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:
On the Fifth Sunday of Eastertide, Jesus shares his final meal and swansong words with his disciples before his crucifixion. The promise he makes to them is that they will not be abandoned, even though Thomas says they don’t know the way to follow him. Jesus replies, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and they already know him so they will know how to make it all the way home to God’s loving arms.
Synopsis:
Jesus is visited at night by the respected rabbi Nicodemus. He visited at night because Nicodemus doesn’t want anyone to see him. In a world before streetlights and lampposts, night time was a dangerous place, but the danger of socializing with a radical rabbi like Jesus was a greater threat to popular Nicodemus. Jesus invitation to Nicodemus flips his world upside down when Jesus tells him that he has come because “God so loved the world,” not just the chosen, biological of Abraham descendants. The wind of Spirit, “blows where it chooses,” and those born again of the Spirit cannot be contained by restrictive, exclusionary religious systems. The Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost to not only set fire to our hearts but to open our eyes to see each other–of every race, place, and faith–as our God-given siblings. While we want to build walls between who is in an who is out, the Spirit keeps circling our hearts until the walls come tumbling down so we can look into our neighbor’s face with fresh eyes and see a fellow child of God.
Synopsis:
The writers of Genesis offer us two accounts of the creation. The first concludes with a very good creation and God taking a sabbath rest to which all creation is invited. The second concludes with the creation of relationship where the human is torn apart in two making the first community, the first relationship. If we choose to read Genesis literally we already run into problems because there are two creation accounts that are opposites, so it is better to see Genesis as the ancients divinely inspired way of describe the state of world and the human condition. Immediately, the humans choose the one thing they are told not to do because they are told they will become “like gods themselves,” so they eat of the fruit. Immediately, they see more than they ever wanted to see and they feel shame. Their bodies are not a source of life, joy, and love as God intended, but a sign of their lack, embarrassment, and shame. Seeing ourselves as we truly are with fresh eyes, naked before the God who loves us and accepts us is the first step towards healing and reconciliation as we clear the way for Christ to come and speak words over our lives: “You are loved, you are forgiven, and you are welcome.”
Synopsis: Broadway was built for sharing Good News of great joy. For almost 150 years, we have broken bread, tended souls, and welcomed in strangers who become family as we grow together in wisdom and courage. Jesus didn’t discriminate between his dinner dates. He broke bread with Pharisees, Tax Collectors, and those who ached under the weight of poverty and oppression. The offense of the religious leaders inspires Jesus to tell them a parable of a shepherd searching for lost sheep and a woman searching for her lost coin. The experience of lostness and loneliness, of hopelessness and desperation, are universal human experiences, and God invites us to join in the rescue mission of bringing light and love to all people and places.
Keywords: Jesus, love, hope, welcome, inclusion, mission, wonder, stewardship, generosity, invitation
In a biographical look at the life of Saul-turned-Paul, we see a life of violence, hate, and bigotry transformed on the road to Damascus in an encounter with the Living, Risen Christ. After this, Paul’s hatred of the Jesus-follower’s inclusion of Gentiles into their community becomes his life calling. In a world where we label, divide, and polarize, Brother Paul is still preaching today that we are all not just citizens in the Kingdom of God, but kinfolk and siblings in the family of God.
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate. ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
Keywords: Lent, Jesus, welcome, home, love, grace, family, forgiveness, belonging
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
Areas of Ministry
