Jeremiah 14:19-22 - "Into Exile: Does God Need Reminding?"

Rembrandt: Jeremiah weeping over the destruction of Jerusalem.

Synopsis: The Judean Temptation to worship false idols is not just an ancient problem. In times of crisis, transition, or need we often turn to (lower-case) gods to solve our problems and assuage our anxiety about the unpredictability of the future. As for the Hebrews going into Exile, Jeremiah challenges them to cast aside their false gods who offer them no solace or success. And yet, we continue to worship our trinkets, screens, and tangible objects which offer us a comfort that is fleeting in the face of real questions like, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” On the other hand, God continues to pursue Jeremiah’s people in grace and love, causing us to wonder the opposite, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”

Keywords: Jeremiah, Exile, worship, praise, truth, grace, justice, holiness, Trinity, incarnation, false gods, temptations, idolatry

Jeremiah 31:27-34 - "Into Exile: Written on the Heart"

Synopsis: God promises a new covenant to the Hebrew folk in the midst of Exile. This new covenant is not written on stone tablets or codified into law, but written on the hearts of God’s children. The law was necessary in the adolescence of faith, but after achieving maturity and the fullness of faith we discover the rules were always a precursor to the relationship with God and neighbor. As Christians reading this Hebrew Bible text, we cannot help but hear Paul’s teaching on the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit over and above the law. This freedom in Christ is the culmination of the promise to write God’s law on our hearts.

Keywords: Jeremiah, Exile, promise, law, grace, Holy Spirit, relationship, freedom, liberty, Christ, ethics, legalism, love

Jeremiah 29:4-14 - "Into Exile: Bloom Where You Are Planted"

Synopsis: Jeremiah challenges the Hebrews carried away in captivity to Babylon. He invites them to see exile not as a short transition period but as an opportunity to bloom where God has planted them. They are invited to build houses, plant vineyards, have children, and God promises to give them a future, “for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord…” Wherever we find ourselves in our journey, God gives us the opportunity to see ourselves as agents of God’s reconciliation as we bear witness to God’s love, compassion, and justice in our communities and lives.

Keywords: Jeremiah, Exile, hope, future, mission, faith, courage, wisdom, incarnation, presence, love, community

2 Timothy 1:1-14 - "World Communion: A Faith That Lived First"

Synopsis: Paul writes to Timothy encouraging him to keep the faith which was first passed on to him by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. The faith which grants us a spirit not of cowardice but of power, love, and self-discipline, is the same faith passed down from Jesus to the Apostles, to Timothy’s grandmother, all the way to all 2 billion Christians around the world today. In this faith, we are all the family of God gathered around one global table of fellowship and community. The faith which strengthens us is a gift that lived first in the countless faithful people who have loved and lived for good and for God since Christ rose from the dead.

Keywords: Jesus, unity, Kingdom of God, communion, global church, family of God, inclusion, peace, community

1 Timothy 6:6-19 - "Founded for Good Works in 1870"

Synopsis: We conclude our Stewardship Campaign with these words from these words traditionally attributed to Paul writing to his young protege, Timothy. Since her beginnings, the Church has always been a people of not only prayer and faith, but also action and good works. Paul tells young Timothy to remind his people that their security will not be founded on the accumulation of wealth and worldly security, but in lives filled with generosity, commitment, and acts of compassion and kindness for neighbors and enemies alike. This counter-cultural way of Jesus invites us into an abundant life founded for good on the life of Christ and the love of the Triune God.

Keywords: Jesus, Trinity, good works, hands and feet of Christ, stewardship, firm foundation, compassion, justice, joy, love

Luke 16:1-13 - "Founded for Good Risk in 1870"

Synopsis: High rewards demand high risk. Jesus tells this parable of the shrewd manager who risks life, limb, and livelihood to secure for himself a future when his prospects looked bleak. Because of this risk, he was rewarded greatly. This problematic parable sits strange in our souls because the protagonist is a cheat and a liar, but Jesus message is clear as day: you have to risk something big for something good. As we reflect on our past and dream about our future, what are the bold risks God is inviting you to consider in your life and in our life as a church family?

Keywords: Jesus, shrewd, courage, wisdom, risk, security, stewardship, gamble, challenge, bold, brave, love, vision

Luke 15:1-10 - “Founded for Good News in 1870”

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

Luke 14:25-33 - "Founded for Good Dreams in 1870"

Synopsis: Dreaming is difficult, but necessary work. When we give ourselves the chance to dream and imagine future possibilities, we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit and the opportunity to dream God’s dreams for our lives. But, the real work comes when we begin to make those dreams into a reality. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate discipleship, because following Christ requires preparation, planning, and pledging yourself to finish the task you start. Together, we begin this stewardship campaign looking into the future and dreaming God’s dreams as we count the cost of discipleship.

Keywords: Jesus, kingdom of God, dreams, vision, hope, wonder, stewardship, generosity, commitment, cost of discipleship

Luke 14:1, 7-14 - "An Honorable Mention"

Synopsis: Jesus is invited to his third dinner party in the Gospel of Luke, and has two important bits of wisdom to share with the guests (who scramble for seats of honor) and the hosts (who only invite people who can provide a quid pro quo of power, access, or position to them). Honor/Shame matrices are foreign to us as Americans, but this teaching from Jesus is saturated in his cultural situation. To rise above your station on your own without an invitation from a higher-up, is a bold, risky move that usually ends with a shameful dismissal. Although, God is God who lifts up the lowly and bestows honor to those who otherwise might be ignored by most folks in society.

Keywords: Jesus, honor, hospitality, justice, compassion, love, grace, inclusion, Kingdom of God

Luke 13:10-17 - "Closed 'Til Sunday"

Synopsis: Jesus gets in a dispute over whether or not it was ethical to heal this woman on the Sabbath. The leader in the synagogue chimes in, angry and worried about the precedent set by Jesus’ violation of sabbath rules. Jesus dresses the crowd down by saying they are more compassionate with their pets than their own sister in the family of God through Abraham. Jesus always chooses rules over relationships even when we want every issue and situation to be cut and dry.

Keywords: Jesus, compassion, sabbath, rules vs. relationships, law, grace, love, legalism, ambiguity

Luke 12:49-56 - "Family Feud"

Synopsis: Jesus brings the heat by pointing out the family conflict that will come as the reality of the Gospel sinks into people’s hearts and imaginations. In pagan religious traditions, often family’s had house gods or idols they worshipped as a family, and pledging allegiance to the Kingdom of God does not allow the worship of any other gods (whether Apollo, Aphrodite, Baal, success, money, or teams whether athletic or political). At some point, bifurcated loyalties will split hearts and households. Loyalty to just anyone or anything is not a virtue, and Christ calls us to live with love, grace, and justice for all, even when that creates conflict in a family system. Yet, as the Family of God, we a new beloved community not bound by blood and familial ties, but through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus reconciling us together as the one human family promised by God.

Keywords: Jesus, prophetic, family, conflict, grace, justice, loyalty, allegiance, honor, glory, care, love, Kingdom of God, Family of God

Luke 12:32-40 - “Stories Jesus Tells: Fight to Keep the Fire Burning”

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

Luke 12:13-21 - "Stories Jesus Tells: Hearses Don't Have Hitches

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

Luke 11:1-13 - "A Shameless Request"

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

Luke 10:38-42 - "Schooled By Grace"

Text: Luke 10: 38-42

Synopsis: Martha, frustrated with her sister Mary, tells Jesus to tell Mary to help her in the kitchen. While this story seems to stick in the craw of Type A folks (and rightly so), this is not a story about freeloaders vs. hard-workers. This is a story about Mary, who chooses get schooled by the Rabbi Jesus, even though, in that culture, woman belonged in the kitchen not in the classroom. This act of social overstep is praised by Jesus and share with not Martha, not to her shame but to her inclusion. Jesus schools Martha by inviting her to join Mary and the men as they all learn together at the feet of the Teacher.

Keywords: Jesus, hospitality, education, gender equality, women, inclusion, honor/shame culture, spiritual formation, Sunday School

Luke 10:25-37 - "Counting on the Kindness of Strangers"

Synopsis: In one of the two most popular, beloved, and convicting stories Jesus tells (the Prodigal Son being the other), we hear Jesus’ response to a young lawyer wanting to clarify his question and justify himself: the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This scandalous story’s hero is a representative of one of the most hated people groups to Jesus’ Jewish audience. Samaritans are the ancestors of the remnants in the land of Israel after the Assyrian conquest. Their religion, blood, and cultural was a mix of surrounding people groups which was abhorrent to the national purification project in Judea during Roman occupation. The challenge Jesus offers is not only to be a good neighbor to those we might dislike, distrust, or even hate, but the real twist is wondering what happens to the human heart when you have to count on the kindness of a stranger? As Paul says about God, becomes true of our neighbors, “kindness leads us to repentance,” and human hearts are transformed by love.

Acts 4:13-22 - “You Can’t Unsee What You Have Seen”

Proclaimer: Rev. Dr. Bob I. Johnson

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

Luke 9:57-62 - "The Best of Intentions"

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Galatians 3:23-29 - "Brother Paul and the Kin-dom of God"

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.

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and John 16:12-15 - "Trinity Sunday: All in the Family"

Synopsis: On Trinity Sunday, we hear two distinct images from Proverbs and John bubbling up from the scriptures to spark our imaginations about the invisible, ineffable, eternal Trinitarian family. The image of the woman as the feminine “sophia” wisdom incarnate, begotten before Creation, and eternally dancing in communion with the Creator, sounds mysteriously like the masculine “logos” word in the Gospel of John. The biblical vocabulary describing the eternally mysterious Trinity is illuminated by these images of feminine wisdom and masculine word, to remind us that God is neither male nor female, but gender identity finds it’s genesis in God, who exists eternally in loving, familial-like relationships. The traditional Trinitarian formula of Father - Son - Holy Spirit is not about the gender of God (God is not male, and men are not more like God), but to the nature of the relationships which exist within the Trinity. We use the language of family to describe the Trinity because there is no more intimate, complex, and enmeshed relationship than the connect of the family system (for good or ill). As members of the “household of faith,” we are called to participant in the great family circle of the Holy Trinity by being church family to one another. The metaphors are not meant to hinder, but help us reframe family membership in God’s New Family where everyone is welcome regardless of status, identity, or lineage. This is why the biblical mandate is repeated so often to protect orphans (those without parents), widows (those without spouses or children), the poor (those without a support system), and immigrants (those without a homeland). We are call to be the new human family God is creating through Trinitarian love and Resurrection life.