Clotheslines

We have many teaching moments from Jesus. He walked the earth for three years, back and forth throughout Israel, sharing his message of peace and love. But make no mistake: just about everything Jesus taught was also counter cultural. Following Jesus didn’t mean the world would always approve, and over the next two weeks, we will look at Jesus’s greatest sermon: The Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest recorded sermon, and it’s found in three entire cha

Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Loving God with all our being comes from the Old Testament. It was written on the tablets of the law that God gave to Moses. It’s our heritage; it’s what true Christians believe. And when Jesus came to live among us, he completed that command with the second part: you shall love your neighbor a

What image do you project? That’s what we talked about last Sunday. We actually have two images: the one that other people see, and the one that God sees, and hopefully, as we grow into a relationship with Jesus, we will begin to see the image that God sees. This question comes from the time the religious authorities tried to trick Jesus by showing him a coin, asking him if it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. Jesus response? “Give to the emperor the things that are th

Did you know that every morning when you wake up, you are being invited by God to a banquet? It’s true! Every day is another opportunity to join God in whatever he’s planned for that day. Jesus’ parable of the king and the wedding banquet is somewhat like that. The invitations have been sent, and the slaves go out to the invited guests: “The wedding feast is ready! Come to the banquet!” But those that were invited choose not to attend. They have lots of excuses, but they are

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to be grasped. But he laid down his divinity and took on human flesh… he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Phil.2:6ff One of the most profound passages in Holy Scripture and the very heart of our Christian faith. It was likely part of a hymn sung in the early Christian church. It parallels the prophecy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, and it speaks to the impo

Why do you go to church? Wait…wrong terminology; that’s not really my question…but, let’s look at that wrong terminology for a minute. Just about everyone says “go to church”, and it’s always been the wrong terminology. Perhaps we use those words because it’s safer…safer on two levels. First of all, if we are Christians, and if we believe in the words we hear every Sunday, we don’t go to church; we are the church. We, along with all the others that sit around us on Sunday, ar

We know Jesus as a loving God, but some of his parables were hard to hear, like… “A rich man owned a vineyard.” Early in the morning, he hires laborers to work in his vineyard, and they agree on a fair, daily wage. Later in the morning, afternoon and early evening, he continues to hire more and more laborers. At the end of the day, he gathers all the workers—last to the first—and pays them. The workers who had worked all day notice that the everyone seems to be getting the sa

We know that all of the Bible has meaning, but did you know that the use of numbers in Scripture isn’t arbitrary, that every number has a specific meaning? It’s a fascinating study. Here are a few examples: · Number 1 obviously means the beginning. Genesis reads: ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and there was morning and evening on the first day.’ · The Number 3 stands for the presence of God in the Trinity. Noah had 3 sons which surely points to a rene

How do we handle confrontation, situations with disagreement, where someone ends up being hurt. More often than not, we will say, “Oh he didn’t mean that,” or “I’m sure she didn’t intend to be hurtful,” or the classic response about someone who has just hurt you is, “Oh, that’s just the way she is.” I can’t tell you how often I have said that! Why do we hold ourselves in such low esteem that we accept another’s abuse and move on? Why do we do that? Or the other extreme is one

Last week Jesus’ message was a blessing. Jesus finally feels that his disciples are ready to know—really know who He is. He asks Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter responds: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” And Jesus promptly says, “My Father gave you that revelation. Therefore, upon this Rock—upon you Peter—I will build my church!” Jesus proclaims that Peter will be tasked to begin God’s church on earth. And in the next breath, Jesus calls Peter “Sa