June 7
"The Not-So-Great De-Commissioning?"
Matthew 28:16-20
The last recorded words of Christ have come to be known (thanks to King James) as "The Great Commission." A closer look at these words will tell us that they are much more complicated than we make them out to be. A closer look at the modern church will tell us that (at least in recent times) by taking our eyes off of the zeitgeist of contemporary society (or worse yet, intentionally minimizing it), we have also taken our eyes of of the great commission (or worse yet, effectively de-commissioned ourselves).
June 14
"Growth Through Knowledge"
Mark 4:26-34
At least here in Mark the parable of the mustard seed might not be everything we have made it out to be - it may actually be much more. Taken in context of the larger chapter and considering the echos of other great teachers of the day and then finally placed within its cultural setting, we begin to understand that growing the Kingdom of God (here on earth) begins humbly with the seeds of knowledge.
June 21
Job 38:1-41, 41:9-42:6
"Let God be God"
This is God's response to Job trying to call God on what's just. God's response is, let God be God. In the end you really have no choice. No matter how hard you try to shape God to fit into the box formed by your personal opinions and biases – God will be God. Even in that knowledge, however, we still try to shape God’s word to fit our own personal values and beliefs. We push our agendas by trying to say they are God’s will. When we do that, just like Job and his friends, we are guilty of using God’s name in vain, of using God’s name for false reasons.
June 29
Guest Minister
July 5
John 9:1-41
“None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See”
Our gospel reading today is a story of vision. Not a story of blindness, not a story of seeing – it is a story of vision. Too frequently, we focus on the blindness. Too frequently, we focus on the gaining of sight. Today we will concern ourselves with the problem of vision.
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