This “poor” widow in our story today… is RICH in the Lord’s eyes! Why? How? Listen and find out the deep truths behind this Word from Mark’s gospel. It all points to Jesus!
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The “Greatest Commandment”? Jesus breaks it down for us REAL simply… or does he? LOL. Love God. Love others as yourself. Easier said than done, but it IS our holy calling as “saints”. Listen to this message from the All Saints Sunday service.
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Jesus has set his face like flint towards Jerusalem for what purpose? To suffer and to die. To enter into his passion. But the disciples still see Jesus as the Messiah through a worldly lens. One of power, control, domination. They still fail to recognize him as not only the Messiah but also the suffering servant that Isaiah prophesied about that we heard of today in our first reading. Jesus is the one who is crushed for our iniquities, but this is not some kind of Trinitarian schizophrenia. Rather it was always the plan from the beginning to establish redemption, to make the many righteous by the Son offering himself in obedience to the plan that the Father put in place. He indeed, as Hebrews was read for us he indeed is the great High Priest who offers himself as the Lamb of God slain for our peace. Not the blood of bulls, goats, rams or sheep, but the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
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The story of today’s gospel text taken in a (perhaps) new direction with all that’s happened in our area with the recent hurricanes. We pray that you will listen and be blessed.
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In times of great tragedy and suffering, we see (as Christians) God’s grace and peace in such powerful ways. As we continue to walk this road of pain and loss, in the power of the resurrection, we rely on God’s grace and peace until the end.
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The narrative has shifted… and Jesus’ passion and death is being taught to his disciples with more and more clarity (even though the disciples clearly don’t understand). In today’s story, Jesus overhears his disciples arguing about “who is the greatest”. Therefore, Jesus takes a little child in his arms and says, “Whoever wants to be first, MUST be last and servant of all.” This is hard for us to grasp, but necessary to strive for (by God’s grace and Spirit). Listen and be encouraged.
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One of the most authentic cries in the Bible comes from Mark 9:14-29, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” If this is your cry today, please give this message a listen.
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Jesus (in this miraculous story) shows us his love and care for all the world. He heals a man who cannot hear and has a speech impediment —something only God can do — as told by the prophet Isaiah (Ch. 35). As soon as Jesus speaks the word, “Ephaphtha!” (be opened) over this man, he was able to completely hear and speak instantly, and could not help but to “zealously” tell everyone about Jesus. This story has a LOT to do with us. Listen and find out.
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Jesus is once again confronted by the Pharisees because his disciples don't adhere to their tradition of ritual hand washing before a meal. He points out that their traditions subvert God's law rather than complement it, thereby exposing their hypocrisy and hardness of heart. However, the point of the law was to teach the right ordering of the soul. Ultimately, it is the interior act of the soul (what comes out of the heart) and not what materially happens to the body that “defiles” or “profanes” a person in the sight of God.
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John 6 is one of the most radical and mysterious of Jesus’ teachings about himself. In hindsight, we Christians know that Jesus was speaking about the Eucharist (or Holy Communion). But most of the crowd (or those on the fringes) weren’t interested to stay around to discover what Jesus was speaking about. They just said, “This is too hard”, and walked away. And you know what? Jesus let them. He asked, “Do you want to go away as well?” to his closest disciples. Peter then said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have come to know and believe that you are the Holy One of God.” How about you?
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John 6:53-59 are some of the most radical verses in all of Scripture. But, Jesus is not mincing words here. He clearly says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” So, let’s “chew on this” text and ponder the magnificent mystery of it all! Ready? Let’s go.
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Speaking the love of God to a godless culture is not easy. It’s hard. Ezekiel, the prophet, certainly knew this. But, the LORD told him to proclaim his love anyway—whether they would “hear him or not”. As Christians, we are called to do the same. Proclaim the gospel—no matter what. Leave the rest to the Lord.
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On this Heritage Sunday, our Gospel lesson just so happens to be one of the most foundational texts for our Christian faith and life—Jesus came down from heaven to give life to the world. “I AM…the bread of life.”
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After the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, our Savior shows compassion to his disciples when he comes to their aid as they “strain at the oars” in a mighty storm on the Sea of Galilee. The Son of God shows who he truly is as the One who “tramples the waves” — the Great I Am. Likewise, just as he showed compassion for his 12 disciples then, he also shows us his compassion today as he watches and protects his flock and gives us his rest from “straining at the oars.”
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Jesus is LORD—the Word made flesh; and the LORD is and has ALWAYS been full of compassion and mercy. The story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish greatly illustrate this. And as his disciples (shepherds who follow THE Good Shepherd Jesus), WE are to show forth the same mercy and compassion for the people of the world who are hungry for him. We are to (in Jesus’ name) take care of the sheep—to protect, to provide and to give rest. We need God’s grace and each other in order to actually live this out in our world!
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Make no mistake--Jesus has chosen, called, and saved us for a purpose: He is sending us to be ambassadors for him in the world. The question is: Will you listen and follow him?
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The Apostle Paul’s “thorn” is unknown … we can only conjecture what he was pleading with the Lord to remove; and we believe (by the guidance of the Holy Spirit) that he intentionally left his thorn unknown so that any one of us can put our own situations into that place and hear the gentle assuring voice of Jesus say to us as well, “My grace is sufficient for you.” It’s enough.
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In our gospel text today, we read of two people with situations that are wrought with fear and desperation for different reasons. And the incredible truth is: Jesus makes TIME to meet both situations with his tender care and mercy. He always will because he is faithful. GREAT is his faithfulness!
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As Christians, even though we can’t see what God’s up to sometimes (causing us frustration), we still are to go forth and scatter seed…we scatter the seed of the Word of God as we also LIVE as citizens of the Kingdom of God. And the LORD is in charge of the growth!
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Jesus the young prophet from Nazareth ushers in the kingdom of God and in doing so breaks the walls down of another kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, the devil’s kingdom. Prophesied to do so as the “seed of the woman” who will crush his head, Jesus the stronger one binds the strong man, Satan, and brings healing, teaching and preaching the Gospel, and casting out demons who no longer have dominion. As His people we have His Holy Spirit to continue in His work in the world.
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