Grace Alone Online

Our Epiphany theme of Joy for All continues.  Did you hear the one about the Pharisee, Jesus and the sinful woman?  I retell the story of this Luke 7:36-50 encounter in a bit different way.  Someone finds great joy; the other doesn't.  It's in the punchline.

Our Epiphany theme is: JOY for ALL. The Roman Centurion sends word through Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come to the house and heal a servant. Later, however, he defers that invitation and sends friends to ask that his servant be healed from a distance. The Jews said the centurion was "worthy." But, was he?  Are you worthy of Jesus?

See how our Epiphany theme, Joy for All, is found in the Baptism of Jesus our Lord. Jesus stands in the waters of Baptism a hero, ready to do battle.  But, when we see him we see only a man, water and a washing.  What's going on here that gives meaning to our Baptism?

"Are you ready to leave?"  This was my common question to the kids when getting ready for church on Sundays.  Inevitably, my son could never find his shoes.  If truly "All God's Chillun' Got Shoes" as the great singer Paul Robeson once sang in his collection of Spirituals in the early 1900s, my son was not in the line to receive his shoes.  He couldn't even find his socks.  He would go to church "incomplete".  Today, Simeon and Anna, two prophets in Luke, give us reason for Great JOY for ALL people who are not ready to leave.

Christmas Eve - what can I say?  Luke uses only two words to sum up Christmas.  What are they?

Listening to Christians talk sometimes, you'd think they were the poorest people in the world.  "Woe is me, my finances, my health, my job, my life..."  Christians are the wealthiest people in the world.  God's forgiveness is our wealth.  I know, I know, it's not material, you can't count it - but you can count on it!  Although wealthy, Christians look to their own wealth instead of the wealth of God's forgiveness when living out their lives.  This can be dangerous, both spiritually and mentally.  Listen in on how to not squander the riches that have been given to you for riches that are worth nothing.

Shame and guilt.  the church says a lot about guilt, but does not treat shame.  Guilt is caused by YOU; shame is done TO you.  The church usually looks at the sins we commit and ask for forgiveness but doesn't spend a lot of time dealing with the hurt and pain of those sins against us - those sins that make us feel like N-O-T-H-I-N-G.  Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, felt this shame.  She was barren, and in the Middle East, that means ridicule, being talked about, made fun of.  She was nothing.  Yet, Christ, was also shamed.  We can rejoice in the midst of shame.  How?  Listen in!

HOPE.  The Second Sunday of Advent is all about HOPE....hope is not wishful thinking.  It does not mean to "wish" for something out of the ordinary to happen.  HOPE in Scripture, and in many other languages, is the same word as "WAIT"  You "wait" with "hope".  Hope is therefore knowing for certainty what is going to happen.  To have hope is to await the completion of what you know and believe is true.  For instance, Christ will return.  We wait in hope....not that He returns, because He definitely will.  We wait in Hope, anticipating that return.  But what if loss and heartache grip us in the midst of that hope.  What are the chances we might be embittered and broken in this world...how then do we have and hold on to hope?  Listen in!

After finding the continental Divide, Lewis and Clark thought that they had an easy ride to the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia River.  but, then they saw the Rocky Mountains.  Talk about being trapped - they could not go back, and they didn't know the path forward.  What about you?  Are you trapped?  Can't turn back, can't move forward?  How do you deal with it?  Listen in!

We give thanks for all things. Even those things that are difficult? Yes, even for those. Do we pray with thanksgiving? Even if they are seemingly not answered? Yes, we do. Thanksgiving does not always mean “joy”…it is to give thanks in all things, knowing that God has what is best for us all the time.  We give thanks for our constitution which has protected the freedom to worship and give thanks to God.  What if that changes?  What will become of Thanksgiving and giving thanks?  Listen in....