Care to Risk to Care
John 21:15-19
Galatians 6:2
Said the Master to His disciple, “Do you love Me?”
And the disciple, who had earlier pledged that he was ready to die with his master, said, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.”
Said the Master to His disciple a second time, “Do you truly love Me?”
Many Parts; One Body!
I Corinthians 12:12-27
Let’s play a little game in which I will provide you with the definition of a word and you come up with the word:
To get paid to watch TV and eat other people’s food while someone’s kid sleeps?’
Hint: Verb BABYSIT
When you’re too young for half the things you want to do and too old to do the rest?
Hint: Noun […]
Apostles All
Mark 3:13-19
Luke 10:1-2
Acts 13:1-3
The noun ‘apostolos’ appears 79 times in the NT; 10 times in the gospels, 28 in Acts, 38 in the letters and 3 in Revelation. This word implies three things that are important for us to understand.
First, it refers to and means ‘one who is sent.’ As Luke has it, first in chapter 9, the 12 […]
Go!
Matthew 28:18-20
Romans 10:10-15
Last Sunday, I was a cheerleader for the church: I celebrate the church of Jesus because it is a great place for people to find community, healing and love. I celebrate the church of Jesus because it provides motivation for the most lasting, valuable, selfless efforts of humankind. I celebrate the church of Jesus, the Christ because it is […]
Hooray for the Church!
Matthew 16:13-19
One balmy day in the South Pacific, a navy ship spied smoke coming from one of three huts on an uncharted island. Upon arriving on shore they were met by a shipwreck survivor. He said, “I’m so glad you’re here! I’ve been alone on this island for more than five years!”
The captain replied, “If you’re all alone on the island why do I see THREE huts.”
The survivor said, “Oh. Well, I live in one, and go to church in another.”
“What about the THIRD hut?” asked the […]
Outrageous Grace
Luke 23:33-43
Romans 3:20-25a
There was once a handyman who had a dog named Mace. Mace was a great dog except he had one weird habit: he liked to eat grass; not just a little bit, but in quantities that would make a lawnmower blush. And nothing, it seemed, could cure him of it. One day, when the handyman was working on a tractor he lost his wrench in the tall grass. He looked and looked, but it was nowhere to be found. At dark, he gave up for the night […]
Lord, Come and Change Our Lives
John 15:1-11
Ephesians 4:21-5:2
There was a guy who bought a parrot that reportedly talked a lot. He got the parrot home and found that the parrot not only talked a lot, but his speech was peppered with profuse profanity. Being a Christian man, he tried to get the parrot to change his ways by teaching him new words, but try as he might, […]
Seeking Solitude
Psalm 46:1-11
Mark 6:30-46
A man seeking solitude moved to an isolated mountaintop. One day he heard a knock and there sat a snail and it said, “It is quite cold out here can I come in?” The man shouted, “No, I came here to be alone!” and he flicked the snail down the mountainside. One year later there was a knock at the […]
Drawing Near
Psalm 27:1-6
Mark 12:28-31
Hebrews 10:19-22
I was reading about a father who was also a pastor and who asked the third-grade class to draw a picture of God. His daughter, who was in that class, showed her dad her picture: “I don’t know what God looks like,” she said, “so I just drew you, daddy, instead.”
It has been said that “a child is […]
Judge Not
Matthew 7:1-5
John 8:1-11
In this passage from John’s gospel, Jesus was practicing what He preached in Matthew’s gospel. “Do not judge others, or you will be judged.”
I shudder when I read that because it is so easy to do exactly what Jesus said we should not do.
Let’s face it, judging others is a natural human trait. At one time, making quick judgments made […]
Surely the Presence
Matthew 18:20
I Corinthians 10:16-17
I had been teaching my three-year-old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord’s Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: “Lead us not into temptation,” she prayed, “but deliver […]
Forgive and Forget?
Matthew 18:21-35
Mother Teresa once said, “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”
Bill Moyers said, “In marriage every day you love and every day you forgive. It’s an ongoing sacrament, love and forgiveness.”
Oscar Wilde said, “Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.”
Nelson Mandela said, “Resentment is like drinking poison hoping it will kill your enemies.”