. The church met outside and across the street, with a stiff breeze blowing and the burned-out building in the background. Just two minutes into the sermon, Berry was interrupted by a long freight train—almost five minutes long.
Berry’s planned sermon was on Jesus calming the storm.
When the disciples expressed their fear to Jesus, he didn’t question the danger, their perception of it or their skill in the situation; he questioned the substance of their faith.
During uncertain times, such as when the disciples were in a big boat on a big lake being pounded by an even bigger storm, Jesus’ identity and mission—his power and love—became evident to his disciples. What’s more, it became evident in a way everyone there could see and experience.
“Those of us who follow Jesus will face storms … and there’s no sense in denying the peril and the trauma that come with them … but those storms are an opportunity for us to consider what it is that we really believe about Jesus,” Berry contended.
“Do we worship a Jesus who only matters when times are good, or do we worship a Jesus who is always King of kings and Lord of lords? Do we only trust Jesus when he gives us what we want, or do we trust Jesus when everything around us is falling apart?”
This sermon was delivered March 20, 2022, for the morning worship service of Second Baptist Church in Ranger. It is part of a Lenten series through the Gospel of Luke titled “Walking with the Disciples to Easter.”
Sermon notes are available here.
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