Grace Alone Online

The first king of Israel would never have needed a sign over his head at any time saying, “This is Saul, the King of the Jews.”  You would have known it just by looking at him. He was a head taller than anyone else in Israel. He was handsome, strong, and he came from a wealthy family. You would have needed no more than one glance at that exalted head of his to declare, “Now that’s a king." But Saul’s story was no different than other kings.  His exalted head lowered, he followed in the way of the world’s first king, Adam. Following in the sinful DNA of his forefather, Adam, he turned away from the Word of the Lord. As a result, God anointed a new king, as Scriptures say, “he was a man after God’s own heart”, the young shepherd David. But Saul persecuted and reviled David.  King Saul had the gall, the audacity, to challenge the Lord’s Anointed.  Growing up, my family had term for that gall and audacity.  We would say that Saul had chutzpah. DO YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF CHUTZPAH? Jesus did!

While mockery is not strictly making fun of someone, mockery does involve making fun of someone or something.  Maybe you can remember that one kid in your school of whom everyone made fun.  Among children, this happens a lot. Among adults? Yes, it happens every day. Among Chirstians? I'm sorry to say....it's worse. Find out what happens when Christians mock.

It wasn’t until just a couple weeks ago that I found out why TV news reporters kept calling Tom Brady the G.O.A.T. Goat is the anacronym for Greatest Of All Time. Here I thought it was because Tom Brady was the oldest quarterback to have played. And, here I thought it was something Tom Brady’s wife called him due to their recent divorce. The Greatest of All Time. And I guess he is. Retiring this year, he had his day in football. Well, in the Jewish calendar, another type of goat had its day. One day out of the year, the goat was the main event. On this day, Yom Kippur, a different goat was king.

When learning another language, one uses a dictionary to get the meaning of a word. Sometimes, words are synonymous between languages. For instance nación in Spanish means nation in English. Or, crédito in Spanish means credit in English. They’re similar enough. But there are words that sound the same and mean something totally different. For instance, the Spanish word, embarazada does NOT mean embarrassed in English. It means pregnant. Another word that is similar between English and Spanish is useful in our message today. The word is pretend. In English, of course it means to be false, to be something you’re not. We might think someone is pretending if they say one thing and we see them do another. We may be tempted to say that someone is pretending to be a Christian if they confess Christ, but their lives confess something different. This is something that we relate to during our lives. But pretend in Spanish means intention to do something, to have a goal and works towards it. Now although these words are different between two languages, we can easily use this one word to describe the Apostol Peter. Peter is the Great Pretender. He at once pretends to be faithful, then denies, while his deepest intensions and goal was to remain faithful. What happened to Peter?

In the 14th century, Dante Alighieri wrote an epic poem called the Divine Comedy. The first poem to be read on Maundy Thursday is entitled Inferno. You’ve probably heard of Dante’s Inferno. Subsequent chapters include purgatory and paradise. In Inferino, Dante has a system of “hot” and “cold” for sins as well. He reserves the innermost circle of hell for betrayers. He puts Judas’s soul there. But surprisingly, Dante doesn’t surround his soul with flames. For Dante, the center of hell is “ice cold.” He places Judas into a lake of ice. His plight is to spend eternity frozen in the ice, because he had such a frozen heart when he lived.  Are sins hot or cold?  Listen in....

In a matter of a few weeks, the Academy Awards will hand out Oscars in several categories related to the film industry. The biggest one being: Best Picture. I have a couple favorites. But this morning, I want to present you with my own nominee for Best Picture: “The Transfiguration of Our Lord.”

With any conversation, you can’t just jump in the middle.  You risk misunderstanding if you just get the bits and pieces in the middle. To understand and apply Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel You need to consider what He says in the context of all of chapter 5, which we have been talking about since two weeks ago.  To get it right, you need to  get it Jesus-right.  To get it Jesus-right, I mean you get it Gospel right. Gospel is Good News that comes from God alone. Whatever Jesus has is a gift to you and me. It is something God does for and to you; not what you do for God. The alternative is to understand what Jesus teaches as Law.  So, what does He means when he says, "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.  Perfect? Yeah, right.

“Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for justice, who are merciful, who are pure in heart, who are peacemakers, who are persecuted, who are reviled.” Many people think that the Beatitudes are qualities that they must possess to be blessed. “Yes, Lord, I hunger and thirst for justice….and I’m fairly pure in heart – at least my intentions are….and I try to make peace with even the most difficult people…So I guess, that means I am blessed when I do these things.” If you think this way, you get Jesus backwards.  Becoming involved in social activism for justice neither blesses you nor qualifies you to be declared blessed.  The same is true when Jesus says, "you are salt and light."  We turn this into a command to BE salt and light, rather than live as salt and light.  But what does it matter if we live as salt and light, or not.  What does Jesus intend for you when He says you are salt and light.

It’s common to hear a turn of phrase used these days: “in a dark place.” What exactly does this mean?  Matthew 4:12-25 quotes Isaiah 9:1 saying, "Those who dwell in darkness have seen a great light."  Was that only at that time?  How do people grapple with darkness in their lives today?  The answers you'll find on the internet either counsel you to wait it out, or, some self-help plans to get yourself out of it.  But....nobody escapes darkness.  We live in a world of darkness for which Jesus is the light.  Explore your dark corners here and find out what your only solution is.

John's declaration as Jesus approaches the Jordan River: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  Jesus first words in the Gospel of John at the Jordan River as He speaks to the first disciples who follow after him: "What are you seeking?"