Paul is trying to explain God’s work which is, at some point, unexplainable. He also may be quoting a hymn that the Romans sang to share with them that he is not really saying anything that they did not already know. Or, he may be saying that we are, at the same time, children of God and waiting to be adopted as God’s children. As Luther said it, at the same time sinner and saint.
Read MoreAs I have said many times, the law is a set of rules put in place by a people so they can live together in a stable and safe environment. The opposite of law is chaos.
Read MoreInstead of cursing those who anger you, say a prayer for them. Instead of insisting on your rights, be gracious, instead of bravado and commandeering be humble. All in all remember your savior.
Read MoreYou have been freed from the bondage to sin and death and made whole by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You can choose to live your life so that, through you, others see their own bondage and cry out for their salvation.
Read MoreThe Christian faith was dividing families. Jeremiah gives a good description of what it sometimes means to answer God’s call. He was being made fun of and mocked. There were threats on his life. And when he tried to withhold God’s words it was like a fire burning within him. All three of our texts today are a reminder that to be God’s own does not guarantee an easy life. What is guaranteed is that God will not abandon you despite who you are, your mistakes and foibles.
Read MoreThe suffering that Paul is talking about is that suffering that came about because they were Christians and fulfilling the call of Jesus to proclaim that the kingdom of God had arrived. They were suffering for the benefit of others.
Read MoreThey seemed to be fighting with each other over how to be a Christian and even who was the best Christian. They may have been arguing over who should be in charge. If they were constantly fighting and arguing over worldly standards, Paul argues, they were not living in peace. They were not showing how, by becoming a follower of Jesus, they had been changed by God.
Read MoreI can tell you hundreds of examples of people who I had never seen before show up at church wanting God to fix some problem. Then, after it is all done, they leave again. Some because the problem is solved so they can return to life as it was while others leave in anger because God did not answer their prayers.
Read MoreWe live out our lives in the tension between sin and salvation.
Read MoreWhen we do we often find ourselves lost and, like the Jews in Jerusalem asking, “What should we do?” For we, too, have crucified Jesus by our selfish desires. We have done and continue to do so because, in our journey, we do not always recognize Jesus just like the disciples on their way to Emmaus.
Read MoreIf your words fail you you can still proclaim Jesus by your deeds. We note that in our short account by John. Jesus gives the disciples peace three times. It is one of our tasks to take up that emphasis and promote peace in our world.
Read MoreOne of my university professors often talked about a tension between freedom from something and freedom for something. Through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection we have both. We are free from the bondage of sin and death. Yet we often place the reward of this freedom in the world to come. Jesus did not come to us just to give us a promised future in God’s kingdom. While that will be glorious. Jesus came to us here and now, into our broken messed-up lives.
Read MoreWe are just like the disciples. We see Jesus and wish to stay awake. We wish to proclaim God’s truth but are afraid of how others will receive it. We run from the cross afraid to pick it up for the burden it may bring. I could go on. You get the point.
Read MoreTheir attempt to solve their own problems on their own without God ended in disaster. Now, after messing up their lives, they were questioning who they were. They were even questioning God. You know people like that who wander away from God chasing after green pastures. Then, when disaster strikes, blame God for it. Their lives are like the dry bones in the valley.
Read MoreWhat our story says is that God chooses differently than the world. That which the world sees as most important may not be what God chooses.
Read MoreThis woman, who had suffered much losing five husbands, was welcomed by Jesus into the kingdom of God. He did not change her or make her act in a different way, he just made her acceptable to God as she was.
Read MoreWhile Paul uses the story of Abram and Sarai to talk about faith – they were willing to leave home based on a promise. He does gloss over parts of it to make his point. That point is the promise that God has given to us through Jesus. The promise of faith. Faith is knowing that God will not abandon God’s people.
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