Two Surprising Ways God Works
Sermon from 6 March: Mountaintops Can Be Dangerous
Sermon from 13 March: Less Is More: Simplicity
I find that God often surprises me. The two sermons above highlight aspects of God and what He commands that are contrary to what most people seem to think these days.
First - most people seem to think that spiritual experiences and sacred moments are for our own enjoyment and that if we can just re-create them as much as possible that we'll become closer to God. Not true. Right after Peter, James and John has their most powerful experience, they wanted to set up camp and Jesus called them immediately back into the valley of everyday life.
Second - We live in a world where more is almost always seen as better. More money, more space, more luxury. But according to Jesus, sometimes less is more.
We all mourn the terrible events of the last days in Japan. We stand with our neighbors there. But let us not forget our neighbors in New Zealand, Queensland Australia and all the other areas in the world suffering under recent disasters. And let us not allow military dictators to use these disasters as cover to further exploit their people. The day after Japan took Libya off the front page, government forces have been much more brutal in their repression of the opposition.
Sermon from 13 March: Less Is More: Simplicity
I find that God often surprises me. The two sermons above highlight aspects of God and what He commands that are contrary to what most people seem to think these days.
First - most people seem to think that spiritual experiences and sacred moments are for our own enjoyment and that if we can just re-create them as much as possible that we'll become closer to God. Not true. Right after Peter, James and John has their most powerful experience, they wanted to set up camp and Jesus called them immediately back into the valley of everyday life.
Second - We live in a world where more is almost always seen as better. More money, more space, more luxury. But according to Jesus, sometimes less is more.
We all mourn the terrible events of the last days in Japan. We stand with our neighbors there. But let us not forget our neighbors in New Zealand, Queensland Australia and all the other areas in the world suffering under recent disasters. And let us not allow military dictators to use these disasters as cover to further exploit their people. The day after Japan took Libya off the front page, government forces have been much more brutal in their repression of the opposition.
