I found this old sermon saved in the drafts today and thought I would post it.  The audio file of the sermon is located here on the PRV website. Blessings.

Passage: Luke 14:1-24

The Story

•    Jesus dines at the house of a Pharisees

o    While there he heals a man
o    Some folks got made because it was on the Sabbath

•    Jesus then tells two short parables

o    First to the guest of the dinner
o    The second to the host

•    First one

o    Place of honor

*    Don’t pick the place of honor
*    Let the host bring you up

o    Commentary

*    Not only is this practical advice on life, it is very important spiritually
*    The guests in the room were most likely big time religious leaders who wanted the best seats for themselves
*    Jesus is telling them that they are to the humble

•    Let God (the host) raise them up
•    2 Peter 5:5b-7 – God cares about, be kind to each other and humble
•    James 4:1-10 – submit ourselves to God, be a peacemaker

•    Second story

o    Part one

*    Turning to the host, Jesus tells him not to just throw a party for those who can pay you back

•    Invite the folks who can’t repay you

*    Again this is very practical as well as spiritual

•    Instead of being focused on what we can get out of things, we need to be concerned with others

Continue reading The Great Banquet →

Public Reading: Luke 15:1-32

Sermon Introduction:

•    Three Parables; One Message

o    God’s unconditional love

•    A lot of times these three are treated separated

o    Especially the prodigal son

•    Yet they are really all connected to each other

o    As is Luke 16 and the first ten verses of Luke 17
o    Today we are going to focus on the three parables
o    Next week we will cover Luke 16 through Luke 17:10

•    Now before we dive into the first parable, let us look at the setting

o    Luke 15:1-2

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

o    Jesus was drawing the wrong kinds of people to himself.
o    The religious leaders may have been more hospitable or open to his message if only he would be harder on those who didn’t obey the rules
o    Their primary debate with Jesus that he received sinners and ate with them – granting them grace instead of punishment.
o    And in response to this grumbling, Jesus told these stories:

Parable One: Lost Sheep

•    What man among you would not leave your 99 sheep in the open country and go and find the lost?
•    How much more does heaven rejoices over one sinner repenting than 99 who needs no repentance?

Parable Two: Lost Coin

•    What women among you, having 10 coins and losing one, will not light a lamp and search for the lost coin?
•    How much more does the angels of God rejoices over one sinner who repents?

Continue reading God’s Unconditional Love →

If you all are like me, you all are still searching and asking questions about the events that shocked our nation on Friday [the Newtown school shooting]. Why did so many young children have to die? Why did that man do that? You search the news articles and listen to the TV or radio, hoping to find something that will put you at ease…something that will make the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit together…

Yet sadly I don’t think the pieces will ever be put back together properly….

Well, not by us.

You see, we are at war with evil. This is not a metaphor or a churchy saying designed to create emotions. This is reality. We are at war.

The forces of darkness and Satan are playing twisted games with humanity – clouding their minds and darkening theirs souls.

St. Paul puts it this way in Romans 1:21, 28-32

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened… 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

This is why a 20-year old man gets to where he can walking into an elementary school and start shooting…this is why a parent can kill their own children…why people can steal babies, little boys and girls and sale them into slavery to be raped over and over and over again…this is why people can teach a six year old to kill and murder as is happening across Africa and the Middle East.

Christians feel as though this darkness is why people lie and cheat at work…why they look at porn sites so regularly or have one night stands…why they foster hatred and bitterness, forgiving no one, but always seeking revenge…this is why families are torn apart and people – men, women, adults, teenagers, kids – cry themselves to sleep…

It is a grim picture…one full of death, pain, heart-ache and darkness…

Yet it is into this darkness – into this life of pain and death and destruction and murder and lies and greed and evil that God stepped into – fully into. He didn’t keep one foot clean while dipping His toes into the water. He took upon himself the very nature of humanity – he experienced the pain of betrayal, the string of a fist, the hurtful words of friend…he was born amidst the cries of a massacre as all the young boys born near his birthplace was killed…murdered at the hand of a mad man…. Yet, throughout the cries of sorrow and hurt, God was there! He did not leave; he did not go back up into heaven. He walked with us; he stood by our side and joined with our pain and sorrow…why?

Continue reading God Sees Us →

Public Passage: Luke 12:35-59

Summary

Right after Jesus tells His followers that they are to store up ‘treasures’ in heaven, He launches into a short story designed to encourage His followers to say faithful and watch for His return. In this story, the servants are prepared and ready when their master returns. Only instead of the servants serving the master, the master serves the servants! It is a story of the upside down kingdom in which Jesus loves and serves us. The disciples, though, were not sure who Jesus was talking to – so they ask Jesus if it was for them or for everyone else. Jesus responds with further instructions for His followers to be actively following His instructions while waiting for the fullness of the Kingdom to arrive.

“It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” –Jesus, Luke 12:43-44

The Story

•    Background

o    The last few chapters of Luke has shown Jesus answering various questions from the disciples, legal experts/Pharisee, and random folks in the crowd
o    The beginning of chapter 12 starts with Jesus encouraging the disciples to stand strong and trust him.
o    Then someone in the crowd ask Jesus to settle a legal dispute
o    Jesus turns the question on its head and challenges the heart of greed within the questioner
o    Near the end of Jesus statement about greed, he goes into a short parable…which is where we are going to pick todays message

•    The parable of the serving master

o    Let’s pick up the story in verse 32 as the passage is not broken up via headings

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.35 Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. –Luke 12:32-38

o    We are to be ready

*    Dressed with our boots on and ready to work
*    Lights are to be ready at any moment

o    Servants “eagerly awaiting” their master who “withdraws” from the banquet for a moment

*    The Greek can be read either way….
*    I like this way as it shows the servants in a state of readiness
*    It also shows that the wedding banquet is not over, which means that it can be at anytime

Continue reading Get Caught Working →

Public Reading: Luke 12:1-12

The Story:

•    We are nearing the end of Jesus life

o    You will notice that the writing of St. Luke is shifting slightly.
o    Instead of talking about Jesus’ actions, like he did at the beginning of the book, St. Luke is starting to record more and more of his teachings

•    We are also seeing the religious leaders get more and more upset with Jesus

o    At first they were just curious about this new teacher
o    Now they are mad at him because of two main teachings

*    Jesus is telling the wrong people (sinner, tax collectors, etc.) that they can find salvation without going to the temple
*    Jesus is calling out their secret sins

o    In other words, their jobs and their reputation were being threatened by Jesus.

•    The crowds, on the other hand, were increasing

o    They kept coming and coming and coming
o    So much so that St. Luke says, “they were tramping on each other.” (vs 1, TKNT)

•    In the middle of all this, Jesus turns to his disciples and says:

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. –Luke 12:1c-3

•    Why? What is Jesus saying?

o    Think about this, the Pharisees and the religious leaders used to be the top dogs in the yard.

*    They had all the best seats in the house
*    They had folks coming to them
*    Now the crowds are going to Jesus

o    As such, I see Jesus cautioning the disciples that if they are not careful, they will become like very religious leaders they warned the people about.

*    Fame is a funny thing in that if you are not careful, you begin to think that you are better than everyone else.
*    Think about the Beatles or any of the famous musicians or movie stars

•    A lot of them start out as good people with a heart of gold
•    Yet the pressures and joys of fame does something to them
•    It turns down the wrong path – as we see in the nightly news

o    Jesus is cautioning the disciples to be careful

*    They are to know that whatever they say in private
*    Whatever back door conversations they have…. one day it will all be made know to the public
*    Think about Watergate….a few of the most powerful men in the world couldn’t keep a secret very long at all…

Continue reading In Whom We Trust →

Public Reading: Luke 11:37-54

The Story:

•    Jesus had just finished warning the people that they needed to hear and obey the word of God when a Pharisee (one of the religious leaders in the community) invited him to dinner
•    When Jesus got there, the Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down

o    The interesting thing about this is that it was owner of the house’s job to make sure his guest washed up
o    Yet this Pharisee seems to have been “surprised” that Jesus did not wash up
o    While I’m not sure, it could have been that Jesus refused the water and oil and sat down simply to make a point
o    If so, then his actions would have been a lesson just as much as his words

•    Cleaning the inside and outside (vs. 39-42)

o    Jesus uses his actions to point out to the house owner and everyone else that cleaning the outside is not as important as cleaning the inside
o    If our insides are “full of violent robbery and wickedness” then what we do does not matter that much
o    Jesus came not to make us act ok – or to give us a new method of living – Jesus came to radically clean our inside

•    This may sound strange or hard for some of you so I want to dive into this for a moment

o    First off, know this – God the creator created each of us and love each of us

*    We do NOT have to change in order to gain or keep His love
*    He loves each one of us and is pursuing a personal relationship with each of us!
*    This is a fact!!

o    With that said, if we are honest with ourselves, there are things about ourselves that we don’t like

*    I’m not talking about being short, tall, thin or big, loss of hair or any of that

•    That is all outside stuff

*    I’m talking about pieces of us that don’t really belong…

•    Getting angry and snapping at your spouse or kids…only to afterwards think “why did I do that? I’m not like that…that isn’t me!”
•    That piece of us that pulls and drags us into eating that item we wish we wouldn’t….having that last drink of alcoholic that we know we shouldn’t….getting out that item that you know will cause heartache later, but at the time it’s all you can think about..

*    These are the pieces of us that we don’t like to talk about….the pride, the un-forgiveness, the bitterness, the pain, the brokenness of life….
*    These are the things that Jesus came to clean and repair!!!

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. –Titus 3:3-6

Continue reading Freely You Have Received; Freely Give →

Public Reading: Luke 11:16-34

The Story:

•    Demons

o    We live in a spiritual world

*    There are demons around us as we are in a war between God and the evil one

o    The good news is that Jesus wins! I’ve read the end of the story!
o    In our culture people will typically do one of two things

*    Deny the battle and the forces of evil
*    Focus too much on them

o    In reading the Bible, I see Jesus and His followers holding to a third way

*    They recognize the battle
*    Yet they are secure in the fact that God wins and that they are walking with Him
*    i.e. don’t focus or be scared of demons or the forces of evil, if you happen upon them, just hold fast to Jesus and exercise the authority Jesus gave you through His Spirit

•    Mute demon

o    Note all mute people are demon possessed
o    Yet in this case, a the forces of evil had rendered a man mute
o    Jesus cast out the demon and the man begun to talk

•    Critics

o    The critics didn’t like Jesus
o    So they said that he did things via the power of evil

•    Kingdom divided

o    Jesus responds with some simple logic
o    A house cannot stand divided
o    Satan cannot cast out Satan

•    Finger of God

o    This is very important theological statement!
o    Jesus is saying that if the things that he is doing is from God Almighty, then the rule and reign of God that was long hoped for has come.
o    The end of the world was upon them
o    This is important because it is because the fact that the Kingdom of God has come that we have the Holy Spirit inside our hearts.

*    It is the reason we have been set free from evil, sin and death
*    It is the reason for the cross (i.e. the life Jesus prepares the way for the cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven – not to mention Pentecost.)

Continue reading Hearing and Obeying →