The Lost Son is a parable about grace, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration. Some forms of restoration we cannot control. Age and time create changes in our lives which we cannot exchange for youth. However, we can offer extravagant grace, forgiveness, and mercy to others, in the hopes of restoring relationships with lost souls. Will you and I join that celebration?
Jesus himself forgave those who hurt him, setting an example for us to follow. Forgiving can be difficult, but it is important for our own well-being and spiritual growth. Rev. Steinberg will explore the common misconceptions about forgiveness. Is there someone you need to forgive? Come and discover the power of forgiveness in your life.
There are more nut-cake families and fruit-cake families than angel-food-cake families in the Bible. Do you think you have a dysfunctional family? Imagine being a member of the Adam-Eve family or the Isaac-Rebekah family. Then there is Joseph, who received special treatment from his dad Jacob. The anger and hatred grew among his siblings until they decided to murder him. Fortunately, they settled on selling him into slavery instead. The day of reckoning came when the brothers needed Joseph’s help to survive.
Somebody hurt you, maybe yesterday, maybe a lifetime ago, and you can’t forget it. You didn’t deserve the hurt, but it went deep, and even today, that hurt is bothering you. So how do we follow Paul’s words in Colossians 3 that say, “Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Often differences among people can lead to division. Our nation in embroiled in racial tension and division in part due to the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor among others. Unity does not just happen; we have to work at it. Rev. Julius Keller asks: what role can we who dare to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ do to bring about healing and reconciliation? What role can our church play in this process?
Why did a woman with a bad reputation bring expensive perfume and anoint Jesus’ feet with it? There is a back story that Luke is not telling us. What happened earlier in the day? What encounter did Jesus have with this woman? As Pastor Fred explores this story we may find it has transformative effects in our life.
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on January 27, 2019 by Rev. Fred A. Steinberg
When we do something wrong we might say, “What was I thinking?” So we commit to do differently. Next time will be different. But we find ourselves doing the same thing again and again. How do we use 2nd chances wisely? Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on January […]
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on January 28, 2018 by Rev. Fred A. Steinberg
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on Dec. 31, 2017 by Rev. Bob Deits