Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
At the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant….Then the Lord said to me, “Get up, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly….Let me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation, mightier and more numerous than they.”
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.
And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
Synopsis:
Jesus offers two of his shortest parables about how God grows greatness from small beginnings. Much like St. Patrick of Ireland and Father Greg Boyle of Los Angeles who let God planted them in small places, great growth came to change the world around them. Although, we have a hard time seeing what God is growing in us and around us. Part of our call as people of faith is to bear witness by holding up a mirror and telling others, “Look was God has grown!”
Synopsis:
Jesus shares a beloved parable (an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, as the old preachers would say). This is one of the few parables where Jesus tells his disciples exactly what he means because specificity matters. Like saying “Black lives matter,” rather than “All lives matter,” it is important to speak with specificity, so Jesus warns his disciples about the different “soils” of the soul–hard, shallow, and thorny–but that there is good, soft soil in which God is growing good fruit. Within each human heart are all of these soils–no one is 100% evil or 100% good. We all have hard places to till up, but we also have good, soft soil where God is at work in our lives. In David Wilcox’s Carpenter Story, we hear a story about the power of creativity and compassion to help till two hard hearts and reconcile two neighbors, turned enemies, turned friends again by a traveling carpenter.
Synopsis: Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and then tells a parable of servants waiting for the master to return from a wedding feast. Weddings were sometimes multiple days and in an era before cellphones, a watchman had to keep the fires burning to welcome the master home at any time day or night. This watchfulness is like a fire burning inside, too, where we keep focused on our heart’s deepest desire and duty. According to Jürgen Moltmann, at the core Christianity is a religion on promise. There is a hopefulness to our faith which challenges the despair or numbness of our culture. We are called to keep the fire of hope and love burning through the night time of our fears.
Watch Christian Picciolini’s story on TED.com
(The sermon title comes from the song, “Fight to Keep,” by the band Korean-American Indie Rock band Run River North)
Keywords: Parables, Jesus, Kingdom of God, hope, promise, despair, violence, evil, white supremacy, racism, justice, peace, peacemaking, relationship, transformation, salvation, longing, belonging
Synopsis: Jesus tells this parable to settle a family dispute where one brother believes he isn’t getting the fair share of the family fortune. The man in the parable is not chastised for planning for the future or even for relaxing, eating, drinking, and being merry. He is a fool for failing to see that salvation and security are not for sale, but gifts of grace discovered through our generosity. Ken Chafin once said, “I never saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul on a trailer hitch, because you can’t take it with you.” True joy lies in sharing, not hoarding.
Keywords: Parables, generosity, joy, life abundant, greed, fear, isolation, security, love, community, family systems theory, sharing, stewardship
Synopsis: Jesus challenges his disciples to pray and make requests to God in such a way that they would never to a Patron or King. The Lord’s Prayer becomes a model for intimate, honest, and frank communication with the Creator of Universe. While culturally in an honor/shame matrix, you would never ask without expectation to return the favor (quid pro quo), but in the economy of God, we are not just invited but challenged to shamelessly carry our needs, wants, desires, and dreams to God and boldly ask, search, and knock.
Keywords: Parables, generosity, prayer, honor/shame culture, patron/client relationship, intercessory prayer, providence, provision
Location
Broadway Baptist Church
4000 Brownsboro Road,
Louisville, KY 40207-1826
Phone: 502.895.2459
Office and Staff
Office Hours
Monday - Thursday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday
OFFICE CLOSED
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