Heavenly Harvest: Joining Jesus’ Family

07.13.08 Proper 10 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Jesus once gave His followers a lesson in determining who belonged to His family. He was told that His mother and brothers were outside of a house wanting to speak to Him. Jesus then gestured to the disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 12:46-50).

Who Is Jesus?

07.06.08 Proper 9 Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Few questions in life face us with such stark choices and answers as this one: "Who is Jesus?"

Believing Like You Mean It!

All of us have trusted someone with our lives. We may have done so as we boarded an airplane placing our lives in the hands of the pilots. We may have had surgery trusting our lives to a surgical team. Trusting someone with your life is really trusting. Abraham trusted God like he meant it. We see that in these verses. We see that believing like you mean it is trusting God with your life and future. How do we believe like we mean it?

No Surprise!

June 22, 2008 Proper 7 (A) Matthew 10:24-39 If you know a surprise is coming it's not very surprising. When you are tipped off about a surprise birthday party it's not longer a surprise!

Reconciled Blessings

I tell engaged couples that getting married changes life significantly. Once married life will never be the same for them for many reasons! Once you become a believer your life will never be the same again. A believers has peace with God, a redeemed relationship with God. God becomes an active partner in that relationship. When God is active, your life is different forever.

God of the Covenant

In 19th century England, with trust in God and powerful prayers, George Mueller provided support for hundreds of orphans. This godly man once said, "Life that is lived unto God [often] forfeits human companionship, knows only divine fellowship, and . . . does always the things that please God." In the Old Testament we are told that Noah and his family knew what it was like to "forfeit human companionship" in order to live in covenant with God. Jesus himself said to his disciples: "You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me" (John 16:32). To be holy, then, is to be set apart from the world for God.

Wait ’til the Lord Comes

As a boy, we chose baseball teams by selecting two captains. These two would then take a baseball bat and turn the heavy end down. One captain would grab the bat with one hand, and the other captain would place his hand above the first. This process would continue until one captain held the very end of the bat. He would be declared the winner and have the first choice for his team. What a sense of power I felt when my hand covered the end of the bat!

The Arresting Power of a Circle

Trinity Sunday is the celebration of God's unique unity within Himself. God in three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. Each unique, yet always in harmony. This image may have been captured most poignantly in Andrei Rublev's famous icon, "The Holy Trinity," sometimes called, "The Hospitality of Abraham" (painted approximately 1412 AD near Moscow).

The Value of a Team

Jenny Thompson is the most decorated American woman when it comes to Olympic competition. Her ten Olympic medals in swimming (in the last three Olympics) also mean she has won more medals in swimming than any other Olympic athlete of any nation. Eight of those ten medals were gold. However, she didn't win any of the gold's in individual events; rather, she won them in a team event with three other swimmers.