Sermons from April 2022
People of the Towel
John 13:1-20
We return to our studies in the Gospel of John this Sunday, a Gospel that invites us to Come and See who Jesus really is. Our text this week is the well-known text of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Would it be even more well-known, because it is in this scene where Jesus turns everything upside-down. He defines Lordship (even deity!) in terms of a towel, then defines what it means to be people of the towel. Join us this Sunday as we explore the foot-washing event by the foot-washing Lord.
When Sunday Feels Like Saturday
Mark 16:1-8
As the saying goes, “It’s always darkest before dawn” — this was no less true that first Easter Sunday when Jesus’ followers woke up thinking He was still buried in the tomb. But as the Gospel of Mark reminds us, sometimes it’s pretty dark even after the sun has risen! This Easter coincides with a return to post-pandemic normalcy, but perhaps life still feels dark despite the sun. Come join us as we prepare to emerge together into the Resurrection life of Christ.
The Cost and Crowning Joy of Redemption
Ruth 4
In the final chapter we witness how Ruth’s courageous acts of hesed love propel Boaz to new levels of incalculable risk and joy of covenanted relationship that culminates in a “redemption” that outlasts history!
Who Are You My Daughter?
Ruth 3
As we enter the third chapter of Ruth, we encounter more bold and daring examples of hesed (“unfailing love to the helpless”) that, at first glance, appear dangerous and deceptive—a midnight encounter on the threshing floor that is loaded with sexual overtones and double meanings. Warning bells go off—“Parents Be Warned: Mature Subject Matter.” True, the scene is riddled with sexual tension, but I believe we need to teach our children how God’s people are perpetually confronted with difficult situations and hard choices and how they must decide whether they will be guided by self-interest or hesed. The choices made by Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are exemplary and compel us to constantly re-negotiate the complexities of moral decision making in a world where everyone is in some way threatened or compromised. Carolyn Custis James suggests that this is “one of the most powerful gospel encounters between two people in all of Scripture.” I believe it also gives a radical understanding to what it means “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21).