Are you paying attention? Have your priorities straight? Listening attentively? Getting yelled at by your sister who is doing all the work? Then maybe you're doing what is really needed. Jesus thought so. We explore the Martha and Mary story, and we hear about a different kind of famine in Amos, a famine of the word of God. Pay attention now.
Listening is a bit of an art form. It requires focusing on the one speaking with active engagement. It's the principal technique of every good therapist. Is this what we do when we turn to scripture.
Too often we understand what we have already believed and seek confirmation of those beliefs. It's just as bad when we turn to the Bible as if it were an answer book. It isn't. If we aren't getting the message, then perhaps we've gone astray.
That's what happened with God's people that caused the prophet Amos to bring his sharp tongue for justice, equity, and peace to Israel. It included God's judgment. A famine of the word of God is not what we expect, but its effect is devastating.
In Luke 10, the difficult story of busy Martha and sit-on-her-butt Mary confronts us. When Martha demands that Jesus get up and her feet and working, Jesus refuses. He says, 'Mary has chosen the one thing needed, and he won't take it away from her.' What did he mean? What needed thing was Mary focused on? How about serving the 13 newly arrived guests with the customary hospitality? Isn't that needed?
Find out in the sermon video below what Jesus was focused on, and what Mary was focused, and what we need to be focused on so that we don't discover ourselves in Martha's shoes.
Listening is a bit of an art form. It requires focusing on the one speaking with active engagement. It's the principal technique of every good therapist. Is this what we do when we turn to scripture.
Too often we understand what we have already believed and seek confirmation of those beliefs. It's just as bad when we turn to the Bible as if it were an answer book. It isn't. If we aren't getting the message, then perhaps we've gone astray.
That's what happened with God's people that caused the prophet Amos to bring his sharp tongue for justice, equity, and peace to Israel. It included God's judgment. A famine of the word of God is not what we expect, but its effect is devastating.
In Luke 10, the difficult story of busy Martha and sit-on-her-butt Mary confronts us. When Martha demands that Jesus get up and her feet and working, Jesus refuses. He says, 'Mary has chosen the one thing needed, and he won't take it away from her.' What did he mean? What needed thing was Mary focused on? How about serving the 13 newly arrived guests with the customary hospitality? Isn't that needed?
Find out in the sermon video below what Jesus was focused on, and what Mary was focused, and what we need to be focused on so that we don't discover ourselves in Martha's shoes.
| 07-21-19-sermon.mp3 |
| 07-21-19-ff-answers.pdf |
| 07-21-19-the_priority_of_listening-word_and_kingdom.pdf |