Blog Archives

OFF THE CHARTS: KINGDOM INVESTING - from Sunday, September 25, 2016

9/26/2016

Blessings come to us in many ways, but dealing with our finances sometimes enters its own "sacred" realm. The world's idea of investing is very different from Kingdom investing, and the faithful are challenged by this week's scriptures.

The prophet Jeremiah gets an "opportunity" to buy a family plot in the middle of a war zone. What a deal! Yet Jeremiah, from his position under house arrest by the king, pays the price. It seems crazy to any investor, but Jeremiah is doing Kingdom investing, turning worldly values upside down. He is making a powerful faith statement with his purchase.

In the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke, Jesus portrays the self-absorbed rich man as generously blessed by God in worldly wealth. He also portrays the beggar Lazarus as one who has scant worldly blessings by God. The rich man is honored and respected while Lazarus is despised and rejected, at least according to worldly standards and values.

Being consistent, one would expect that the rich man would continue to enjoy the favor of God's blessings after his death, and that the loathsome Lazarus would continue to suffer his miserable fate after his death. However, the worldly expectation gets turned upside down. What's the message here?

Does this mean that the rich are headed to eternal torment, and the poor have a reservation for heavenly bliss? The sermon video below can help figure this out, together with downloads below the video panel.

09-25-16-ff-answers.pdf
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09-25-16-off_the_charts-kingdom_investing.pdf
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FLIM FLAM BLESSINGS - from Sunday, September 18, 2016

9/20/2016

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I think we all find tricksters, schemers, scammers, and frauds loathsome and contemptible. How is it that these con artists get the blessing in scripture? A fun look at flim flammers and the maddening tales of their divine blessings awaits.

One of my favorite movies is the 1967 film The Flim Flam Man starring George C. Scott in the title role, aided by young Michael Sarrazin who falls for Sue Lyon. The picture here is a scene of the two setting up a mark for a scam (Scott in the center). The movie has a lesson borne out in the scriptures. You can watch the whole movie by clicking here.

In Genesis, Jacob's early years get marked by one sleazy, sneaky act after another. He exploits his brother, scams his dad, and manages to out-fox his father-in-law, a scuzzy fox himself. Looking at the scam that netted Jacob the blessing of the first-born, we find Jacob impersonating his elder twin, conspiring with his mother (his brother's mother, too, of course), fooling his blind father, and gaining for himself the entitlement of his brother. How does this jerk not get punished by a just God?

Then Jesus leads his listeners into the parable of the unjust steward. Here is a guy who squandered his master's resources and seems to have gotten caught. Fearing his termination, he starts bargaining with those indebted to his master, telling them to lop off big amounts from their bills. How can he do that? The master knows what he's done and ends up praising him for his shrewdness! Really? What's that all about?

You'll have to check out the sermon video below (and note the downloads available below the video panel) to get some answers.

09-18-16-ff-answers.pdf
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09-18-16-flim_flam_blessings.pdf
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FLAWED, FAILED, AND PRECIOUS - from Sunday, September 11, 2016

9/12/2016

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The Bible minces no words in its criticism of God's people; they're lousy covenant partners. Of course, we fit right in as contemporary flawed and failed believers. How does God regard us? The debacle of the golden calf in Exodus and the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin provide insights this week.

In the golden calf episode, God is in a rage. Just as God is providing the Ten Commandments to Moses, the wild celebration of the Hebrews new "god" at the base of the mountain comes to God's attention. At the same time that Moses is ordered to go down and deal with "your people," God also shares his decision to annihilate them. Moses tries to change God's mind.

How would you change God's mind? Do you think you could if the subject of God's wrath was your own faithless, sinful behavior?

Jesus' parables of the lost sheep and lost coin in Luke reveal a key insight into the heart and spirit of God for God's flawed and failed people. They show a relentless, extravagant, and even reckless pursuit of the lost - the failed and flawed.

Yes, we should see ourselves in this company, but we should also look around us and realize that the flawed and failed, at least in our society's terms, are in the same boat with us. That gives us a mission for the Kingdom to be relentless, extravagant, and even reckless in bringing healing and new life.

Discover all the insights in the sermon video below and the downloads below the video panel.

09-11-16-ff-answers.pdf
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09-11-16-flawed_failed_and_precious.pdf
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THE POTTER IS WORKING - from Sunday, September 4, 2016

9/5/2016

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Lives are always changing. Do we recognize the Potter at the wheel? Are we finding it possible to remain faithful, to grow in spiritual maturity? Can we change our attitudes and directions as events and circumstances change us?

The image of the potter and the clay appears several times in scripture. This week's occasion, in Jeremiah 18, keeps to the pattern of viewing God as the potter and God's unfolding creation as a lump of clay, spinning on a wheel, being in a constant state of work-in-progress.

In Jeremiah 18, there are interesting nuances that reflect the dynamic of the covenant relatiopnship. It isn't a static legal document but a fluid and changing relationship. In the covenant, the Potter is shaping the clay with an aim to produce the best result, to produce blessings.

However, the clay can become hard, dry, and resistant. If the clay is unresponsive, there comes a time when the potter simply gives up and discards that lump, turning the focus of attention on another. Recovering value in that old lump becomes difficult.

It is surprising the kinds of changes that can occur, and we would hope to be working from a positive orientation that cooperates with what the Potter is trying to accomplish.

In Paul's letter to his old friend Philemon, he shares about his relationship with a mutual acquaintance, Philemon's runaway slave, Onesimus. (Presumably Onesimus was caught and imprisoned with Paul.) Paul reminds Philemon of the changes that have come into Philemon's own life as Paul brought him to faith in Jesus and the good news promise of new life. His fugitive slave Onesimus has also been brought to faith in Jesus, joining the covenant of new life promise with Philemon (and Paul).

Paul's letter to Philemon, a slave holder and leader of a church community, urges Philemon to recognize the new thing God has done by grace for Onesimus, the same thing gracuously done for Philemon, and to receive their mutual brother in Christ, Onesimus, as a new being. Freed? We would hope.

Check out the full sermon for insights into the Potter (God) and the clay (you), and the work that is ongoing in our lives, in the video panel below, and note the downloads below that.