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Thy Kingdom ComePilate asks Jesus a question - Are you a king? But the next unasked question is - if you are a king, where is your kingdom. We look around this world and we can question the kingship of Jesus. And that is why we pray - Thy Kingdom Come.
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 | Psalm 93 | Revelation 1:4b-8 | John 18:33-37 |
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Falling Into GraceToday's Gospel lesson tells us about some terrible things that were to come. Jesus tells the disciples about wars, famines, and earthquakes to come. We can focus on those - it is easy to do that - but what if, instead of focusing in on those things, we focus on something different?
Daniel 12:1-3 | Hebrews 10:11-25 | Mark 13:1-8 |
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Where They Going...Where They Been...We all have stories we tell ourselves about where we came from and who we are. We have our origin stories and more importantly we need destination stories - stories about where we are going.
Isaiah 25:6-9 | Revelation 21:1-6a | John 11:32-44 |
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The Days Are Surely ComingReformation Sunday is a day when we can forget the role of the Holy Spirit in the Reformation. We sing songs like A Mighty Fortress is Our God and say good job Brother Martin for setting into motion the Reformation. But the prophet Jeremiah and Ezekiel also looked forward to reformation. The days are surely coming when reformation is no longer needed.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36 |
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Who Told You?How did we come to faith? How did we hear the stories of the faith? What part did we have in ensuring that we heard about Jesus?
Jeremiah 31:7-9 | Psalm 50 | Hebrews 7:23-28 | Mark 10:46-52 |
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I Know... I Know...In life, it can seem that we are the ones that come to God first. We come to baptism, we make vows, and it all seems that we are the one who act first. When we examine scripture, we get an entirely different picture of who acts first.
Lectionary texts Isaiah 53:4-12 - Psalm 50:14 - Hebrews 5:1-10 - Mark 10:35-45 |
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To Be UsedJesus invites the rich young man in today's lesson into a something greater. It is an invitation that is extended to us all. What will our answer be to that question? Will we go away grieving or accept that invitation?
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There is Another in the FireThis is the introductory sermon series called To Know God is the Thank God. The series is based on Psalm 50.
Sometimes we forget that our God is a God that is near and close. We can sometimes think of God as far off and doesn't care about us. It is easy to forget that the God of the Bible is a God that time and time again shows us that God is always near. Sometimes even in the fire with us. |
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To Be Made Whole...Jesus' words today are confusing. Gouge out an eye or cut off a hand or a foot to enter life. They are hard words to hear and even harder to understand. Jesus' words are meant to bring about wholeness through the peace he gives freely.
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Confusion?All to often in this world, we are confused. We are not alone in that. The disciples are clearly confused in today's Gospel reading. And while the disciples are confused, he never leaves them in their confusion. Jesus reassures them (and us) that he is with us, even in our confusion.
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