Garments of Grace

Garments of Grace Garments of Grace Scripture: Matthew 22: 1-14 I know why this parable gives me a hard time and I wonder if perhaps you have same difficulty. It’s that individual who actually comes to the wedding, but doesn’t have the proper clothes. The one who gets...

Authority

Authority Authority Scripture: Matthew 21: 23-32 There is an old Jewish witticism in which someone asks his rabbi, “Why do rabbis always answer a question with another question?” to which the rabbi replied, “Why shouldn’t a rabbi answer a question with another...
Share the Blanket

Share the Blanket

Share the Blanket Share the Blanket Scripture: Jonah 3:10 – 4:11 and Matthew 20: 1-16 If you read the gospels, you will discover that people ask Jesus a lot of questions. If you read a little deeper and do a little bit of math you will discover that of all the...

Forgiveness

Forgiveness Forgiveness Scripture: Genesis 50: 15-21 and Matthew 18: 21-35 Is there a harder commandment in all of scripture? Chelsey Harmon tells a story or paints a picture about forgiveness. She writes, “One of the complaints that student loan borrowers made about...

A Community of Faith

A Community of Faith A Community of Faith Today’s gospel lesson from Matthew talks about fogiveness and why that matters. This passage from Matthew forms the model for discipline that many churches use. However, it is less about discipline and more about how we...

Follow Jesus

Follow Jesus Follow Jesus Scripture: Matthew 16: 21-28 There is a struggle playing out in our gospel lesson today. The struggle isn’t new, in fact it is as old as time. If you pay attention to what Matthew has been writing in his gospel account so far this is a...
Step to the Edge

Step to the Edge

Step to the Edge Step to the Edge Scripture: Matthew 15: 10-28 The Pharisees are concerned with issues of ritual purity and cleanliness. Don’t eat with dirty hands as it will defile you. Jesus is concerned with the words that come out of our mouths, as these words...

Choosing a Focus

Choosing a Focus Choosing a Focus   Scripture: Matthew 14: 22-33 Most sermons I’ve ever heard on this passage go like this. When Peter began to sink Jesus rescued him. If Peter, the individual who Jesus built his church on, can falter and have moments of doubt, it’s...

Who Does the Feeding?

Who Does the Feeding? Who Does the Feeding? Scripture: Matthew 14: 13-21 This gospel story is so well known that at the beginning of the week I sat down and thought to myself ‘how do I say something new about this passage?’ It’s a piece of scripture that when we hear...

The Kingdom of God is Like…

The Kingdom of God is Like… The Kingdom of God is Like… Scripture: Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-50 You are probably familiar with the expression ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ An expression meant to convey the depth of meaning we can pull from a single...

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