Confrontation - September 6, 2020

Jesus specifically tells his disciples that if someone in the church has sinned against another, that they should take it directly to that person in private. Sounds so simple, so why is it so hard to do? And why did Jesus have to have us start that way, instead of just going straight to the board? And what are the consequences of short-cutting his process?

Matthew 18:15-20

 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 15“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

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Stepping Out - Sermon August 9, 2020

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In the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water it’s easy to get hung up on the miraculous part of the story to the detriment of what it says it about faith and our relationship with Jesus. Jesus is telling Peter to have faith in his promises, that Jesus can pull him through. It’s not a question of belief, Peter knew Jesus existed and was the messiah, but of faith - of trusting in Jesus’ promises to hold his hand as he stepped out into a risky venture with him.

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Matthew 14:22-33

22[Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowds.23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
  28Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Generosity Brings Growth in the Kingdom - Aug 2

The Feeding of the 5000 is more than a miracle story, it's a story of how Jesus gives all the food he has for a crowd that is hungry and sick, without a plan for himself, other than faith in God.

Matthew 14:19-21

19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

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When There's Nothing Left to Say

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When we face exhaustion and tragedy we hit the end out our ability to know what to do or pray for. In those moments when all you can do is sigh, the Spirit steps in for us.

Romans 8:26-27

26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Hope - July 19, 2020

Our faith is not built on wishful thinking, but on the promise of God to redeem us and the world. That's why we hope.

Romans 8:12-25

12So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

  18I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

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The Sower - July 12, 2020

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Sharing the Gospel and developing faith is not a straightforward, mechanical process, where we control things until we can reliably produce results. We’re working with people and spiritual matters, and the better analogy is that of an ancient sower who casts the seeds out into the field not knowing where they will go.

Matthew 13:1-9

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!”

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Jesus' Easy Burden - July 5, 2020

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In the midst of all the stress caused by the isolation and disruption of the coronavirus, our hardest struggle if often having to go it alone, or struggle with it by ourselves. Jesus tells us to give up the burdens of the world and find freedom in taking up his yoke - to find freedom in his teachings, spirit, and way of life.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Passions - June 28, 2020

Social media and TV have lately been filled with people indignant and raging into the screen. Different than an anger at injustice, this kind of public outrage and venting expresses deeper emotions - hurt and powerlessness. St. Paul tells us to not let our minds be ruled by the “passions” - the visceral emotions that cause us to act in hurtful ways to protect our pride and honor from feelings of hurt and powerlessness. Instead, he says, turn to the Spirit and obedience to Christ, to not be ruled by these passions.

 

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Godly Harmony - Trinity Sunday - June 7, 2020

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The Trinity is a hard thing to understand, three persons but one God? Not three gods? Not one God who takes three forms? How does it work? One helpful way to understand it is to think of it as harmony, as music, where three different sounds combine to make one that is greater than just three separate voices. A helpful phrase is, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. So 1+1+1 > 3. Or, with God, 1+1+1 = infinity. And it’s more than just the nature of God, it’s how we live. A Godly life is a harmony of people where all voices are heard, and have a place in the song.

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The New Normal - Pentecost - May 31, 2020

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When Jesus returns to The Father, he tells the disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit, but he gives them no timeline. They simply have to wait, in fellowship, and pray. In the midst of these shutdowns and isolation from coronavirus, we have to accept a lot of waiting for something to happen, at some time, we don’t know when, but we know that it will not be a return to business as usual, but a new normal brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:1-9

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.


Old Testament Marriage - Faithful Together Series - May 24, 2020

We often turn to the Bible for guidance on important matters to us like marriage and family. But to turn to the Old Testament one has to understand the radically different culture it was written in. With very little in common with the practices and expectations of modern marriage and family life, the Old Testament focuses on maintaining extended family alliances, arrangements, property rights - all things alien to the modern Western individual.

Deuteronomy 25:5-10

5 When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband's brother to her, 6 and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man has no desire to marry his brother's widow, then his brother's widow shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me." 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him. 9 then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and declare, "This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house." 10 Throughout Israel his family shall be known as "the house of him whose sandal was pulled off."

Household Codes - Faithful Together Series - May 17, 2020

In the Gospels we see Jesus preaching that we are all brothers and sisters who follow God. In Paul we are told that we are "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free". Yet, by the end of the Bible we are told that women must obey husbands, slaves must not rebel, widows must register and on and on. The third installment of the Faithful Together sermon series, today we explore the change from a very egalitarian vision of community to reverting to gender roles, authority, and laws regulating family and personal life - what we call the "household codes".

Galatians 3:21-29

21 Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. 22 But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Colossians 3:18-22

18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

Who Is My Brother or Sister? - Faithful Together Series - May 10, 2020

The first in the series on family and marriage, called “Faithful Together”, here we explore the double-edged sword that is having a large, tight-knit, extended family that can be both a big support and a source of control. When Jesus says that whoever does the will of God is his brother or sister or mother, he’s saying that he’s forming a new community based on faithfulness to God, which is an act of grace for those who do not have family support.

Matthew 12:46-50

46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Stepping Back and Starting Over – Podcast 4 – May 5, 2020

The fourth of my weekly reflections I did after we had to shut down services because of coronavirus. Here I discuss a little about the history of mission work, how the initial missionary would often spend a long time planting seeds of the faith, only to have to step back at some point and leave the indigenous people to take over.