The Beatitudes, the beginning verses of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, are among the most well known passages in the Bible. Jesus speaks of blessing for the poor, the meek, the humble, the downcast in society, or does he? What does that word "blessed" really mean anyway. It seems obvious that blessing has passed these folks by in this life, but what if the word we've translated at blessed really means something closer to honoured in a society mediated by honour and shame. There is more here than a pat on the head and well wishing. Jesus actually suggests a radical upsetting of society, a lifting out of the gutter, a new paradigm for living in community. This Sunday we will consider how Jesus words affect us and our lives.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Down is the New Up (Matthew 5:1-12)
The Beatitudes, the beginning verses of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, are among the most well known passages in the Bible. Jesus speaks of blessing for the poor, the meek, the humble, the downcast in society, or does he? What does that word "blessed" really mean anyway. It seems obvious that blessing has passed these folks by in this life, but what if the word we've translated at blessed really means something closer to honoured in a society mediated by honour and shame. There is more here than a pat on the head and well wishing. Jesus actually suggests a radical upsetting of society, a lifting out of the gutter, a new paradigm for living in community. This Sunday we will consider how Jesus words affect us and our lives.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
What are You Looking For
We seem to spend a lot of our lives looking for things. Lost keys, misplaced remotes, the keepsake we kept in such a safe place that we can't find it. On a larger life scale we are often looking as well. We look for the elusive things which will, in our minds anyway, make our lives complete. The search often seems futile, with complete satisfaction an elusive ghost.
Andrew and his friend, John the Baptist's disciples were seeking as well and when Jesus came along> After hearing a strong introduction from John, they decided to change the course of their lives and followed Jesus home. He asks them what they are looking for, and in their answer we find they want to know who he really is.
What is it that you are looking for today? Is it some elusive physical thing or are you looking for lasting peace? Join us Sunday as we ask these questions together.
Andrew and his friend, John the Baptist's disciples were seeking as well and when Jesus came along> After hearing a strong introduction from John, they decided to change the course of their lives and followed Jesus home. He asks them what they are looking for, and in their answer we find they want to know who he really is.What is it that you are looking for today? Is it some elusive physical thing or are you looking for lasting peace? Join us Sunday as we ask these questions together.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
God Calling
This week we will be considering the call of Samuel. God had to call over and over again, three times in fact, before the elderly, blind, priest Eli realized what was happening, the voice Samuel was hearing was actually God calling.
Of course, the question is, does God still call in the middle of the night?
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