Central West End Church

It's common to think of Christianity as a form of cultural imperialism: turning everyone into mindless clones. But what if the gospel is the one thing that can affirm and honor all cultures, yet unite them in a common story that bring true justice and peace to the world?

It’s common to think Jesus divides the world into the immoral, irreligious people and the good, moral, religious people. But what if that’s not the distinction he makes? Even more, what if the road he advocates is the only road that can truly lead us to the things we desire so passionately (freedom, authenticity)?

What is the good life and what does it mean to be a good person? The verse we know as the Golden Rule (“do unto others…”) is dependent on what Jesus talks about right before that: our relationship with God. In this passage, Jesus shows us how those things are connected.

Our lives are full of longings for something we feel is missing from ordinary experience. What would it look like to find that? What would it look like to help others find it as well? Jesus’s perplexing statement about pearls and pigs shows us.

In this passage, Jesus charts a path for life transformation and world transformation. Over the next two weeks, we’ll look at both. This week, Jesus shows us how we experience personal transformation.

No one disagrees with the notion that greed is a problem. The problem is that no one thinks greed is their problem. However, Jesus presents a very different view. Through three pictures, Jesus shows us the nature of greed that lures every human heart and points us to a better way: the way of generosity that leads to spiritual transformation.

When our desire for a better world is constantly frustrated by the injustices and cruelties of this world, the result is often despair. But the resurrected Jesus leads people from defeat, darkness, and despair to truth, light and joy.