A story of faith, drawing from Mark 14:3-9, preached as part of the 2019 Community Lenten Series of the Marion Ministerial Alliance, preach at First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Illinois.
Matthew 18:15-35 Sometimes we get wrapped up in the parables. We think about the symbolism, and spend our time trying to figure out what they mean. We spend a lot of time figuring out who we are, who God is, what the metaphor is about, and what it means. We sometimes get so wrapped up in figuring out what the parables mean…
Each year, the churches of the Marion Ministerial Alliance gather together in worship. This year, the theme is “My Journey” as we hear from the pastors of our area, several who are new to the community, about their faith journey and how God got them here. We gather at 5:30 pm for a soup dinner,…
Matthew 16:24–17:8 Passion prediction, bearing the cross, Transfiguration (Psalm 41:7-10) This passage is really all about the previews. This is what’s coming, people. Coming soon to a theater near you… These previews are approved for all audiences… Take up your cross and follow, has become a byword, and a slogan. Things are just our cross to bear. Listen to more than the…
Matthew 14:13-33 Feeding the 5,000, walking on the sea (Psalm 95:1-5) Jesus is trying to get away in this passage. He’s trying to get away from the crowds after the death of John the Baptist. He just wants to be alone. He needs some space, perhaps to grieve, perhaps to pray, perhaps to prepare for what will come next. He can’t get…
Matt 13:24-43 Parable of wheat and weeds (Psalm 84:1-7) The parables are tough things. They are words from Jesus, that often don’t quite make as much sense as we’d like them to, and they are all over the place. Many of the narratives depend on us understanding some sort of agrarian economy and way of life, and often, they assume things that…
Matthew 7:1-14, 24-29 Speck in the eye, narrow gate, wise man builds house on rock (Psalm 37:16-18) Lots of stuff going on here. Almost too much, to be honest. Judge not, logs and specks, pearls before swine, holy to the dogs. Ask, seek, find, Good gifts. Golden Rule. Narrow gate, wide road to destruction. I think we can find one or two…
Matthew 6:7-21 [25-34] Lord’s prayer, treasure in heaven and/or Matt 6:25-34, Lilies of the field (Psalm 20:7) The Lord’s prayer is something that many of us have burned into our memories. Church schools have it on their list of things to be memorized by the end of first grade. And so, we know the prayer itself. What we don’t quite seem to…
Matthew 5:1-20 Beatitudes, salt of the earth, let your light shine (Psalm 1:1-3) The sermon on the mount is a tough passage. We have words like ‘meek,’ and ‘hungry,’ and the notion that those are good things to be. This tends to run counter to what we’re told and what we teach in other aspects of our lives. The meek get run…
Matthew 4:1-17 Jesus tempted in the wilderness (Psalm 91:9-12) When Matthew tells us the story of Jesus, he is quite intentionally linking the story of Jesus to the story of those who have gone before. Matthew will use John the Baptist for foreshadowing, and he will use the story of Moses as a powerful leader of the people of God to set…
