Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 27, 2009

More Sins Than Body Parts – Costly Grace
Mark 9:38-50

Bonhoeffer accuses the modern church of looking for “cheap grace.” I have to say that, in general, he is right. Jesus, on the other hand, in today's scripture speaks of paying the price for our sins. Basically, he says we should start lopping of body parts as they sin. Admittedly, this behavior seems a little extreme, but let's face – Jesus was extreme. The texts invite us to a deeper consideration of how to address our sins, of how self-righteousness and grace are related, and what the ultimate price should be.

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 20, 2009

The Secret of the Windows Mite

Mark 12:38-44

Jesus talked about two topics more than any other. they were not love, prayer, or faith. They were the kingdom of God and material possessions or money. He talked about what the world would be like if we lived out the values God wants us to live out. He talked about material possessions and how relationship with them both affect and reflects our relationship with God. The interesting thing is how neatly the two very important things to Jesus fit together - if we get our money and our life choices lined up with the values that God wants for us, the the world would be a much better place - much closer to the Kingdom of God that Jesus said could be lived out here and now. The secret of the widows mite will help us understand this a little more clearly.

Scripture and Sermon Title for Sept. 13, 2009

Bread from Heaven: Food for Thought

Exodus 16:2-15

Abundance and scarcity – it is easy to believe, to say, that we put our trust in God. It is much harder to actually do it. Do we believe that we too can experience bread from heaven? Just as the people of Israel were asked to trust God in exchange for their heavenly gift, we too are asked to trust in God rather than in ourselves or the things of this world.