Middle Street Baptist Church Sermons: Recent Episodes
Middle Street Baptist Church
Because of a microphone error, about 45 seconds is missing from the middle (around the 10:00 mark). We’re very sorry for the error.
Links:
Tish Harrison Warren, “If Easter Is Only a Symbol, Then to Hell with It,” Christianity Today, April 9, 2020.
David Robson, “Awe: The 'little earthquake' that could free your mind,” BBC, January 6, 2022.
Learn more about Vital and Ketly’s ministry at www.internationalministries.org/author/kv-pierre
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about true love. Not just sappy or sentimental, love is primarily an action more than it is a feeling, and it often does things that look foolish or unreasonable. This morning we think about God’s love—in action, even if it looks foolish and unreasonable.
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about the nature of peace. Peace is not just a lack of conflict; peace means everything is as it should be. In a world that most of the time does not feel peaceful, where do we find true peace?
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about the nature of hope. What does it mean to hope in God, and how can we find sturdy hope, not just Hallmark hope?
As we consider what it means to grow more mature in our faith, James directs the spotlight to the issue of religion itself. What kind of religion does God want, and what kind of religion does he not want?
So far, as we have dug into the New Testament letter of James, we’ve seen that James is a very direct writer — he doesn’t beat around the bush. This morning we consider his most direct statement yet: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
If our faith is all about grace, what place does obedience have? And, if we don’t do what God’s word says, what can we expect?
This morning we consider the third contemplative practice in our series: confession. Confession is not meant to depress us, but to cleanse us. Like stepping out of a dark, damp cellar into a bright, sunny day, confession can be uncomfortable and overwhelming. But you wouldn’t want to live your whole life in the cellar, would you?
As we continue our short series learning about contemplative spiritual practices, we approach the ancient practice called examen. As Fr. Dennis Hamm once wrote, Examen is like “rummaging for God—going through a drawer full of stuff, feeling around, looking for something that you are sure must be there.” This morning we consider how we might rummage for God, and how we might invite him to rummage through our life, so we might become more like Christ.
Early in his letter James teaches Christians how important it is to suffer well. But the question remains: how do I become the type of person who suffers well? This morning we consider the contemplative spiritual practice of listening. Do you even recognize the voice of God in your life? Are you listening for it? And when you hear it, do you have the courage to follow his voice?
So far in his letter James has urged us to remain steadfast in seasons of suffering, and he has shown us how God wants to work through our suffering. Today he addresses the question we’ve all asked: how can a good God allow suffering in this world? The more we come to grips with the fact that we’re not in control, the better we will suffer.
James begins his letter by showing us how trials and hard seasons in life can develop perseverance and maturity in our spiritual lives. This morning he addresses the flip side of the same coin: trials, when approached in an unhealthy way, can become temptations to stray from God. How can we approach trials as opportunities to draw near to God, instead of as temptations to be driven away from God?
Early in his letter James encourages Christians to persevere through suffering and hard seasons, because perseverance leads to a more mature faith. This morning James gives us one more incentive to persevere: God gives those who love him and who persevere the crown of life. This morning we explore what the crown of life is, and why it helps us endure painful seasons in life.
James has a reputation for being blunt and to the point. This morning we get our first taste of James’ bluntness. He tells people in “humble circumstances” to boast in their high position, and he tells the rich to “take pride in their low position.” He means to provoke us where it hurts: in our wallets.
This morning we ask what it means that God comforts the disturbed, and he disturbs the comfortable. And in the process, we see how allowing ourselves to be provoked and challenged helps us to grow into wiser, more mature Christians.
James teaches us to , “Consider it pure joy when you experience trials of many kinds.” This is difficult in itself. But immediately after this, James teaches us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.” We might ask in response, “What does wisdom have to do with suffering?” And, “How do I become wise?” Both are good questions, and this morning we listen for how God might meet us in those questions.
“Consider it pure joy,” James writes at the very start of his letter, “when you experience trials of many kinds.” This seems counter-intuitive. Trials—suffering—testing—none of these sounds very joyful to us. This morning Ron Bouthillette leads us to discover how we can find joy in the hardest parts of life.
In the build-up to the most famous verse in the Bible (John 3:16), Jesus tells a very religious person, “You must be born again.” This morning we explore what Jesus meant by being “born again.” How can a person be born again?
Jesus’ half-brother, James, wrote to early Christians who were asking, “How do I grow from spiritual infancy to maturity?” This morning we think about James’ claim to be a servant of God, and we allow him to challenge us by asking, “Are you living as a servant of God, or as a free person who sets your own direction?” The paradox is, what we think of as freedom is actually slavery, and what we think of as slavery is actually freedom.
Jesus’ third story in Luke 15 is his most famous – the parable of the lost son. But the story is not really about the younger son, who ran away from his father. It is about the older son who never ran. This morning we see the false loyalty and subtle arrogance of the older brother, and the consistent mercy of the Father.
Jesus’ third story in Luke 15 is his most famous – often called the parable of the Prodigal Son. This morning we see that “Prodigal,” which means “wasteful and extravagant,” may better describe the father (and God our Father) than the son in the story. Hear why it is good news that God is wasteful and extravagant.
Jesus tells three kingdom stories in Luke 15 which introduce mystery into our understanding of God. In the second, a woman loses a substantial amount of money. Of course, she goes to great effort to find the lost money. It’s a simple story, but it turns some of our misconceptions of God upside-down. Contrary to popular opinion, God our Father is not a difficult-to-please father.
Jesus tells three kingdom stories in Luke 15 which introduce mystery into our understanding of God. In the first, a shepherd makes a very illogical decision. This story delights the sinners around Jesus and offends the religious people. Where does God’s heart lie, and how does that confront our own misunderstandings?
This morning Ron Bouthillette offers a straightforward, encouraging message: God is able. When life seems bleak or hopeless, and when we’re at the end of our rope, Ron encourages us to look not to our own strength, but to God. Because God is able.
This morning Rev. Doug Birdsall challenges us with a simple question: what one thing do you want, more than anything else? In Psalm 27 King David sings, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple.”
As we conclude our series learning from Amos, we notice a stark change of tone. Mostly severe for the first 8 1/2 chapters, the second half of Amos 9 is saturated with hope and mercy. Why this change? Did God change his mind? Or did he have a plan the entire time?
This morning we ask, “Does God’s judgment mean God is cruel?” As we’ve seen throughout Amos, God’s judgment is not cruelty; it is actually a form of his mercy. As CS Lewis wrote in The Great Divorce, “There are two types of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’ ” Which will you choose?
“Seek me and live,” God tells his people in Amos 5. This morning we continue learning from the Old Testament prophet Amos, as we see that God’s deepest longing is that we would find life in following God, and that paradoxically, we gain the most when we give the most away.
Sometimes God’s mercy takes an unexpected, even sharp, form. As we begin a four-week study of the Old Testament prophet Amos, we see this that God is not a doom-and-gloom masochist who delights in the groveling of his people, but a tender God who wants his people to live the most fully human and joyful lives possible.
Jesus didn’t only tolerate children; he welcomed them and sought them out. And to those who thought they were too busy for children, he had some sharp words: “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
What does Jesus call us to, when he calls us to receive the kingdom of God like a child?
How do we understand the church in a post-pandemic world? The Bible offers a series of metaphors to describe the church’s role in the world. This morning we explore Peter’s reminder that we are a “holy and royal priesthood.”
Christianity is not a spectator sport, in which the churchgoers watch the priest or pastor “do” ministry. Instead, it is a family of priests, and God calls each of us to minister to and serve the world around us. Yes, you are a priest!
How do we understand the church in a post-pandemic world? The Bible offers a series of metaphors to describe the church’s role in the world. This morning we explore Peter’s reminder that we are strangers and aliens in this world.
To be a stranger—an exile—is profoundly disorienting. Why would God call us to be spiritually homeless, so to speak? And could it be that we can be more effective when we are less comfortable?
When God calls Moses to be his emissary to Egypt, Moses knows how completely unqualified he is for the job. God responds and asks Moses, “What is that in your hand?”
God doesn’t call us to serve him after we’ve got everything perfectly in place; he calls us and gives us the tools we need, which are usually right in front of us. The secret lies in receiving God’s call with open hands instead of with clenched fists.
How do we know whether a building will last or not? Most of it has to do with the building’s foundation. A home’s foundation won’t draw “oohs” and “aahs" on HGTV, but when a foundation crumbles, the building will crumble.
How can we ensure that our church is built to last? This morning Rev. Ryan Tankersley shows that only one foundation will truly support the church.
How do we understand the church in a post-pandemic world? The Bible offers a series of metaphors to describe the church’s role in the world. This morning we explore Paul’s claim that the church is the body of Christ.
When a body is missing a part, it is deformed and loses function. God has a place and a purpose for each of us. Join us as Doran Morford helps us to examine the rich metaphor of the church as Christ’s body.
How do we understand the church in a post-pandemic world? The Bible offers a series of metaphors to describe the church’s role in the world. This morning we explore Paul’s claim that, “you are God’s temple, and God’s spirit lives in you.”
If we are God’s temple, how does that affect who God calls us to be and where God calls us to go?
How do we understand the church in a post-pandemic world? The Bible offers a series of metaphors to describe the church’s role in the world. This morning we examine Jesus’ description of a shepherd and his flock. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus claims. “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” How does the description of a shepherd and his sheep color our role and calling in our world?
When you examine how Jesus begins to build his kingdom after he is raised from the dead, you quickly notice that he does not follow the expected paths or best practices. In fact, he seems to stack the deck against himself. Why would he assign himself such a competitive disadvantage? As we celebrate the resurrection, we see just how unexpectedly perfect God’s plans are.
This morning we continue to reflect on Psalm 23, this time exploring the image of God, the host of a great dinner party, who invites us, his prized friends, to a feast. How does it change your life to know that God not only provides for you and protects you, but he prizes you?
The most famous Psalm begins, The Lord is my shepherd. This morning we reflect on the image of a shepherd and his sheep. When the days are dark and we find ourselves in the valley of the shadow of death, lasting hope can only be found with a good shepherd.
Each of us looks to various desires to prove our significance in life. We may find our worth in providing for family, finding a spouse to fulfill us, achievement at work or school, establishing a good reputation, or even in physical beauty.
The Psalms teach us that those things will inevitably fall short, and that the Christian response is not renounce those desires, but to find a better desire—one that can actually deliver on its promises. Hear this morning how Jesus is our better desire.
When we talk about hope, we often mean something too anemic. Hope is not man-made, wishful thinking. Hope is not a sense of denial or passivity. Christian hope is something deeper—stronger—far more durable that we understand. This morning Doran Morford helps us explore a more resilient hope.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
It feels like we have had lots to fear over the past year. How can we find freedom from those fears and anxieties? This morning our region minister, Dale Edwards, shows us how our fears make poor counselors.
What keeps you up at night? In David’s case, it was his own son trying to kill him, and possibly widespread crop failures, and his opponents ridiculing his reputation. Yet he writes, “I will lie down and sleep in peace.” (Psalm 4:8)
Where does such confidence come from? How can we likewise sleep well when we face worry, stress, and anxiety?
It’s one of the most chilling stories in the Bible: God tests Abraham and asks him to sacrifice his own son. How does Abraham respond, and what does it demonstrate about Abraham’s relationship with God?
In Luke 5 Jesus causes Simon, a fisherman, to haul in the catch of a lifetime. So many fish that his boat begins to sink. Then Simon leaves the catch of fish on the shore to follow Jesus.
If you had just landed the catch of a lifetime, what would motivate you to leave it behind?
There is one commandment, God tells us, that is the most important: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. “How can I do that?” you may ask.
In Deuteronomy 6 God gives us not only the most important, overarching command, but also some very ordinary, everyday guidance to teach us how we can grow in our love for him.
A car without fuel won’t go anywhere. Neither will a car full of gas, but without pressing the gas pedal. You need both fuel and an accelerator to get anywhere.
Knowing God is similar. We need a fuel—a hunger for him. And we need an accelerator—a way to put that fuel to good use. This morning we consider the accelerator of the Scriptures. How can a consistent, day-in-and-day-out engagement with God’s word draw you closer to God and make you more Christlike?
There are two ways we can live: we can live from a mindset of scarcity, believing that everything is a zero-sum game, and we must get as much as we can, lest we don’t have enough; or we can live from a mindset of abundance, believing that God has limitless resources and wants to bless us abundantly. An abundance mindset leads to a radically generous lifestyle. Hear more:
Prayer Guides
Celtic Daily Prayer (The Northumbria Community) – A modern prayer book with celtic influences that can guide you through morning, midday, and evening prayer practices along with guided readings and meditations.
Amazon; ChristianBook.com
The Book of Common Prayer – The most recent revision of a classic prayer book, first published in 1549. The early sections on Family Prayer are especially helpful.
Anglican House Publishers
Every Moment Holy (Douglas Kaine McKelvey) – A book of liturgies for the ordinary events of daily life—liturgies such as “A Liturgy for Feasting with Friends” or “A Liturgy for Laundering” or “A Liturgy for the First Hearthfire of the Season.” These are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose even when, especially when, we are too busy or too caught up in our busyness to notice.
Rabbit Room Press
The story of the magi (wise men) is often told as part of the Christmas story, although it probably occurs at least a year after Jesus was born. Far from being distant and irrelevant, we see in their story our own story—of people far from God, who almost unintentionally find God and can’t help but worship.
Zechariah finds himself unexpectedly at the crossroads of longing and fulfillment, as his son, John, becomes the last great prophet before Jesus. In his song, he grapples with the mercy of God—how God promises mercy and how God provides mercy. And we find that God’s mercy often takes unexpected turns.
“Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem,” God tells the Israelites in Isaiah 52, and two chapters later, “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy…” Is God so cruel as to command a ruined city to rejoice—to ask an infertile woman to sing for joy?
When the world around us is bleak, how do we find joy?
When Gabriel tells Mary she is pregnant with Jesus, we usually focus on why this is such good news. And it is. But for Mary, it’s complicated. Mary is young and unmarried, and her baby bump means sure social condemnation and exile. Yet she sings, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my Spirit rejoices in God my savior.” How can she sing such an exuberant song when her future is murky and uncertain?
At one point Luke describes a group of friends who are willing to cut a hole in the roof of a house where Jesus is staying, just to lower their paralyzed friend through the ceiling to Jesus can heal him. To what lengths would you go to encounter Jesus? Listen as Ryan Tankersley, a pastor from our sister church, New Hope Baptist Church, challenges us to seek God no matter what.
This year has caused many of us to worry about many things. As our minds this year are drawn to themes of sickness and antidotes, can we find an antidote not to a virus, but to the worry so many of us feel? Terry Shanahan shares how gratitude can transform our attitude and our lives.
Psalm 27 strikes us with an unresolved ending, like a dissonant jazz chord: Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. This morning we explore what it may look like to wait for the Lord, and how remembering his faithfulness in the past gives us courage to wait well.
Several New Testament authors instruct us to submit to government authorities. This is especially difficult in our American culture, which has historical roots in rebellion against authority. And when nearly half of our country is dissatisfied with the results of our election, how can we nevertheless submit? The answer is found in freedom, which is not the opposite of submission, but the prerequisite to submission. You cannot submit, it turns out, unless you are truly free.
Our modern political world seems like a dog-eat-dog world. Kill or be killed. That attitude does not inspire gentleness and civility. Yet Jesus calls us to civility—and greater still, to love. As Christians who want to engage in the political sphere instead of running away, how can we do so with a spirit of civility and love?
American Christians often struggle to know how to engage politically in our world. On the one hand, withdrawal doesn’t seem like an option, but on the other hand, neither major party can seem all that appealing either. This morning we look at how God calls us to affirm the dignity of all people, the responsibility of all Christians to promote the image of God in all people, and the spirit of humility that ought to leaven all our political engagement.
In a tense election season many Christians find themselves torn. They hear from one side that Christians should vote Republican, from another side that Christians should vote Democrat, and from still another that Christians should somehow avoid politics altogether. How do we make sense of our faith in a turbulent political world?
Spiritual practices are gifts God gives us that help us to know him better and become more like him. This morning we think about fasting, a practice many of us may prefer to avoid. It is helpful to think about fasting positively, rather than negatively. That is, fasting is not about what we give up, but about how we are filled up.
Spiritual practices are gifts God gives us that help us to know him better and become more like him. This morning we think about weekly gathered worship, a difficult topic when many of us are unable to gather because of the pandemic. Yet weekly, gathered, worship is an indispensible part of our faith practice. Why does God create us with a need for community, and how can we practice the principles of gathered worship when we’re not in the same room?
Spiritual practices are gifts God gives us that help us to know him better and become more like him. This morning we focus on rest and Sabbath. More than an archaic demand to “reserve a day for God,” Sabbath is God’s gift to restore and refresh us spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. So why do we not take advantage of it? Listen as we parse the true ground for Sabbath, obstacles we face to practicing Sabbath, and how Sabbath can refresh us in our modern world.
Spiritual practices are gifts God gives us that help us to know him better and become more like him. This morning we spend some time thinking about prayer. Jesus teaches us, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.” (John 15:7) But we have all asked God for things and not gotten them. What did Jesus mean? What is the true purpose of prayer? And how can we pray better?
The Book of Ruth ends with what, to our modern ears, sounds like a boring anti-climax: a list of names in a family tree. But read through the lens of an original reader, and knowing what we know about ancient cultures, we find that the author of Ruth makes a meaningful point with that list of names: God is writing a bigger story than you or I could imagine.
In Ruth 3 Naomi instructs Ruth to take a very unusual—and some may say, suspect—series of actions. Though they had the best of intents, we might wonder at the wisdom of their actions. The text is vague enough that we don’t know for certain, but could the story of Ruth 3 still point us to Christ, and perhaps even more effectively, if Ruth turns out to be less savory than we thought?
In Ruth 2 we see two pictures of active faith from two very different perspectives. Naomi and Ruth demonstrate their faith from a position of weakness, while Boaz demonstrates his faith from a position of strength. Does your faith feel weak right now? Strong? Somewhere in between? This morning we ask how a simple question—“What’s next?”—can act like starter fluid for our faith.
The story of Ruth is a story of bitterness and mercy. This morning we ask, “How could Ruth still follow the God who had allowed so much bitterness into her life?”
This is the third and final part of Doran’s study and look into the book of Jonah. Part three focuses on God’s priorities and the final ten verses of the book.
In part 2 of Doran Morford’s 3 part study of the book of Jonah, the third chapter is explored. This time, Jonah listens to God and does what he commands. When Jonah tells the people of Nineveh that their city will be destroyed, they repent, which is exactly what God wanted. Doran helps us to understand why exactly God did this.
In Part 1 of Doran Morford’s three part study of the book of Jonah, he explores the first 17 verses of the book and takes a deeper dive into the meaning.
Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Most American states even have “good samaritan laws.” This morning we spend some time with a very familiar story, asking the same question as the Jewish expert in the law who talked with Jesus: “What does it mean to love my neighbor?”
This morning, as we look for guidance in the racial tension so prevalent today, we look for God’s heart in the Old Testament law. What is the purpose, spirit, and goal of the law, and how does God show his compassion through the law?
With the deep racial tension in America today, how do we respond? The answers aren’t clear, especially in a majority-white church in one of the whitest states in America. We feel that we have to do something, but we’re not sure what.
Our first step is to listen to the stories of our brothers and sisters of color; our second step is to lament as we hear their stories of being treated unjustly. This morning we begin to look at repentance. To repent means to change—it’s a change of mind and a change of action. Both must be present. How does God call us to repent of the racial sin present in our world?
Love is at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole self, and the second is like it: to love our neighbor as ourselves. But it’s very easy to leave love in the abstract.
This morning Doran helps us to see more of the specifics. What does love actually look like, not just as an abstract idea, but as a concrete reality? How does love change your life?
With the deep racial tension in America today, how do we respond? The answers aren’t clear, especially in a majority-white church in one of the whitest states in America. We feel that we have to do something, but we’re not sure what.
As we take time to carefully listen to our non-white brothers and sisters, we will inevitably find ourselves drawn toward lament. Although lament seems dark and hopeless, it actually paves the way forward. Hear how the gospel empowers us to lament well.
With the deep racial tension in America today, how do we respond? The answers aren’t clear, especially in a majority-white church in one of the whitest states in America. We feel that we have to do something, but we’re not sure what.
Our first step as Christians is to stop and listen. To hear the stories of our non-white brothers and sisters, and even to lean into the discomfort we may feel. And as we listen, we can become like Christ to our brothers and sisters whose voices have for so long been ignored.
How should Christians disagree? Disagreement is inevitable, especially in gray areas where right and wrong isn’t clear.
Paul gives us a window into two disagreements that early Christians faced: whether it was ok to eat meat, and whether they should still observe a Sabbath.
When we sacrifice our relationships on the altar of our rights or being right, Paul says we get it wrong. How will we relate to one another, and potentially disagree, as we think about our response to the coronavirus?
God wants to transform us—to make us more fully human. He transforms our lives through his Word. This morning we look at how God uses his Word to draw people who are far from him near to him, and to draw people who are near to God nearer to him.
When we’re stuck in the wilderness, and there’s no end in sight, what do we do? The Israelites are at the beginning of a 40-year “exile.” How can they cope with that?
God gives the answer: perseverance comes through remembering. Here’s how one simple practice can sustain us almost indefinitely.
In this third of three consecutive stories, God leads the Israelites further into the wilderness, they find themselves without water, they complain to God, and he provides water.
It sounds familiar, but now the Israelites are really fed up. So, in effect, they put God on trial, accusing, convicting, and sentencing him.
How does God respond when his people put him in the defendant’s seat?
Why would God lead his people to the desert where they have no food? The Israelites ask that question of God in Exodus 16, and when we find ourselves in the Wilderness, we often ask the same question.
“Why have you brought me here, God?”
“Are you still there?”
This morning, as we look for God in the Wilderness, we see that God is not only present, but his mercy is over the top.
As the parched Israelites get to a desert spring so bitter they can’t drink it, they assume God is cruel, not merciful. Yet this water is the greatest mercy imaginable. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, we realize God’s mercy is sometimes so lavish that it’s beyond our understanding and even offensive. Will you allow God’s sweet mercy to overcome the bitter taste in your mouth?
The week after Jesus rose from the dead his followers were in disbelief. Some had seen him, but most hadn’t. They were tentative. Afraid. Unsure what to think. Thomas famously insisted, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
“Doubting Thomas” often gets a bad rap, but don’t we often feel the same way? When we have to see something to believe it, what happens when Jesus shows up? Can doubt and belief coexist?
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb. After suffering the disorientation and fear of watching their Lord and friend killed, they were further confronted by an earthquake and an angel “whose appearance was like lightning.” What was their response?
They went where God called them, “afraid yet filled with joy.” Fear and joy are not binary opposites. They coexist, but because of the empty tomb, our joy outweighs our fear.
Palm Sunday is a day filled with tension. We rejoice that Jesus our King enters Jerusalem triumphantly, yet he is only days from being sentenced to death. Why would God allow worship to coexist with suffering, and how can we reconcile the two?
Jesus teaches us to spurn anxiety about our physical needs, but in the middle of a virus outbreak, that seems difficult. How do we avoid anxiety?
Jesus tells us to shift our focus. “Do not seek after those things, but seek God’s kingdom.”
What does it look like to seek his kingdom? Does that mean we shouldn’t think about the virus at all?
The COVID-19 virus has emerged as a sudden and unavoidable part of life, and many of our life rhythms have been thrown into chaos. Although we are only at the very outset of this outbreak and do not know how severe it will be, many of us feel anxious about both the present and the future. How ought we to think about anxiety? This morning we look to the example of Job, who found a way, in profound suffering, to insist, “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
St. Augustine noted that pride is the root from which all other sins grow. As we think about the seven deadly sins this Lent season, we ask, “How can we ‘achieve’ humility?”
This morning we look to the story of Saul, the first king of Israel, whose downward spiral forces us to confront the possibility that our hearts might also be deceived. And we ask, “If something like this can happen to Saul, where do we find hope?”
Most everybody understands the importance of having a firm foundation under their house. And most would agree that we should build our lives on a firm foundation. But what is that foundation?
This morning we think about what it means to build our lives on a solid foundation—a foundation of stone, and not of sand, in Jesus’ words. Jesus says the firm foundation is not moralism or behaviorism, but knowing him. Which begs the question, how do we know Jesus?
Have you ever heard someone talk about trying to stay on the “straight and narrow?” The Cambridge Dictionary illustrates the phrase in this way: “The threat of a good beating should keep him on the straight and narrow.”
Often we think about staying on the “straight and narrow” as a way to avoid punishment. But Jesus presents the “straight and narrow” as a path to a rich, joyful life. How do we know if we’re on the straight and narrow, and if we’re not, how do we get on it?