Treasures New and Old

(Text: Matthew 14:13-21) Of all the miracles of Jesus, few are as well-known as his feeding a great multitude using just a few loaves and a couple fish. Even in such a deserted place, Jesus takes the scarce resources the disciples have and transforms them into an abundant meal for all.

(Text: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52) The parables of Jesus seem simple at first, but the deeper into them you dive, the more confounding they seem. What if Jesus uses parables not so much as teaching illustrations, but as the means by which God transforms you from death to life?

(Text: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) Jesus' parable of the separation of the wheat from the weeds is unsettling, especially when he reveals it to be about the judgment at the end of the age. How do we discern between wheat and weeds? How do we know which category we will be in at the time of judgment?

(Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30) One of the scandals of the gospel is that it is hidden at some times only to be revealed at others. What are we to make of a God who seems to hide the gospel from those who need it most? While there is no easy answer to this, we know that God hides not to be malicious, but in order to be revealed at the time and place God chooses. In this is faith, not that we choose God, but that God chooses us.

(Text: Romans 6:12-23) As Americans, we take pride in our freedom, especially with Independence Day just around the corner. However, as Christians, we must think about freedom in a different way. For the Christian, true freedom is not simply having no masters, but rather serving the right master: Jesus Christ. Our enslavement to God in Christ liberates us from the false freedoms of Sin and Death.

(Text: Romans 6:1-11) What difference does baptism make? In our reading today, Paul writes that it changes everything. To be baptized is to die to the old reality of sin and death, and to be raised in the new reality of Christ. The Christian life, then, is lived according to the new baptismal reality in opposition to the sinful reality of the world.

(Text: John 7:37-39) There is no shortage of stories of the decline of the church, and it can make us wonder if God's work among us has dried up. But Jesus promises to change thirsty doubters into believers flowing with living water. (Note: Pastor John misstated statistics of the church of Sweden in this sermon. Membership has declined from 95% of Swedish citizens in 1972 to about 60% today, with attendance between 2% and 5%.)lapsed?