Sermons from 2019 (Page 2)

Sermons from 2019 (Page 2)

We Resist Greed

What Disciples Do:  We Resist Greed Luke 16: 1-13 Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts I DO understand.”  In this passage Jesus continues to respond to the Pharisees who have criticized him for eating and drinking with “sinners.”  He tells a parable that seems pretty confusing, but then he concludes with words that are clear and specific:  No slave can serve two masters…You cannot…

Search for the Outcasts

In Luke 15: 1-10, Jesus has thrown the religious leaders into a panic. They cannot believe the people who Jesus is hanging out with: the tax collectors and the “sinners.” These are the folks of ill-repute, ones who don’t really belong anywhere, and who live life on the fringes. They are the ones that respectable citizens would most likely avoid. Time and again, we see Jesus in the scriptures loving people across social, religious, and ethnic boundaries of the day. In his…

Take Faith Seriously

“Follow Me…”  Jesus says this when he calls the ordinary and unexpected to be his disciples. In what ways are we following Jesus?  Although many Christian circles are very focused on what one particularly believes, Jesus seems to care more about what his followers did. Belief and practice go together. This Sunday we begin the sermon series, What Disciples Do.  Each week we will look at Jesus in Luke’s Gospel and see what he is doing and what he expects us to do.   This…

Have Faith: When Waiting Is Hard

We finish our 3-part series “Have Faith,” with the sermon “When Waiting is Hard” from Luke 14: 1, 7-14. Jesus has been invited to a dinner party by a “higher up” religious leader.  When many of the guests raced to grab the best seats at the table, Jesus calls them out.  Those “higher ups” were acting selfish and greedy, believing themselves to be of utmost importance. ……..

Have Faith: Believing Is Seeing

This Sunday begins a 3-week series entitled “Have Faith.”  In times of distress or sorrow, people will often tell us to just “Have Faith.” We’ll begin to explore what this means in Believing Is Seeing from Luke 12:49-56 .

Call Us Mara

25I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 33I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace……  John 14:25 , John 16:33 

Bigger Makes Better?

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”……  Luke 12: 13-21 

learning to pray

Who taught you to pray? What happens when we pray? Why is prayer important? Is there a right way to pray? Lots of questions can abound when thinking about prayer. It is intangible, mysterious and at times, feels futile. This Sunday, we will read Luke 11: 1-13 and see how Jesus instructs the disciples about praying.  Luke 11: 1-13 

The Better Part of Valor

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ……  Luke 10: 25-37. 

Simple Directions

Jesus was viewed as a radical because his sole mission of living a life fully faithful to God often bucked up against what law, tradition, and cultural norms dictated. Jesus was not enticed nor bound by power, privilege, or prestige which made him a tremendous threat to the religious establishment. This Sunday, in Luke 10: 1-20, the “Sending of the 70,” we see him preparing his disciples to engage in this same mission and face opposition. ……  Luke 10: 1-20.