Jesus’ and the Ethic of Gratitude

This sermon is based on Matthew 6:1-4. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from beyond, from

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Jesus’ Justice Ethic

This sermon is based on Luke 6:20-26. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from beyond, from

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Jesus and the Ethic of Forgiveness

This sermon is based on Matthew 6:9-15. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from beyond, from

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Jesus and the Ethic of Love

This sermon is based on Matthew 7:12 and 22:34-40. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from

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Jesus and the Ethics of the Kingdom

This sermon is based on Matthew 5:17-20. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s wisdom from above, from beyond, from

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Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount

This sermon introduces our new teaching series and is based on Matthew 5:38-48. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: “Just do the right thing” sounds easy enough, but how do we know what the right thing is? “Just do what the New Testament says” sounds like good advice until you are confronted five times with “greet one another with a holy kiss” and other such anachronisms. “Just do what Jesus says” sounds great until you read the Sermon on the Mount with its prohibitions on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths, as well as its “turn the other cheek,” “give your coat,” “go the extra mile” and “love those who persecute you” philosophy. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but “knowing and doing the right thing” is far more complicated than it first appears. So, what are we to do? We seek God’s

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Jesus and the Committed Life

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” I’ve used that quote a dozen times to illustrate unrelenting commitment. Here was Edison, the inventor of the electric light bulb, struggling to find a filament that would not burn out after a few illuminating moments. But it was Edison’s perseverance; his commitment to excellence, innovation and light that propelled Edison to carry on, failure after failure. And when he was asked if he was frustrated after trying so many things that did not work, Edison’s response was an encouragement to all of us to endure, regardless of the obstacles in our lives.  Ask anyone for a picture of unwavering, courageous commitment and they will point to Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Except for one thing: Edison didn’t really invent the lightbulb. Seventy-seven years before Edison (in 1802), an English chemist named Sir Humphry Davy made

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Jesus and Wisdom

Some people play music to set the mood. Some look at their mood rings for inspiration. Others adjust the lighting. I hear mod fabrics is even a thing. Some people use candles to set the perfect atmosphere. Me? I tell stories (all three of these stories I found in a Leland Gregory book). 2,300 years ago, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, looked up into the far reaches of the northern sky. There he saw the constellation Ursa Major. Ursa Major, of course, is, as anyone looking at the constellation can easily see, “the big bear,” even though it may appear at first, second and third, and maybe even fourth glance, in the form of a big dipper. In any case, Aristotle named the land mass under it, “the bear.” He then looked in the opposite direction; and since it was indeed the opposite, he named the land mass to the south,

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Jesus and the Sheep

The innocent always suffer. It was 1943; and Great Britain was in the midst of a terrible war, a war they feared they could lose.  But war had not yet reached a tiny remote, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland, until it did in a big way. On this day, a group of soldiers brought 80 sheep to the island. But they weren’t actually soldiers, they were scientists. And they had come to this island on a secret, deadly mission. They wanted to see if their anthrax bombs were as lethal as they believed. If they were, the next step was to drop anthrax on German cities. The scientists were wearing cloth overalls, rubber gloves, and gas masks; but that hardly seemed like enough protection. They launched the anthrax by mortar and watched the effects. At first, the sheep showed no signs of infection; but when they did,

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