Sermons

Implicit in the question is a call to faith in the One who always keeps His promises. Where we find such a faith is often surprising.

The combined gospels record seven sayings of Jesus from the cross but Peter remembers only one. Without the resurrection we would all be ‘forsaken’ of God’s love.

Jesus didn’t call them the ‘sons of thunder’ for nothing! James and John, like most of us, followed Jesus with at least a smidgen of self-serving motives. Jesus didn’t spurn their desire for significance but exposed them to the only path for getting there.

Jesus had a unique way of turning comments into questions that probed deeply into the facades of manmade religion. What does ‘good’ look like through the eyes of the Messiah?

The anonymity of being just another face in the crowd exempts us from making any personal commitment. Jesus’ question was, and is, intended to move people from the Crowd to the Committed.

From the Pharisees demanding a sign to the disciples’ inability to connect leaven with spiritual insight, the story of the blind man emerges as an object lesson that we still need today.

Dark purposes and betrayal bookend this beautiful story of unselfish love. Jesus’ question is really a ‘motive’ question that struck at the hearts of his hearers. What attempts to we make to interrupt the beauty of heart-felt worship today?

When our focus is riveted to external standards we position ourselves toward self-righteousness and distance ourselves from the things that really matter to God.