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BETTER BARGAIN BLESSING - Sunday, July 24, 2016

7/26/2016

Everybody likes a good deal. But deal-making with God gets frowned upon. Yet Abraham does it, and Jesus has something to say, too. Might God have a better deal?

Yes, Abraham is clearly dickering with Yahweh - "the Lord" in translation - as he negotiates the fate of the righteous and unrighteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. It's like a reverse auction with the bid progressively declining. What's going on here?

In a section about prayer in Luke 11, Jesus shares a version of the Lord's Prayer, and tells about the householder awakened by a friend seeking food for a guest. The petitioner gets the brush off, at least initially. Jesus says that the householder will relent simply to save face.

Then Jesus tells his disciples to ask, seek, and knock. He closes with an illustration about a father fulfilling a son's request. The father is surely going to grant the son's petition if he's able, and not give him what would be undesirable.

What's all that about? Venture into the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel to discover some answers.

07-24-16-ff-answers.pdf
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07-24-16-better_bargain_blessing.pdf
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WELCOMING GOD'S PROMISE - Sunday, July 17, 2016

7/18/2016

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Hosting guests can produce a frenzy of activity. Can you miss the point if you aren't focused on receiving the blessing they offer? You betcha.

Special guests can bring exceptional messages, as is the case in both scriptures. We find two different cases, but they end up turning on the same axis. Shall it be business as usual, or expecting God's promise to come in a new way?

God's gracious promise and blessing had been given to Abraham and Sarah for a long, long time, but it had not been fulfilled. At a point when both had become too old, they were resigned to going on without the promise fulilled, yet in gratitude for the many blessings that had been given them. Still, God keeps reiterating that pormise of a son to be born to the two of them. Abraham has heard it so much, and realizing his and Sarah's old age, actually laughs at God (Gen. 17:17).

When three mysterious visitors appear, the old promise is given new specificity for fulfillment, drawing laughter from Sarah this time. However, she gets admonished: "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?"

It's a messy time when Jesus and his company decide to stop in at Martha and Mary's home. As Martha engages her role as chief hostess for the guests, Mary focuses her attention on the guests, Jesus in particular. Martha is annoyed by the lack of assistance from Mary and complains to Jesus. His reply that Mary has chosen the better role and that role will not be denied to her is meant to teach disciples that they need to be mindful of God's promise that may be right before them, and making it their priority.

To hear how these stories complement each other and call us to be awake and alert to God's promise and its amazing dimensions, see the sermon video below, and the downloads below the video panel.

07-17-16-ff-answers.pdf
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07-17-16-welcoming_gods_promise.pdf
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SEVEN DAY FAITH - Sunday, July 10, 2016

7/12/2016

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Religion can give one a sense of comfort and security. However, that comfort and security can become too much of a good thing. In that state, we can end up with a one day faith, neglecting or forgetting the mystery and unique sovereignty of God and Kingdom.

There are correctives that the faithful need to remember and regularly embrace. If not, then our one day faith is merely a corruption of faith. That's where our scriptures lead us.

The prophet Amos reflects God's distaste for a faith and worship life that doesn't extend beyond sanctuary, sabbath, and the select community. The faithful may prise God, but they exploit the poor, use bribery to corrupt justice, and scorn God's people.

The blessings that of the faithful, great mansions and lush vineyards, will not be enjoyed by those who have a one day faith.

In the well known parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus uses an expert in Torah-Law to get him to realize the true nature of the love commandments. You can see how this well crafted story denies the lawyer's assumptions.

Check out the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel.

07-10-16-ff-answers.pdf
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07-10-16-seven_day_faith.pdf
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LETTING GO, MOVING FORWARD - Sunday, July 3, 2016

7/4/2016

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God's creation is ever changing, and our lives, too. Letting go of what has been and moving forward into the unknowns ahead is an exercise of faith.

Letting go of things can be hard enough, but the emotional attachments can be really tough. The grieving process enables us to progressively move through a series of rather predictable stages. Along that course, we have opportunities to become reconciled to a new situation or circumstance, letting go and moving forward.

In the passage about Elijah's call of Elisha to follow him as a prophet, we see how Elisha handles the odd manner of Elijah's outreach. He gains permission to go back and say farewell to his family and the way of life that he had come to expect. Once that was settled. Elisha moved forward in faithfulness to his calling to serve God as prophet of the Lord.

In Luke, we should pay attention to the end of chapter 9 as well as our reading from chapter 10. Here we have Luke's version of the sending of the disciples in mission. (Matthew 10 has Jesus sending the Twelve whereas Luke 10 has Jesus sending the Seventy.)

Jesus' instructions have them moving forward without any of the customary accessories of a traveler, not even sandals. They will appear simply in a garment it would seem. This spare presentation is actually a faith statement among othe rthings. It is a reflection of the new life which the disciple has received, stripped of attachments and open to true faithfulness as a witness for the Kingdom, however they're received.

Check out the whole message with the sermon video below and note the downloads below the video panel.