POPULARITY
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
4 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
2 episodes with scripture: luke 13:1-13:9
Pastor Bob Brice is back this week talking about having fruitful faith and what that means for us!
Pastor Bob Brice is back this week talking about having fruitful faith and what that means for us!
Sermon Notes: Jan 18, 2026 "There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:1-9 With our repentance, our lives should change in a way that iimpacts the world around us. Repentance is required to follow Christ. At the very beginning of Jesus's ministry the Bible records Jesus saying “Repent!” This is not something that is up for negotiation in the life of a Christian. God calls every man and every woman to repent. Jesus’s entrance into our life brings division - it should be a shift in our allegiance away from the things we hold dear, with our topmost allegiance given to Jesus. And that will cause disruption. Repentance means “radical change of heart and mind.” The Greek word translated as repentence, "metanoia," denotes a fundamental change within the self: of mind and heart. There is no entrance into the kingdom of Jesus without a change of heart and mind. In this text, Jesus sets conditions for repentance. There is urgency in all of Jesus’s commands to repent. In the height of theological thinking of Jesus's day wasthe belief that sin can bring about your demise; that God strikes people down for their errors. We, too, are prone to this type of thinking. It helps us make sense of the world that doesn’t always make a lot of sense. But truthfully some suffering won't be neatly understood on this side of the grave. So all we can say is “His grace is sufficient.” We can’t make sense of all the suffering in the world. Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to change. He shows us that ultimately ALL suffering is because of ALL sin. And greater suffering awaits those who don’t turn from their own sinful ways. Jesus forces us away from thinking that the outcomes people encounter are equivalent to their sin. Everyone suffers. And all sin leads to all death. Without repentance, we all will face death. Without Christ, we are all 1 minute away from the worst possible eternal outcome. It is the sin in the world that ensures there will be suffering in this life. But it is sin in your life that ensures your suffering in the next life. It is with urgency that we must turn to Christ and away from our sin. Believe and repent. Unless shift away from the gods of this world towards the savior Jesus Christ, we will actually truly suffer. All of us begin life by rejecting the savior - by being a fruitless fig tree. But true repentance always comes with fruit. Repentance without fruit is self deception. Your life cannot express metanoia on the inside, without showing metanoia on the outside. The way we live our lives with those around us changes. What does it look like: Selfish people becoming more generous. Scheming people becoming more genuine. Savage people become more gentle. When our heart and mind have changed, it doesn’t just happen on the inside. It happens on the outside. In the last parable, Jesus offers us a comfort and a caution. If we lay claim to a lord, but bear no fruit as though we are not connected to that lord, then one day we will be cut off. We can say “I’ve been in church all my life” but if our life doesn’t reflect that, then one day we shall be removed. But the comfort is that we have the chance to reorient ourselves and point our lives toward Christ. He is still giving us grace through His grace, His time and His nurturing. If you do not know Christ, this is an invitation. He is so merciful and so caring. Come to know Him. Turn from your sin and repent.
Sermon Notes: Jan 18, 2026 "There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:1-9 With our repentance, our lives should change in a way that iimpacts the world around us. Repentance is required to follow Christ. At the very beginning of Jesus's ministry the Bible records Jesus saying “Repent!” This is not something that is up for negotiation in the life of a Christian. God calls every man and every woman to repent. Jesus’s entrance into our life brings division - it should be a shift in our allegiance away from the things we hold dear, with our topmost allegiance given to Jesus. And that will cause disruption. Repentance means “radical change of heart and mind.” The Greek word translated as repentence, "metanoia," denotes a fundamental change within the self: of mind and heart. There is no entrance into the kingdom of Jesus without a change of heart and mind. In this text, Jesus sets conditions for repentance. There is urgency in all of Jesus’s commands to repent. In the height of theological thinking of Jesus's day wasthe belief that sin can bring about your demise; that God strikes people down for their errors. We, too, are prone to this type of thinking. It helps us make sense of the world that doesn’t always make a lot of sense. But truthfully some suffering won't be neatly understood on this side of the grave. So all we can say is “His grace is sufficient.” We can’t make sense of all the suffering in the world. Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to change. He shows us that ultimately ALL suffering is because of ALL sin. And greater suffering awaits those who don’t turn from their own sinful ways. Jesus forces us away from thinking that the outcomes people encounter are equivalent to their sin. Everyone suffers. And all sin leads to all death. Without repentance, we all will face death. Without Christ, we are all 1 minute away from the worst possible eternal outcome. It is the sin in the world that ensures there will be suffering in this life. But it is sin in your life that ensures your suffering in the next life. It is with urgency that we must turn to Christ and away from our sin. Believe and repent. Unless shift away from the gods of this world towards the savior Jesus Christ, we will actually truly suffer. All of us begin life by rejecting the savior - by being a fruitless fig tree. But true repentance always comes with fruit. Repentance without fruit is self deception. Your life cannot express metanoia on the inside, without showing metanoia on the outside. The way we live our lives with those around us changes. What does it look like: Selfish people becoming more generous. Scheming people becoming more genuine. Savage people become more gentle. When our heart and mind have changed, it doesn’t just happen on the inside. It happens on the outside. In the last parable, Jesus offers us a comfort and a caution. If we lay claim to a lord, but bear no fruit as though we are not connected to that lord, then one day we will be cut off. We can say “I’ve been in church all my life” but if our life doesn’t reflect that, then one day we shall be removed. But the comfort is that we have the chance to reorient ourselves and point our lives toward Christ. He is still giving us grace through His grace, His time and His nurturing. If you do not know Christ, this is an invitation. He is so merciful and so caring. Come to know Him. Turn from your sin and repent.
Rev. Dr. Larry Hayward preaches on the Third Sunday in Lent. The Scripture passage is Luke 13:1-9.
What is God’s response to our “why?” May God bless you as you engage in worship. Please feel free to leave feedback/comments to let us know you joined in worship. If you’d like to contribute to the ongoing ministry of Two Rivers Community Church of the Nazarene please use this link: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/64291
Sermon Title: The Fruit of Repentance For more information about Redemption Church or to get in touch please visit our website at: https://www.redemptionchurchokc.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedemptionChurchOKC If you would like to support our ministry you can donate at: https:/www.aplos.com/aws/give/RedemptionChurch1/
Sermon Title: The Fruit of Repentance For more information about Redemption Church or to get in touch please visit our website at: https://www.redemptionchurchokc.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedemptionChurchOKC If you would like to support our ministry you can donate at: https:/www.aplos.com/aws/give/RedemptionChurch1/
CrossRoads Church Making and maturing disciples together as a family
CrossRoads Church Making and maturing disciples together as a family
To Every Generation...The teaching ministry of Calvary Chapel Crossfields.....Join us as we go verse by verse through the Bible.
Welcome to Christ Community Church of Wilmington NC. We are committed to teaching the Bible, transforming lives, and touching our world.
Christ the King Presbyterian (PCA): Vero Beach, FL
Christ the King Presbyterian (PCA): Vero Beach, FL
Tragedies have something to teach us, and it is not that the ones who suffer them are worse sinners than everyone else. Rather, they teach us that life is short and fragile, and that it could have just as easily been us instead of them. Therefore, we should repent - get right with God - while we still can.
Tragedies have something to teach us, and it is not that the ones who suffer them are worse sinners than everyone else. Rather, they teach us that life is short and fragile, and that it could have just as easily been us instead of them. Therefore, we should repent - get right with God - while we still can.
Pastor Aaron Allison preaches on the third Sunday of Lent.
Pastor Aaron Allison preaches on the third Sunday of Lent.
These Forty Days, Turn from Judging, Luke 13:1-9, Pastor Jeff McVay
These Forty Days, Turn from Judging, Luke 13:1-9, Pastor Jeff McVay
We continue in Gathered Up In Jesus. This week: Called to Bear Fruit - Luke 13:1-9
Pastor Aaron Allison preaches on the third Sunday of Lent.
We continue in Gathered Up In Jesus. This week: Called to Bear Fruit - Luke 13:1-9
Pastor Aaron Allison preaches on the third Sunday of Lent.
Storyline Christian Community
One more year Luke 13: 1-9 Rev Keith Morrison
One more year Luke 13: 1-9 Rev Keith Morrison
Three Lakes Evangelical Free Church
Three Lakes Evangelical Free Church
Three Lakes Evangelical Free Church
Bishop Hannington
Bishop Hannington
We are responsible for our own lives, but Jesus reveals Himself as “The Lord of the 2nd (and 3rd & 4th…etc.) Chance(s).
We are responsible for our own lives, but Jesus reveals Himself as “The Lord of the 2nd (and 3rd & 4th…etc.) Chance(s).
In this message, guest speaker Chris Inman encourages us to to consider what we've lost during COVID-19 and what cannot be taken away from us. Pay special attention to the end of his message about how you can make your own "You Can't Take THAT Away" list.
Cornerstone in Prescott, AZ exists to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus. Scott Savage serves as our primary teaching pastor. Learn more: PrescottCornerstone.com
Bible preaching from the pulpit of Walridge Baptist Church
Bible preaching from the pulpit of Walridge Baptist Church
TOUGH EVENTS LEAD TO TOUGH QUESTIONS. I was having a Bible study with a young man in 1995 when he asked a tough question: "Stalin killed 35,000,000 people, mostly Russians. More than Hitler. Was this a judgment of God? Did they deserve it?" How would you have answered this young, budding believer in God? I went to this passage in Luke 13, when Jesus received a similar question. Pilate was a small fry when compared to Stalin, but the evils he perpetrated were certainly as dark. Because of recent events, men came to Jesus wondering the same thing...did the people Pilate slaughtered deserve it?
TOUGH EVENTS LEAD TO TOUGH QUESTIONS. I was having a Bible study with a young man in 1995 when he asked a tough question: "Stalin killed 35,000,000 people, mostly Russians. More than Hitler. Was this a judgment of God? Did they deserve it?" How would you have answered this young, budding believer in God? I went to this passage in Luke 13, when Jesus received a similar question. Pilate was a small fry when compared to Stalin, but the evils he perpetrated were certainly as dark. Because of recent events, men came to Jesus wondering the same thing...did the people Pilate slaughtered deserve it?
Are accidents and calamities the judgment of God? What should our reaction be? Jesus answers these questions with a warning. He continued by telling us what God expects from our lives. Are you ready for the day you will stand before the Judge of all mankind?
Are accidents and calamities the judgment of God? What should our reaction be? Jesus answers these questions with a warning. He continued by telling us what God expects from our lives. Are you ready for the day you will stand before the Judge of all mankind?
A sermon from Luke 13:1-9 by Pastor Will Harmon Cavanaugh Church Fort Smith, Arkansas
A sermon from Luke 13:1-9 by Pastor Will Harmon Cavanaugh Church Fort Smith, Arkansas
A sermon from Luke 13:1-9 by Pastor Will Harmon Cavanaugh Church Fort Smith, Arkansas
17 year old Brewster Durbin is the Asbury Youth Servant Leader Council Convener and has been active in the Asbury children's and youth ministries since his family moved to Lafayette in 2005.
On this the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we look back on the warnings of Jesus about the coming judgment that awaits the world.
In Lent we admit our sin and shortcomings, that we're not yet the people God desires us to be. Yet even in our sin, by the grace of God there's still time. A merciful God gives us time to turn, to repent, to change our ways and bear fruit for God's Kingdom. The forty days of Lent is a graciously long time to turn from our sinful ways and toward God. This is the good news we hear in Luke 13:1-9. This is the good news of Lent.
Christ Church, Bayston Hill (UK)
Storyline Christian Community
On this the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we look back on the warnings of Jesus about the coming judgment that awaits the world.
Christ Church, Bayston Hill (UK)
3rd Sunday in Lent / Rev. Anton Lagoutine / based on Luke 13:1-9
The roots of all suffering is in our broken human nature, corrupted by Adam and Eve's sin, and inherited and increased by us. Jesus gives us hope and healing by nourishing us, also at the very roots of who we are, with His own body and blood to remake us in His image!
At Bayside Baptist Church, our guiding mission is to glorify God by helping people to follow Christ Jesus together. This podcast delivers weekly audio sermons from Senior Pastor John A. Nixon, Ph.D. Please visit www.baysidebc.org for more info!
While dealing with hard news in a surprisingly un-Messianic way, Jesus tells a story that reveals how Grace can sometimes look like pain but that even in pain we are firmly in His care.
His Days Are Numbered
His Days Are Numbered
Covenant Presbyterian Church (The Barn)
Tragedy and calamity draw out our deepest emotions. What should we think when terrible things happen to other people? Is it because they are worse sinners? Are we spared because we are more righteous? Jesus is asked about these things. His answers may surprise you.
From the 9am Sanctuary Service
Contemporary Worship Service of Church Of The Palms, Sarasota, FL
Bible preaching from the pulpit of Walridge Baptist Church
Brad Sullivan 3 Lent, Year C February 28, 2016 Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX Luke 13:1-9 Changing the Narrative - Did you hear about those poor Galileans whom Pilate killed? - Oh that was awful. Pilate is a monster isn’t he. - I hear he mixed their blood in with their sacrifices. - What? That’s sacrilege! - How would that even work? - I don’t know. They must have been awful people though. - That’s true, for God to have something like that happen to them. Oh hey Jesus, did you hear about those awful Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices? We don’t know exactly what the conversation was, but Jesus responded by asking them if they thought the Galileans whom Pilate killed were worse sinners than anyone else. By Jesus’ response and by what we know about how people tend to talk about things, we can guess that Jesus was spot on, and the conversation about the tragedy of the day was quickly turning into nasty stories about those awful Galileans and thanksgiving to God that the speakers were not like those awful Galileans. The people talking about the Galileans were trying to make sense of their world. They’d heard about this awful killing by Pilate. They were probably horrified, sad, frightened, and threatened all at once, and so their brains did what peoples’ brains do. They started making up stories to go along with what they had heard, to make sense of it. We do this all the time. Someone is very rude to us, and our brains immediately start making up stories about that person, about how they’re just a jerk, or about how they’ve got some misplaced grudge against us. In reality, the person who was rude was just having a bad day, and we met them in a bad moment, but we don’t know that story. We only know the stories our brains make up about what a perpetual jerk that person is. It doesn’t matter to our brains if the stories are true or not. Our brains are hardwired for story. Stories are how we make sense of our world, and when our brains make up these little stories, we get biochemically rewarded for having made sense of the world. It also helps that we usually make ourselves the heroes and others the villains in these stories, right? So that’s what the people talking about the dead Galileans were doing, and then Jesus did what he does so well. He said, “That’s not the right story, guys,” and he gave them a new story. “No, they weren’t worse sinners than anybody else. Tragic, unexpected death can happen to anyone at anytime.” “Well thanks a lot, Jesus.” Our brains hate that. Chaos, uncertainty, threats to our survival. Our brains want to rest easy, knowing that we’re going to be ok. Jesus keeps saying, “Guys, you can rest easy, knowing that you’re going to be ok, you just don’t get to do it by making up stories about how terrible everyone else is and about how righteous and therefore ‘God protected’ you are.” In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus said, ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. We often devalue each other in order to make ourselves feel more secure, and Jesus says that when we do that, we are making ourselves less secure. We’re pouring God’s judgment upon ourselves whenever we hate another person. We’re pouring God’s judgment upon ourselves whenever we make up these stories in our own minds about how terrible someone else is. It seems crazy to us that just hating someone is tantamount to murder, but Jesus says it is. It makes sense that a murderer is deserving of death, but are we really deserving of death in God’s eyes just for hating each other? Well, yeah. Jesus is pointing out just how darn important we are to God. We are God’s children, the apple of God’s eye. So when we are hateful and hurtful to each other, yeah, it really upsets God. Imagine a parent whose child is being bullied so that they feel badly about themselves and withdrawing inward. Do you think that parent is going to be pretty hacked off at those other kids. That’s how God feels when he sees us hating and hurting each other. That’s how God feels when he sees us making up our stories about how others are the villains and we are the heroes. “Get the log out of your eye,” Jesus says. How can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Luke 6:42) We’ll also see the other with compassion rather than self-righteous judgment, because when we take the log out of our own eye, when we see clearly our own mess, then we can see another’s mess with greater compassion. When we see ourselves clearly and accept our mess, then we are no longer threatened by someone else’s mess. Further, Jesus teaches, there is something greater than ourselves in which we can place our security. There is something greater than our own power and our own righteousness in which we can place our security. There is a greater story than the countless self-serving stories our brains make up. That something greater is our eternal, loving Father, and that greater story, is the Gospel story of love and creation, sin and redemption, second chances and reconciliation. That’s the story Jesus led the people to when he told them the parable of the fig tree. He first had to break them down and divest them of their false, self-serving narratives. Then, laid bare, empty, and not the least bit afraid, Jesus clothed them and filled them up with the true story of God’s love for us and his striving with us. In the parable Jesus told, there is the worthless fig tree which is taking up good soil and producing nothing, and the gardener says, “Give it another year. Let me work with it. Let me tend it and care for it. Let me give it even better soil, and we’ll see if it can then bear fruit.” Looking at the idea of the garden, where were we all planted? The Garden of Eden. The fig tree is humanity. Jesus is telling us that despite how often we give up on ourselves and how often we give up on each other, we’re in his garden, and he wants to keep striving with us. Does this mean, that once we accept Jesus, that bad things won’t happen to us, or we will be perfectly shielded from tragedy or unexpected death? No. Even while loving Jesus and loving each other, we can still die unexpectedly and suddenly. When people do, however, our brains don’t need to make up stories about how they must be bad and such tragedy can’t happen to us. Jesus has given us the true story, that when we die, either tragically and unexpectedly or at a ripe old age, we continue on living with the Gardener. We need not fear death because in death we are transformed from life to life. Accept and believe that story, Jesus says, and then let it be the story not only of your death, but of your life. Let yourselves trust in God enough that you no longer have to make up stories about each other when you harm one another, but instead, I was going to say “put manure around each other,” following the parable Jesus told, but that doesn’t quite seem to work. Jesus is saying that when you hurt one another, strive with each other. Offer to one another, the compassion and forgiveness that God has given to you. Rather than making up stories about one another, accept he story in which we are all deserving of death, because we all have hatred in our hearts, and accept the rest of that story in which God does not say condemned, but rather says, “forgiven,” the story in which God calls us beloved. Accept and live the story in which there is still uncertainty in the world, but that uncertainty spurns us on to greater love, greater forgiveness, greater urgency in our desire for reconciliation, because when we love one another as God loves us, we don’t want one more day to go by with the other still hurting. When we have enmity in our hearts toward someone and we’re living God’s story, then we don’t want one more day to go by without having embraced that person and offered and received forgiveness and love. Living God’s story, trusting in his story, and placing our security in his story, we change the narratives we make up about others, no longer making them villains, but calling them beloved and forgiven. Amen.
Brad Sullivan 3 Lent, Year C February 28, 2016 Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX Luke 13:1-9 Changing the Narrative - Did you hear about those poor Galileans whom Pilate killed? - Oh that was awful. Pilate is a monster isn’t he. - I hear he mixed their blood in with their sacrifices. - What? That’s sacrilege! - How would that even work? - I don’t know. They must have been awful people though. - That’s true, for God to have something like that happen to them. Oh hey Jesus, did you hear about those awful Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices? We don’t know exactly what the conversation was, but Jesus responded by asking them if they thought the Galileans whom Pilate killed were worse sinners than anyone else. By Jesus’ response and by what we know about how people tend to talk about things, we can guess that Jesus was spot on, and the conversation about the tragedy of the day was quickly turning into nasty stories about those awful Galileans and thanksgiving to God that the speakers were not like those awful Galileans. The people talking about the Galileans were trying to make sense of their world. They’d heard about this awful killing by Pilate. They were probably horrified, sad, frightened, and threatened all at once, and so their brains did what peoples’ brains do. They started making up stories to go along with what they had heard, to make sense of it. We do this all the time. Someone is very rude to us, and our brains immediately start making up stories about that person, about how they’re just a jerk, or about how they’ve got some misplaced grudge against us. In reality, the person who was rude was just having a bad day, and we met them in a bad moment, but we don’t know that story. We only know the stories our brains make up about what a perpetual jerk that person is. It doesn’t matter to our brains if the stories are true or not. Our brains are hardwired for story. Stories are how we make sense of our world, and when our brains make up these little stories, we get biochemically rewarded for having made sense of the world. It also helps that we usually make ourselves the heroes and others the villains in these stories, right? So that’s what the people talking about the dead Galileans were doing, and then Jesus did what he does so well. He said, “That’s not the right story, guys,” and he gave them a new story. “No, they weren’t worse sinners than anybody else. Tragic, unexpected death can happen to anyone at anytime.” “Well thanks a lot, Jesus.” Our brains hate that. Chaos, uncertainty, threats to our survival. Our brains want to rest easy, knowing that we’re going to be ok. Jesus keeps saying, “Guys, you can rest easy, knowing that you’re going to be ok, you just don’t get to do it by making up stories about how terrible everyone else is and about how righteous and therefore ‘God protected’ you are.” In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus said, ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. We often devalue each other in order to make ourselves feel more secure, and Jesus says that when we do that, we are making ourselves less secure. We’re pouring God’s judgment upon ourselves whenever we hate another person. We’re pouring God’s judgment upon ourselves whenever we make up these stories in our own minds about how terrible someone else is. It seems crazy to us that just hating someone is tantamount to murder, but Jesus says it is. It makes sense that a murderer is deserving of death, but are we really deserving of death in God’s eyes just for hating each other? Well, yeah. Jesus is pointing out just how darn important we are to God. We are God’s children, the apple of God’s eye. So when we are hateful and hurtful to each other, yeah, it really upsets God. Imagine a parent whose child is being bullied so that they feel badly about themselves and withdrawing inward. Do you think that parent is going to be pretty hacked off at those other kids. That’s how God feels when he sees us hating and hurting each other. That’s how God feels when he sees us making up our stories about how others are the villains and we are the heroes. “Get the log out of your eye,” Jesus says. How can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Luke 6:42) We’ll also see the other with compassion rather than self-righteous judgment, because when we take the log out of our own eye, when we see clearly our own mess, then we can see another’s mess with greater compassion. When we see ourselves clearly and accept our mess, then we are no longer threatened by someone else’s mess. Further, Jesus teaches, there is something greater than ourselves in which we can place our security. There is something greater than our own power and our own righteousness in which we can place our security. There is a greater story than the countless self-serving stories our brains make up. That something greater is our eternal, loving Father, and that greater story, is the Gospel story of love and creation, sin and redemption, second chances and reconciliation. That’s the story Jesus led the people to when he told them the parable of the fig tree. He first had to break them down and divest them of their false, self-serving narratives. Then, laid bare, empty, and not the least bit afraid, Jesus clothed them and filled them up with the true story of God’s love for us and his striving with us. In the parable Jesus told, there is the worthless fig tree which is taking up good soil and producing nothing, and the gardener says, “Give it another year. Let me work with it. Let me tend it and care for it. Let me give it even better soil, and we’ll see if it can then bear fruit.” Looking at the idea of the garden, where were we all planted? The Garden of Eden. The fig tree is humanity. Jesus is telling us that despite how often we give up on ourselves and how often we give up on each other, we’re in his garden, and he wants to keep striving with us. Does this mean, that once we accept Jesus, that bad things won’t happen to us, or we will be perfectly shielded from tragedy or unexpected death? No. Even while loving Jesus and loving each other, we can still die unexpectedly and suddenly. When people do, however, our brains don’t need to make up stories about how they must be bad and such tragedy can’t happen to us. Jesus has given us the true story, that when we die, either tragically and unexpectedly or at a ripe old age, we continue on living with the Gardener. We need not fear death because in death we are transformed from life to life. Accept and believe that story, Jesus says, and then let it be the story not only of your death, but of your life. Let yourselves trust in God enough that you no longer have to make up stories about each other when you harm one another, but instead, I was going to say “put manure around each other,” following the parable Jesus told, but that doesn’t quite seem to work. Jesus is saying that when you hurt one another, strive with each other. Offer to one another, the compassion and forgiveness that God has given to you. Rather than making up stories about one another, accept he story in which we are all deserving of death, because we all have hatred in our hearts, and accept the rest of that story in which God does not say condemned, but rather says, “forgiven,” the story in which God calls us beloved. Accept and live the story in which there is still uncertainty in the world, but that uncertainty spurns us on to greater love, greater forgiveness, greater urgency in our desire for reconciliation, because when we love one another as God loves us, we don’t want one more day to go by with the other still hurting. When we have enmity in our hearts toward someone and we’re living God’s story, then we don’t want one more day to go by without having embraced that person and offered and received forgiveness and love. Living God’s story, trusting in his story, and placing our security in his story, we change the narratives we make up about others, no longer making them villains, but calling them beloved and forgiven. Amen.
sermon audio from the 11 a.m. Lent 3 sermon at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Houston, TX on 2-28-16
St. John's Lutheran Church is a vibrant congregation with active adult ministries and numerous opportunities for children and youth. Founded in 1798, St. John's continues to grow being nourished by the Word of God.
We are called to bear fruit. Repentance is not just something we do; it is a continual part of who and what we are as the body of Christ. The fruit of repentance helps us to focus on the power of God to bring change in our life and in the world.
We are called to bear fruit. Repentance is not just something we do; it is a continual part of who and what we are as the body of Christ. The fruit of repentance helps us to focus on the power of God to bring change in our life and in the world.
We are called to bear fruit. Repentance is not just something we do; it is a continual part of who and what we are as the body of Christ. The fruit of repentance helps us to focus on the power of God to bring change in our life and in the world.
We are called to bear fruit. Repentance is not just something we do; it is a continual part of who and what we are as the body of Christ. The fruit of repentance helps us to focus on the power of God to bring change in our life and in the world.
We are called to bear fruit. Repentance is not just something we do; it is a continual part of who and what we are as the body of Christ. The fruit of repentance helps us to focus on the power of God to bring change in our life and in the world.
Walking with Jesus, Led by the Spirit
Steve follows up Scott's message from last week by unpacking God's love of the fruit of the spirit and his expectation for our lives to bear fruit. Steve uses Scripture to examine what Jesus has to say about fruit in our lives and how we can bear fruit!
Steve follows up Scott's message from last week by unpacking God's love of the fruit of the spirit and his expectation for our lives to bear fruit. Steve uses Scripture to examine what Jesus has to say about fruit in our lives and how we can bear fruit!
CrossPoint Baptist Church
Teaching on Luke 13:1-9, Pastor Neil asks us to consider the fragility of life and to make peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, before our lives are required of us.
Teaching on Luke 13:1-9, Pastor Neil asks us to consider the fragility of life and to make peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, before our lives are required of us.
God is speaking, God is calling to us, but have we made ourselves impenetrable to his voice? Jesus looks at those who have insinuated themselves from hearing God speak, and says 'You'd better listen carefully. You need to repent, for all of the reasons you think you're safe and in no danger from the judgment of God are wrong.'
40 Days of Purpose: Praying For God's Best
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