Tag Archives: walking on water

Living Like Jesus: Take Courage! – Sermon on Mark 6:34-52

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July 29, 2018

If you thought this series on Living Like Jesus was going to be a checklist of ‘Dos and Don’ts’ you are probably disappointed by now. Living like Jesus isn’t that simple, is it? We have to look for God in the interruptions and depend on God alone to provide for our needs. When evil seems to be taking over, it’s only by claiming our identity in Christ that we can overcome that evil.

As we learned last week, we have to stay in the boat with Jesus, instead of running ahead to where we think he’s going. And living like Jesus means having gut-wrenching compassion for those who don’t know him. That means allowing ourselves to be touched as the “fringe of his cloak” in order to be Christ’s healing touch in the world.

Today’s reading gives us the final installment of this sixth chapter of Mark. We’re about to move out of the mundane and into the miraculous.  Continue reading →

Faith Focus – Sermon on Matthew 14:22-33

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April 3, 2022
Video

Young adults and teenagers are good at asking some really important questions:

  • “Is God real?
  • Why are churches so messed up?
    Why are so many Christians hypocrites?
  • Can I trust the Bible?
  • Is it wrong to doubt God?

Denying the power of these questions – or worse, ignoring them – simply feeds into the suspicion that our faith isn’t strong enough to handle doubt. But we don’t have to have all the answers. Admitting that we don’t is actually the first step toward establishing our credibility as faithful disciples. Continue reading →

What Did You Expect? Sermon on Matthew 22:1-11 Palm Sunday A

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So tell me, how has Jesus shown up in your life during your Lenten journey, and how has reality matched your expectations?

Throughout Lent, we’ve heard of miracles and conversations with Jesus that changed lives – sometimes entire communities.  All of these stories have something in common. In every case, God shows up in unexpected ways. And the signs Jesus performs all point to one truth: Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus might be asking us, “Well, what did you expect? Didn’t you think I would show up? Don’t you know that I am with you, even to the end of the age? And shouldn’t you expect me to be faithful to work in your lives, just as I did then?

If nothing else, the season of Lent teaches us to be alert to God’s presence as we grown in faith. That growth doesn’t just happen – we cultivate it through service and solitude, prayer and study, fasting and feasting. And we have to expect God to use us in unexpected ways. Continue reading →

Bread for All – Sermon on John 6:1-21 Pentecost 9B

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July 25, 2021
Video

If you thought our sermon series on Living Like Jesus was going to be a checklist of Dos and Don’ts you may be disappointed by now. Living like Jesus isn’t that simple, is it? We have to look for God in the interruptions and depend on God alone to provide for our needs. When evil seems to be taking over, it’s only by claiming our identity in Christ that we can overcome that evil.

As we learned last week, we have to stay in the boat with Jesus, instead of running ahead to where we think he’s going. And living like Jesus means having gut-wrenching compassion for those who don’t know him. That means allowing ourselves to be touched as the “fringe of his cloak” in order to be Christ’s healing touch in the world. Living like Jesus is a pretty tall order. In fact, it requires our full commitment, our complete surrender.

Today we jump from the sixth chapter of Mark to the sixth chapter of John’s gospel to find a story that will serve as the hinge between our focus on Living Like Jesus, and the next few weeks’ focus on Christ as Bread for All. It’s the same story we would read in Mark 6 or Matthew 14 or Luke 9 – all four gospel writers tell this story. And I thought about using Mark’s version, just so we could wrap up Mark 6 and tie a nice bow on it. But I think it is just as important to begin the sixth chapter of John’s gospel at  – well, the beginning.  Continue reading →