Thursday, February 1, 2018

Upcoming Sermons

UPCOMING SERMONS
February 18  “This is a Real Mess”
Luke 18:9-14--Pharisee & Tax Collector
Things are not right for all of us.  Jesus uses this parable to explain what is necessary to make things right again.
February 25   “Who Left This Mess?”
Luke 19:1-10--Zacchaeus
Our idolatry has made a mess around us and in us.  But like Jesus seeking out Zaccheus, God keeps seeking us out.  Even before we’re ready.  A gracious relationship awaits us.
March 4   “Bless This Mess”
John 5:1-15--Man at the Pool
Sometimes we’d prefer God to simply bless our mess.  It would be easier than actually changing.  But justifying grace doesn’t settle for cheap results.  It seeks full transformation.  First, we need to see our lives for what they are.  Like the man at the pool, we are asked to participate in our own healing.
March 11   “No Messing Around”
John 3:1-21--Nicodemus
Nicodemus struggles.  Grace is not a divine tidiness project.  It insists on nothing less than new life.  And while new birth can be uncomfortable, ‘at-one-ment’ with God is 
the heart of our restoration project.
March 18    “Address This Mess”
Luke 10:38-42--Martha & Mary
God is present with us.  Actively restoring.  Inviting us even closer.  Like these sisters, we can learn to sit at the feet of Jesus.  And find our ourselves perfected in divine love.
March 25    Palm to Passion Sunday
Selected scripture from Luke 19-23
This week starts in Halleluiah! and ends in the death—Just to show the depths to which divine love is willing to go on our behalf.
March 30   Good Friday
Scripture:  John 18:1-19:42
Meditative worship with a reading of the Passion Story from John.