04/03/2023
It’s easy to forget that Jesus was fully human. He loved his disciples but he needed good friends that weren’t front and center in his ministry.
It’s easy to forget that Jesus was fully human. He loved his disciples but he needed good friends that weren’t front and center in his ministry.
My first thought in preparing today’s message was to emphasize all the different groups—religious and political—of Jesus’ day and explain how each would have been relatively unhappy about the vision Jesus had for the Kingdom of God. I was going to rely on this extended quotation from author, Brian McClaren’s book, The Secret Message of Jesus. I decided to go in another direction, but you students of the Bible might find the following helpful both in setting up the backdrop of Jesus’ ministry as well beginning to understand why there was so much resistance to Jesus by so many people.
I enjoyed Pastor Jessica’s sermon Sunday in which she looks at the Sermon on the Mount, and specifically the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 as “a map of where we can find Jesus.” Listening to her exploration of where and how we might best discover Jesus, Jessica did point out his unique identification with the poor and hurting of our world. It reminded me of the following from a Catholic theologian and churchwoman.
The Beatitudes of Advertising
The average American watches TV for nearly 30 hours per week. That's 65 days of nonstop TV watching every year. By the time they graduate from high school, students will have viewed 360,000 commercials. The average 65-year-old will have watched two million commercials.
Archived Posts
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
There are several powerful and evocative artworks that depict the scene from Mark 9:14–29, where Jesus heals a boy possessed by an unclean spirit... Some of the following have internet links, the others are worth googling. Enjoy!
The Gift of Ourselves As A Gift of Love
The more the giving of myself costs me something, the greater the power of the gift. You know I love quotes, so after a little research, let me share a few of my favorites on this very subject:
The Loss of a Great Christian Leader
The death today of Pope Francis was particularly poignant, falling as it did on the day after Easter. As Protestant Christians we have a once removed interest in the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Yet the pope is the authoritative leader of 1.4 billion women and men around the world. It is worth our time to pause and consider what kind of man and what kind of legacy Pope Francis left behind.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Judas Iscariot
(Drawn from online sources)
Jesus Hears A Who
Few people know that Horton Hears A Who comes from the 25th Chapter of Matthew.