Paul is trying to explain God’s work which is, at some point, unexplainable. He also may be quoting a hymn that the Romans sang to share with them that he is not really saying anything that they did not already know. Or, he may be saying that we are, at the same time, children of God and waiting to be adopted as God’s children. As Luther said it, at the same time sinner and saint.
Read MoreAs I have said many times, the law is a set of rules put in place by a people so they can live together in a stable and safe environment. The opposite of law is chaos.
Read MoreInstead of cursing those who anger you, say a prayer for them. Instead of insisting on your rights, be gracious, instead of bravado and commandeering be humble. All in all remember your savior.
Read MoreYou have been freed from the bondage to sin and death and made whole by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You can choose to live your life so that, through you, others see their own bondage and cry out for their salvation.
Read MoreThe Christian faith was dividing families. Jeremiah gives a good description of what it sometimes means to answer God’s call. He was being made fun of and mocked. There were threats on his life. And when he tried to withhold God’s words it was like a fire burning within him. All three of our texts today are a reminder that to be God’s own does not guarantee an easy life. What is guaranteed is that God will not abandon you despite who you are, your mistakes and foibles.
Read MoreThe suffering that Paul is talking about is that suffering that came about because they were Christians and fulfilling the call of Jesus to proclaim that the kingdom of God had arrived. They were suffering for the benefit of others.
Read MoreI can tell you hundreds of examples of people who I had never seen before show up at church wanting God to fix some problem. Then, after it is all done, they leave again. Some because the problem is solved so they can return to life as it was while others leave in anger because God did not answer their prayers.
Read MoreTheir attempt to solve their own problems on their own without God ended in disaster. Now, after messing up their lives, they were questioning who they were. They were even questioning God. You know people like that who wander away from God chasing after green pastures. Then, when disaster strikes, blame God for it. Their lives are like the dry bones in the valley.
Read MoreWhat our story says is that God chooses differently than the world. That which the world sees as most important may not be what God chooses.
Read MoreThis woman, who had suffered much losing five husbands, was welcomed by Jesus into the kingdom of God. He did not change her or make her act in a different way, he just made her acceptable to God as she was.
Read MoreWhile Paul uses the story of Abram and Sarai to talk about faith – they were willing to leave home based on a promise. He does gloss over parts of it to make his point. That point is the promise that God has given to us through Jesus. The promise of faith. Faith is knowing that God will not abandon God’s people.
Read MoreGod did not sit Adam and Eve down in the garden and tell them what not to do. The story is much greater than that; God gave them the garden, permission to take care of it, and a command (“do not eat…”) to protect them. To view any of this in a negative light is to miss the beauty and majesty of God. Could you have imagined God putting us down in a desert, giving us nothing to do, and leaving us to our own devices?
Read MoreWhile our world may not be as violent and ruthless as Paul's, we see the same symptoms of a world that is full of selfish individuals who only look out for themselves. No need to follow traffic laws. No need to worry that my actions cause harm to others – they have the same chance as I do! We are just like the Corinthians. And like the Corinthians we need to hear Paul admonish us.
Read MoreWhile the world calls us to individualism and, in the end, selfishness, God calls us into community. While the world tells you that the most important person in the world is you, God tells us that it is the poor, hungry, imprisoned, and refugee, and God calls us to share our gifts with them. While others claim that their community is only those people who look and think like them, God calls us into the community that knows no boundaries.
Read MoreWith horrible news every day of violence and death, surrounded by people in a hurry, and confronted by anger that seems to come out of nowhere, we often forget our call to love others and instead, succumb to our own dark feelings. I am not saying that we should not get angry. Jesus did. It is what we do with our anger (and other emotions) that matters. Instead of reacting as the world, we are called to react as Jesus did, with love.
Read MoreWhile it would be nice to receive all the knowledge we need to live our lives at one time through some secret initiation rite, we know that’s impossible. We have learned, and are still learning, how to live our lives in the world today through experience. What we need instead of specific knowledge is a guide that will help us make decisions in our pilgrimage through life.
Read More…we often struggle to show the world that we fit in. And it knows it. Just turn on the television and watch a few ads if you dare.
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