Matthew 18:15-20 I think I probably have these words memorized — I’ve taught them so many times in various congregational contexts. What Jesus offers here is an antidote to most any problem in most any congregation, work-place, family, neighborhood. And while certainly not a ‘quick fix,’ it all boils to talking to one another instead …
Month: August 2014
Taking Up My Cross and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Matthew 16:21-28 Truthfully, I was not sure at first just how these actually fit together: this business of taking up our cross and going after Jesus and pouring a bucket of ice water on your head. What I did recognize in myself is that as more and more people I knew were posting videos on Facebook …
The Rock of Forgiveness: Binding and Loosing
Matthew 16:13-20 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.” I have always heard this piece of Matthew as being about forgiveness. Indeed, while a vast majority of those who follow …
A Mother’s Cry
Matthew 15:21-28 “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David, my daughter is tormented by a demon.” Now I know that you all know this. Mental illness carries all kinds of stigma today. I have known this since I was a child and we experienced it in our own family. Back then it was something …
Walking on Water
Matthew 14:22-33 I have survived some storms, of course. I know you have as well. I’ve weathered the sort of storms that inevitably come with living and I’ve watched the other kinds of storms roll in as well. The sort the disciples find themselves in the midst of in this week’s Gospel lesson. It was …