Sermons on Pentecost
October 20, 2024
What if someone promised you a return on your investment that was 100 times what you put into it? You’d probably think it was too good to be true! But that’s exactly the promise Jesus makes to us concerning the spiritual investment we make when we trust and follow him. (Mark 10) Earthly possessions can become a hindrance when we forget how temporary they are. (Ecclesiastes 5) The rewards that God has in store for us in the coming age are infinitely…
The Future Determines the Present
Often we approach life with the thought that the present determines the future. In some ways that may be true. But James challenges us to think about life the other way around. For the Christian the future can inform and determine the present. There are all kinds of things that stir us up. These are not just external but internal as well. James refers to this internal stirring as suffering, cheerfulness, and sickness. But how do we respond to these.…
A Taught Tongue
James reminds us that the tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Like a wildfire it starts small but can set the world on fire. Is there hope for us to control our tongues? Jesus’s healing of the mute boy with an evil spirit is our first clue today of the hope we have to control our tongues and use them for good. Our OT reading from Isaiah gives us a second clue in what we call the…
No Partiality, But Love
Are you partial? Of course. We all are in some ways. But when it comes to receiving others God, who is impartial calls us to be impartial. So why is partiality a sin? James gives us two reasons: one that it is based on false distinctives and the second that it is contrary to the royal law of love. But the question still remains as to how we overcome partiality in our lives. It starts with God who is impartial…
Dwelling with the Lord Forever
There is a beauty in the simplicity of this verse. But perhaps there is more to it than first meets our eyes. What does it mean to dwell in the house of the Lord forever? There are three big ideas to look at in this verse: What is the house of the Lord, what is it to dwell, and what is forever. The answers seem obvious but perhaps there is more understanding and meaning that we at first assume. …
Followed by Goodness and Mercy
Goodness and mercy are abstract concepts. How can we understand them more concretely? An exercise that may help is to draw a picture of this verse… Honestly, this verse is pretty simple. What possibly is there to talk about? Well, you might be surprised. In fact, as you turn it over and over in your hand and look at it from different angles you see more and more. There is a richness in this simplicity that leads to comfort and…
Anointed Heads and Overflowing Cups
When the disciples objected to the woman anointing Jesus with oil (Matthew 26: 6-13) they revealed their own lack of contentment in life. For us too joy, happiness, and contentment are elusive. But David reminds us that our Good Shepherd anoints our heads with oil and causes our cup to overflow. What does it mean that our Good Shepherd anoints our heads with oil and that our cup overflows? These images fit with the table he prepares for us. This…
A Table Prepared
Today we face a problem; our verse is a mixed metaphor. After all what do sheep have to do with a table prepared? Sheep don’t need a table; shepherds don’t prepare tables. Yet this is what our Good Shepherd does for us in the presence of our enemies. The Scriptures often use mixed metaphors because ordinary metaphors often struggle to express spiritual truths. Mixed metaphors, understood by faith, can take us into new understanding. So our Good Shepherd prepares a…
Soul Restoration
Most of us have been involved in a restoration project of one sort or another. And so is God. “The LORD is my shepherd… He restores my soul.” Restoration my its very nature also involves deterioration, that from which we need restoration. The condition of sheep being “cast” can help us to understand our own deteriorated spiritual condition. Peter found himself in this condition but being restored by Jesus. It is this restoration, given to us as well, in which…
Led to Still Waters
God created us in such a way that we would thirst for a relationship with Him. He also commits himself to leading us to the still waters that quench our thirst permanently. Like wayward sheep all too often we reject God, the fountain of living water, and seek our own sources of water. But as Jeremiah says when we do so it is like having broken cisterns that won’t hold water. Instead, just as Jesus led the Samaritan Woman at…
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