The wheat and weeds in each of us

July 19, 2020

Jesus describes the human condition today in terms of wheat and weeds.  It can be easy to read this parable, imaging that we are the wheat and others are the weed.  Pastor Rob asserts that bad religion is what encourages us to think of our tribe as wheat and the other tribe as weed.  This kind of thinking is becoming pervasive in our country.  Good religion — faith in Jesus Christ — challenges us to confront the weed in our hearts, all while celebrating the wheat God has planted there as well.  Only when we have done this, can we engage meaningfully with people of another tribe, humble to see their wheat and empathetic to sense their weeds.

The Parable of the Sower

Sunday, July 12
The first parable Jesus ever uses is about a sower who sows seed on different types of soil.  Jesus uses the parable to give a warning to us about the forces that draw us away from God.  Jesus also uses the parable to remind us of God’s power to “bear fruit” in us, that is, produce good works!  The parable invites into deep reflection, not on seeds and fruit, but on our spiritual lives – what blocks us from God?  It also draws us back into reflection on The Sower, that is God, who generously gives us the word of promise, even in hard and uncertain times.
Preaching passage:  Matthew 13:1-9;18-23

Freedom of a Christian

Sunday, July 5

It is July 4th weekend, a time when we Americans celebrate our freedoms.  We often define freedom as freedom from — freedom from British rule (July 4!), freedom from rules by parents, freedom from worries.  But a biblical definition of freedom is just as much about freedom FOR something as it is freedom FROM something.  The freedom we have in Christ is freedom from death and sin; but also freedom for serving him and caring for our neighbor.  Pastor Rob moves from unpacking this dual understanding of biblical freedom to applying it to our lives today.

The main preaching passage is Matthew 11:25-30 with references to Exodus 9.

The Little Commission

June 28, 2020
Many are familiar with Jesus’ Great Commission — to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This week we hear Jesus Small Commission (Matthew 10:42) — “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”  This passage reminds us that discipleship is not about grand and glorious things, but humble acts of service to the least of these.   Likewise, God’s love to us isn’t always about grand and glorious things, but daily acts of love and service toward us that give us new life.  Throughout the sermon, Pastor Rob weaves in reflections on the Great and Small of Baptism and life as a baptized Christian; not simply because this made sense theologically, but also because this Sunday we had the baptism of two elementary school boys.