Rockbridge Sermon Podcast

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From Jacobs family background we know that Jacob knew God, but from how he lived most of his life we know that God was not his guiding force. Jacob for most of his life was a self-centered manipulator. But that night by the river God and Jacob were going to have a showdown. Jacob wrestled with God that night. He came out of it with a limp, but he was a changed man.

There are three types of people in the world. First, there are those who are blind. They do not know God and are blind to His nature and His ways. Second, there are those that see God and acknowledge his nature and his ways. However, they do not actively pursue a life in Christ that leads to transformation. And finally, There are those that see and know God and actively seek the transformation that knowledge of God can bring into their lives. Which one are you?

In our scripture this week Jesus heals a leper. In one aspect Jesus violates the Mosaic law by touching an unclean person. Then on the other hand, Jesus affirms Mosaic law by sending the man to the priest for certification that he had been cleansed and could reenter society. What seemingly is a contradiction, is not.

When you have had enough and you are in despair that you will do anything to get to Jesus

What is Paul's thorn? We do not know what Paul's thorn was. Over the years there has been all sorts of speculation by theologians and Bible scholars about what Paul's thorn might be. I tend to think it was intentionally left vague by God, for two reasons. First, it is not the point of the scripture. Second, so we could fill in the blank for ourselves with our own thorn. But, in the end it doesn't matter what the ‘thorn' the point of the text is that “God's Grace is sufficient”, and that “God's power is made perfect in our weakness.” If this is the truth, why do we go to such great links to mask our weakness?

Churches today often present a sanitized version of the Bible. This cleans up the messiness of the Bible that often makes good Christian people uncomfortable. However, when we sanitize the messiness of the Bible to make it more pliable, it loses its relatability and ultimately the power to draw people to the Gospel.

In this life God gives us 'mountain top' experiences. From which we experience God in richer and deeper perspectives. But, we are not meant to stay on the mountain top. We are meant to take all that we received and witnessed back down to the valleys. Our 'mountain top' experiences were not meant for us alone.

Being a neighbor is also letting others be neighbors to you. We try to do everything on our own but that only builds one way streets. Jesus says to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor. That includes accepting that love from your neighbor.