Sermons tagged with ‘Pentecost’

1620 of 21 items

Jesus’ Commitment, Our Commitment

Jesus made a commitment to us. How will we respond? TEXT: Luke 9:51-62. Read it here. Commitment forms the foundation of our relationships with each other. Marriage, employment and other commitments underscore our understanding that we are all in this life together. Through that lens, we read today’s Gospel story of Jesus “setting his face […]

The King Has You Covered!

By the time this part of the Pentecost season rolls around we start to hear a fair amount of “Kingdom” language. We are reading those parts of the Jesus story from Jesus’ last days on earth. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, the focus and attention had turned to his own death. Using stories and parables, Jesus paints pictures of a vision for God’s perfect Kingdom and God’s eternal reign.

God’s Seeking Love!

The Bible is also a panorama of love gained and lost. In fact, most of the story of salvation has to do with God’s enduring fidelity over and against human rejection. God never stops reaching out to those who reject God’s generous faithfulness.

Pentecost 10

Matthew 15: (10-20) 21-28 Her daughter was trapped by a demon, enslaved in a way that left her alienated from normal life. Why else would her pagan mother cry out to Jesus the Jewish teacher? In fact, there are demonic forces everywhere in the world. Given the story we’ve just heard, I cannot help but think of the ongoing tragedy of the Middle East, particularly of the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

Pentecost 9

Matthew 14:22-33 It was January 2nd, 1997. A Border Collie was keeping watch over the Thompsons’ 80 head of cattle when around 8:30 p.m. the rains that had soaked and flooded Northern California for a week ruptured a levee, sending a 20-foot wall of water surging toward his owner’s three-story home. As the water rose through the night, the dog climbed the roof keeping just ahead of it.