From time to time, Jesus used something to create something more. For instance, He used water to make wine. He used a fish’s mouth, to deliver a coin to pay Caesar’s tax. He fed a crowd of 5,000 by accepting a boys lunch that had been offered to him. Can these miracles still happen today? Pastor Fred will address that question in a message titled, “Foodini.”
As we bring our series on travel, we contemplate what it means to return home. Jesus says “abide in me” and follows that us with the commandment to love one another. The beauty of travel as a spiritual act is, as Rick Steves says, that our prized souvenirs are the “strands of different cultures we decide to knit into our own character.”
Jesus often crossed paths with others not from his “tribe.” He most often sought out these opportunities. He met people in their daily lives and locales, such as the Samaritan woman at the well and her community, and engaged with them at the point of their deepest yearning. When we seek out and open up to new encounters, new people, new relationships, we allow ourselves a spiritual rendezvous with humanity. How can we shift our perception, redefining “strangers” as “friends we have not yet met?”
Leaving Egypt was not a pleasure excursion for the Hebrew people. But the story of their pilgrimage in the desert in the Book of Exodus reminds us that traveling, moving, leaving home, is part of our Judeo-Christian tradition. Each of us finds ourselves sometime in life needing to leave the familiar in order to grow and to thrive. Beginning a journey involves leaving “home”- whether that is a physical place in order to explore another part of the world, or changing a mindset that keeps us from expanding our spiritual capacity. What must we do to embark in to the unknown?
The people mutter, “Jesus has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” And they were right. Zacchaeus was a sinner of the worst kind. He had gotten rich from collaborating with invaders and by fleecing his neighbors. So, his neighbors regarded him as human filth. His name became a sneer on the lips of fellow Jews. He was a standing joke. But for some reason, Jesus chooses to dine with the most hated man in town.
There is not an age at which we magically mature. A person may turn 21, be able to drink, vote, and move out on their own, but it doesn’t mean they are mature. Adults can act like children with behavior such as selfishness, tantrum-throwing, impatience, name-calling, bullying, gossiping, overdramatizing, shirking blame, and problems with impulse control. The apostle Paul saw much of this go on in the church in Corinth. So, he calls on Christians to mature in their faith. We will explore this portion of scripture in a message titled “Spiritual Grownups.”
Some Christians believe if God wants us to do a certain thing, he will open a door for us; if God doesn’t want us to do it, he will shut it. This sounds simple and true, but many times it is not. There are times when God calls us to walk through adversity. Moses discovered this when he was asked in retirement to go back to Egypt and free the Hebrews from slavery. Jesus called us to love our enemies, forgive those who hurt us 7×70 times, and much more. In a message titled “Swim Upstream,” we will contemplate God’s tendency to not go with the flow but to struggle upstream against the current of life.
Happy Father’s Day to the men who helped raise children! During Jesus’ day, children were accorded a low status in society. They were sometimes seen as property. The Disciples thought the children were a nuisance and tried to keep them away from Jesus, but Jesus would have none of that. We will look at His priority for children in a message titled, “Not a Nuisance.”
Some people think that the Church is similar to a cruise ship. It’s all about the church meeting their needs. And, if the cruise ship doesn’t measure up, they’ll go looking for one that does. But this isn’t a biblical view of the church. The perspective is more like another ship. Can you guess which one?
Sometimes Christians can come across as self-righteous. They can develop a holier-than-thou attitude. This attitude turns people off to the Christian faith. Jesus saw this and compared the self-righteous Pharisees to the washing of a dirty cup. So how can we avoid the trap the Pharisees fell into when they thought they were living out their faith effectively?