Palm Sunday is a day filled with tension. We rejoice that Jesus our King enters Jerusalem triumphantly, yet he is only days from being sentenced to death. Why would God allow worship to coexist with suffering, and how can we reconcile the two?
Browsing for the Kingdom
Jesus teaches us to spurn anxiety about our physical needs, but in the middle of a virus outbreak, that seems difficult. How do we avoid anxiety?
Jesus tells us to shift our focus. “Do not seek after those things, but seek God’s kingdom.”
What does it look like to seek his kingdom? Does that mean we shouldn’t think about the virus at all?
Suffering and Hope
The COVID-19 virus has emerged as a sudden and unavoidable part of life, and many of our life rhythms have been thrown into chaos. Although we are only at the very outset of this outbreak and do not know how severe it will be, many of us feel anxious about both the present and the future. How ought we to think about anxiety? This morning we look to the example of Job, who found a way, in profound suffering, to insist, “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
How Will This Make Me Look?
St. Augustine noted that pride is the root from which all other sins grow. As we think about the seven deadly sins this Lent season, we ask, “How can we ‘achieve’ humility?”
This morning we look to the story of Saul, the first king of Israel, whose downward spiral forces us to confront the possibility that our hearts might also be deceived. And we ask, “If something like this can happen to Saul, where do we find hope?”
Shifting Sand
Most everybody understands the importance of having a firm foundation under their house. And most would agree that we should build our lives on a firm foundation. But what is that foundation?
This morning we think about what it means to build our lives on a solid foundation—a foundation of stone, and not of sand, in Jesus’ words. Jesus says the firm foundation is not moralism or behaviorism, but knowing him. Which begs the question, how do we know Jesus?
The Straight and Narrow
Have you ever heard someone talk about trying to stay on the “straight and narrow?” The Cambridge Dictionary illustrates the phrase in this way: “The threat of a good beating should keep him on the straight and narrow.”
Often we think about staying on the “straight and narrow” as a way to avoid punishment. But Jesus presents the “straight and narrow” as a path to a rich, joyful life. How do we know if we’re on the straight and narrow, and if we’re not, how do we get on it?
Civic Life and the Church: An irreconcilable difference?
It has been said that you should never discuss religion or politics in polite company. This morning we wade into both streams. During an election season, how does our faith affect our politics? How should we think about voting, and about civic life as Christians and as political citizens?
Jewels and Judgment
None of us wants to feel judged, but how often do we sense a critical spirit in ourselves? How often do we judge others?
Most of us would probably say we want to be less judgmental. But how is that possible, when the natural tendency of our lives is to jump to judgment instead of inclining to understanding?
Jesus teaches us three questions we can ask to diagnose our hearts, and it leads us to one central truth: God, the great judge of the universe, judged his own son so that we might be free from judgment.
Life in the Sty
Both Christians and non-Christians love to quote Jesus’ words from Matthew 7, “Judge not.” Nobody wants to be (or feel) judged. But as Jesus points out, we ourselves are quick to judge.
Jesus is not teaching only about an action, but about a heart-level attitude. And he cautions us against applying a higher standard to others than to ourselves. Are there situations in which judgment might be appropriate? And if so, by what standard do we judge ourselves?
Security and Significance
As Jesus finishes his teaching about money and possessions he encourages us, “Do not worry.” To which many of us respond, “Yeah, right.”
Worry figures prominently in many of our lives. We can’t imagine a life without worry, and if we could, we wouldn’t know where to start.
What is worry, where are our worries rooted, and how can we overcome worry? Listen as Jesus teaches us how to find true security and significance.
The Heart and the Credit Card
It’s been said that any pastor who preaches as much about money as Jesus talked about money will be run out of the pulpit.
Jesus had plenty to say about how we earn, spend, save, and give our money. Why does he talk about money so much?
We get a hint in his famous saying, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
God doesn’t need your money; he wants your heart. And your heart and your checkbook (or credit card) are closely intertwined. What does it look like to truly treasure God?
Time Is On My Side?
In the new year we often evaluate the previous year and make plans (resolutions) for the coming year, so that our lives can more closely match our priorities.
In Matthew 6 Jesus gets to the heart of our priorities, forcing each of us to ask ourselves, “What do I truly treasure in life?”
How we spend our time reveals our priorities. How can we spend our time in a way that treasures Christ?
Grace and Hypocrisy
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—unexpected, and in at least two cases, scandalous.
This morning we conclude by reading about David and “the wife of Uriah” (we know her as Bathsheba). In the face of patent adultery and Nathan’s clever conviction, David responds contritely, repents, and God “takes away his sin.”
Could the same be true of us? Can God take away our sin and our shame simply through confession and turning from sin?
Grace and Vulnerability
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—unexpected, and in at least two cases, scandalous.
This morning we dig into the story of Ruth, a woman who showed extraordinary trust despite dire events in her life. What does the story of Ruth reveal about her God? And could our hope possibly be even greater than hers?
Grace and Deceit
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—scandalous not only for their inclusion, but for the stories they represent.
This morning we look at Tamar and Judah. Why are they celebrated among Jesus’ ancestors, given their extraordinary deceit?
Grace and Indecency
Matthew begins his gospel with a long list of names. Hidden in plain sight among that list are the names of four women—scandalous not only for their inclusion, but for the stories they represent.
This morning we look at Rahab. Why is she celebrated among Jesus’ ancestors? What is so remarkable about her inclusion in this list? And how does she offer hope to the rest of us?
A Spirit-Filled Church
The early church grew at a rapid pace. In Acts 2 Peter preaches a sermon that grows the church by 3,000 new people!
What happened in that early church to cause such rapid growth? How was the Spirit at work, and is he still at work in the church today?
Thermometers or Thermostats?
In John 17 Jesus prays for his church—both his followers at the time and us. The prayer crescendos on a note of unity. “May they be one,” Jesus implores God.
This morning we think more deeply about Christlike unity. What does true unity look like (without being uniform)? Where does it come from? What is its goal? And is it possible to even approach this kind of unity?
Who Is The Church?
If the Church belongs to Jesus, then Jesus gets to set the game plan. His plan is to make every Christian into a player, not a spectator.
What playing field has God called you to? How can you play most effectively on his behalf?
Whose Church Is It?
The essential mission of the church is twofold: Worship and Witness. This week we begin to examine these themes by asking, “Whose church is it?” If the church belongs to us, then we will operate one way. If it belongs to Christ, as he says, we will begin to look very different…