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GOD'S UNFAIR GRACE - Sunday, September 21, 2014

9/22/2014

Grace is a wonderful subject, having spent a few weeks on it now. Yet grace can seem quite unfair, being so undeserved, unwarranted, and frankly unhelpful in being a freebie giveaway.

So, is God unfair? What happens to our standard measures of fairness when we encounter gracious activity, specifically God's gracious actions?

We have clear notions of fairness in our own minds and in our common practice. However, reviewing a few examples begins to show how superficial our notions of fairness can be.

In the scriptures, resuming the Exodus journey, we see how God deals with the insolent Israelites, seemingly rewarding their bad behavior! Jesus' uncomfortable parable of the workers in the vineyard makes the listener scream in outrage, "Unfair!" As a striking example of how God's grace works, the parable actually makes some sense.

We learn at the end that while God's grace is indeed unfair, what God is all about is greater than mere fairness.

To learn more, check out the video below, and help yourself to the downloads of the Fair-fielder answers and sermon text tucked underneath the video box.

09-21-14-ff-answers.pdf
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09-21-14-gods_unfair_grace.pdf
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HEALING GRACE - from Sunday, September 14

9/15/2014

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Grace stands at the center of Christian life and Presbyterian doctrine. The power of grace is transformational. It starts with God's grace for his creation and its creatures, particularly the humans who as a species have figured out how to sin with stunning persistence.

The love from which God's grace comes to us is meant to be reflected in the lives of the faithful in their encounters with others. It brings healing to relationships, like that of a mother and daughter pictured, or between co-workers, or between spouses, or between neighbors, and any other relationship you can imagine.

Yet this grace is hard to digest. We turn back to Joseph and his exchange with his brothers following father Jacob's death and see the brothers still unable to comprehend the grace of Joseph. Of course, Joseph had many times experienced the grace of God in his own life, and reflecting it in his maturity was the sign of lesson learned well.

In Matthew, last week's discussion of a manual for correcting the unrepentant in church life now turns to the nature of forgiveness and the grace required to bring healing. Peter's question about forgiveness, How many times, Lord? Seven times? brings Jesus' remark blowing away such a limit - Try seventy seven times! Jesus then gives the parable of the unmerciful servant to illustrate the crazy nature of grace, in particular the crazy nature of God's grace given to each of us.

Check out the sermon video below (nice face again; thanks YouTube!), download the Fairfielder answers and the the sermon text at the links tucked beneath the video panel.

09-14-14-ff-answers.pdf
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09-14-14-healing_grace.pdf
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PAINFUL DECISIONS REQUIRED - from Sunday, September 7, 2014

9/9/2014

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Some decisions are easy and unmemorable - jelly donut or Boston creme? Others are the kind that we'd like to avoid altogether. But avoidance really isn't an option either. What to do?

The Passover ritual described in the reading from Exodus 12 is the end point in a long struggle between God (through Moses) and Pharaoh. Is God forced into a making a painful decision on behalf of God's people?

In Matthew 18, a kind of manual on dealing with the unrepentant sinner in the faith community is described, a tough process in any case. Yet the option of avoidance can only make matters worse.

Working through painful decisions is never easy, and often pushes us to rely on our faith and the promise of God to bring new life out of the turmoil and struggle. Check out the sermon video below (nice look, huh), and help yourself to the downloads below the video of Fair-fielder answers and sermon text.

09-07-14-ff-answers.pdf
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09-07-14-painful_decisions_required.pdf
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From August 31, 2014

9/2/2014

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We know from experience that taking on a big challenge requires preparation, training, study, and even some experience in order to be successful. That knowledge makes us wonder about God's criteria (and Jesus's) for calling the odd collection of servants to advance the Kingdom.

Exploring the call of Moses, and considering Jesus' confrontation with Peter who would deny the impending tragedy to befall Jesus in Jerusalem, we realize that God seeks particular qualities. Their resumes may not be too impressive, but God knows what it takes for a servant to succeed.

We may feel as ready-to-serve as the silly, sad-looking dog in the picture, but God knows if we're prepared for the call, even better than we do.

Learn more by checking out the sermon video, or help yourself to a download of the Fair-fielder answers or sermon text just below the video.