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TRUE CONFESSIONS - from Sunday, October 27, 2019

10/27/2019

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We know what sin is, or at least we think we do. Does God view sin the same way? God and you and me, we're all on the same page about sin, right? Hmm. We look at the prophet Joel's dire call for true contrition and Jesus' parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and the self-abasing tax collector. 

The things that most people count as sins can be amazingly trivial and may have no scriptural basis at all. Yet if we take God's perspective, those things that God accounts as sinful may not get any attention at all from us. How different is our perception of sin from God's? Very. Spoiler alert: this is nothing new.

The prophet Joel speaks God's word that demands genuine confession and contrition from God's people to have any chance at heading off the coming dreaded day of the Lord. They have been doing the rituals and whatever was required, but it was insincere, stale, rote, and meaningless. Joel summons them to rend their hearts and not their garments, as if to say, save the showboat contrition of tearing your clothes and show instead a heart and spirit that reflects a true confession and contrition.

Jesus teaches about the nature of righteousness by spinning his parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee stands tall and feels himself quite righteous and justified, unable to call to mind any sin of his doing. He is thankful that he isn't some sinful, lousy creep like that tax collector. He compliments himself on his ritual of fasting and his offering of a tithe of his earnings.

Meanwhile, the tax collector feels out of place, kneels humbly in the back, hangs his head in shame, and makes no pretense about the level of his sinfulness, doing nothing to justify himself or his failed actions.

It is the tax collector who Jesus says was justified, not the "righteous" Pharisee. 

Now, with whom do you identify? The smug, self-righteous Pharisee who justifies himself and cannot name a sin that he has committed? Or the smarmy weasel tax collector who feels the weight of shame and makes a true confession and plea for God's grace?

Watch out for sucker punches in the sermon video below. You've been warned.

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CHALLENGES OF SMALL VOICES - from Sunday, October 20, 2019

10/20/2019

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They have no names. Yet they are the stars in God's universe. Little, inconsequential people - the extras in the movie, like Servant #3 and Messenger and Cranky Woman who deliver their line and are never heard from again. They shine in the scriptures about Naaman's healing and Jesus' parable of the persistent widow, and bring us new light.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage climate action activist, should be in school. Instead, she has been leading protests and speaking out in starkly forceful terms, raking world leaders over the coals. Following the tactics of the Parkland gun control activists, Thunberg is the latest youthful voice to demand that adults act responsibly for a (huge) change. 

Young people realize that big things are very broken and demand immediate attention. However, the adults - the leaders, the ones who are supposed to make things happen and address the pressing issues of the day - have proven to be incredibly incompetent, and even ignorant. They're taking matters into their own hands and taking to the streets. Little voices are now emerging that are changing the course of the discussion.

In the story of the healing of Naaman, you can discover how the little voices sprinkled throughout the story are directing the mighty, powerful, and responsible onto the paths that will lead to God's promise and blessing. 

In Jesus' parable, it is not the town leader, the judge, who gets to make the decision. Rather, the persistent widow demanding justice gets what she wants. And it isn't because the judge had any awakening to the scales of justice; he simply wanted to get rid of her.

Get the complete story in the sermon video below.

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REMEMBERING GRATITUDE - from Sunday, October 13, 2019

10/14/2019

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​Hardship and gratitude. It is pretty difficult to see these two together. Is there a blessing wrapped in that hardship? As Jeremiah shares God's word to the exiles, God tells them to pray for their oppressors! Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one - and a special one at that - returns gratitude. 
Not only do they go together in a strange kind of way, they are actually quite complimentary. A genuine spirit of gratitude can be the brakes that might lead someone over the edge into despair.

Jeremiah writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon. These folks have been carted off there after the brutal massacres inflicted on Judah and the city of God, Jerusalem, by the invading Babylonian army. Destroying Jerusalem and razing the Temple has left the Holy City in the hands of pagan conquerors. The exiles have lost everything and seen family members, friends, and neighbors slaughtered, and who have now been enslaved.

The letter includes three instructions, and one of them includes praying for the well-being of their oppressors. How can that be? Yet it all works together.

Jesus is confronted by 10 lepers seeking "mercy" (or healing). Jesus sends them to the priests, the ones who would pronounce their ritual status whether clean or unclean. He doesn't heal them there; they find themselves healed along the way.

One of the ten realizes something that the others don't get. The priests will pronounce them clean, but they had nothing to do with their healing. This one is moved to return to Jesus to express his deep gratitude. And this guy is a Samaritan, despised by the Jews of the day.

Jesus then praises him and pronounces him "well." That is not a good translation of the Greek word sozo. What it really means shows the spirit of gratitude revealing the full promise of God.

Get all the insights by watching the sermon video below.

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INCREASE OUR FAITH! - from Worldwide Communion Sunday, October 6, 2019

10/6/2019

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Why are bad things happening? God, don't you care? So cries the prophet Habakkuk when he sees the injustice around him. Jesus' disciples cry out, "Increase our faith!" when they hear about Kingdom-level forgiveness. Divine intervention is an easy ask, since we'd prefer to avoid the hard work. 

We know things aren't the way they're supposed to be, and we may often find ourselves asking, like the prophet Habakkuk, why God doesn't do something about it. 

God responds to the prophet by telling him to 'write down the vision' (= revelation in NIV). It isn't some grand document; it is meant to be carried easily by a herald who will run to bring it to the people. The vision is never made explicit, except that the time is coming when God's will shall be fulfilled - at the coming of the end of the age.

This is an early declaration that God will establish God's sovereignty over creation, but it also indicates that there is much work yet to be done before that happens. At bottom, it is not God's intervention that is needed. It is the commitment of faithful people to the will and way of God that is urgent and requisite for bringing hope and new life. In other words, don't ask God to do for you what you can (and must) do yourselves.

The howl of protest from Jesus' disciples upon hearing the demand for unending forgiveness brings their petition, "Increase our faith!" Jesus responds by telling them that their faith can do wonders if they would simply exercise the faith that they have readily available to them There is spiritual power in their hands ready to work. Faith as miniscule as a mustard seed is enough to transform things, providing a spiritual power that appears incredible.

He goes on to tell them a parable about the hard-working servant and the master. The point is that the servant is supposed to work hard and serve the master. You don't gain or deserve anything special; you're simply doing what you're supposed to do. 

Keep going and learn even more in the sermon video below.

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10-06-19-increase_our_faith.pdf
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