Justin Ariel Bailey

Called Christians – Acts 11

This passage gives us one of the most beautiful portraits in Scripture of what it means to be a part of the church, the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church. We see what the church is called to be: an international movement that moves by grace…

justinbaileyAugust 7, 2016

Acts New Testament NT Narrative Sermons

The Clean and the Common – Acts 10

We naturally gravitate towards people who are like us, who eat the same food that we do, who follow similar rhythms, who share similar values. There’s something human and healthy about this. But cultural difference also has a way of separating us from others who…

justinbaileyJuly 31, 2016

Acts New Testament NT Narrative Sermons

No Other Name – Acts 4

We cannot keep silent, the apostles say. Why? Because there is something we’ve been given to do that no one else can do, and there is something we’ve been given to say that no one else can say. So, what does the church have to…

justinbaileyJuly 11, 2016

Acts Favorite Sermons New Testament NT Narrative Sermons

Spirit Poured Out – Acts 2

The gift of the Holy Spirit profoundly shapes the way we see ourselves, the way we see our church, and the way we see the story of the world. Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit on the church, evoking our wonder and empowering our witness.…

justinbaileyJune 16, 2016

1 Samuel OT Narrative Sermons

“All that is Gold does not Glitter” – 1 Samuel 16

The hope of the Church is not in our own ingenuity or power, but in the Spirit’s empowering presence. This means that God often forges diamonds from rough situations, and that those the world least expects to excel are often the ones most powerfully commissioned…

justinbaileyMay 15, 2016

1 Samuel OT Narrative Sermons

Bigger, Faster, Stronger – 1 Samuel 14

In a world obsessed with becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, could it be that God is actually looking for people who are willing to remain smaller, slower, and weaker, so that his greatness could be more clearly seen? Preached at Grace Pasadena in Pasadena, CA…

justinbaileyApril 24, 2016

Articles & Essays

The Body in Cyberspace: Lanier, Merleau-Ponty, and the Norms of Embodiment

The burden of this essay is to argue that while cyberspace technologies do open up profound new possibilities for imagining and inhabiting the world, there is a creational limitation to the human imagination: our bodies. Justin Bailey argues that personhood is always grounded in and governed by…

justinbaileyApril 15, 2016

1 Samuel OT Narrative Sermons

“The Weight of Glory” – 1 Samuel 4

New beginnings often mean facing up to some painful realities about the way that things have been. Weeds and thorns must be exposed and cleared away before new life that has been planted can begin to grow. The new and shocking thing that God promised…

justinbaileyApril 13, 2016

Book Reviews Christian Witness & Apologetics

Apologetics after Lindbeck (Book Review)

Jeremiah Gibbs begins Apologetics after Lindbeck with a trope that has become commonplace in contemporary accounts of apologetics: an apology for the discipline itself. He is primarily concerned with the challenge posed by the post-liberal program represented by George Lindbeck. Post-liberal theology, Gibbs writes, rejects…

justinbaileyMarch 15, 2016

Sermons

A Snapshot of My Sermon-Writing Process

A few people have asked about my weekly process for sermon preparation, so I thought I would share. I budget 8-10 hours during the week for prep. In the early days of preaching, it usually took twice that. On Tuesdays, I budget 3-4 hours for…

justinbaileyMarch 1, 2016

Called Christians – Acts 11

The Clean and the Common – Acts 10

No Other Name – Acts 4

Spirit Poured Out – Acts 2

“All that is Gold does not Glitter” – 1 Samuel 16

Bigger, Faster, Stronger – 1 Samuel 14

The Body in Cyberspace: Lanier, Merleau-Ponty, and the Norms of Embodiment

“The Weight of Glory” – 1 Samuel 4

Apologetics after Lindbeck (Book Review)

A Snapshot of My Sermon-Writing Process

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