"First in Line" [Audio] [PDF]

Jesus was a guest at a banquet and saw two problems: some guests were rushing to the front leaving others in the back, and there were those who could not get in at all. He tells two illustration stories to teach the lesson that there is room enough for everyone at the Lord’s table. We just need to remember who he says always comes first at his table.

August 22, 2010, 21th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Hebrews 12:18-29, LUKE 13:10-17

"The Day That Makes the Difference" [Audio] [PDF]

Jesus healed a woman in the middle of a worship service, and a lot of people were unhappy. They brought all their usual viewpoints into the sanctuary, and they forgot it was a holy place where they could connect to grace and listen to God. In worship, the Spirit has power to do strange and mysterious things that changes the way we see the week.

August 15, 2010, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Isaiah 5:1-7, LUKE 12:49-56

"Explaining Away the Obvious" [Audio][PDF]

Any Texan knows that a black cloud in the West means it is going to rain on someone. No clouds means more heat for everyone. Jesus says that the signs of the times are just as obvious, and he wonders why we can't see them. Could it be that we want to evade the present? Could it be that we are so caught up in the pressure of the present that we don't have time to look around?

August 8, 2010, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Hebrews 11:29-40, LUKE Luke 12:32-40

"Trusting in Something Better" [PDF]

Faithfulness is in the hoping – in the continual hoping that always pulls us into God’s promise. When hope turns away from the promise, hope is helpless and faith is frozen. The promise is everything, and it is worth giving everything to nothing but a promise. The promise is always out there somewhere just beyond our vision of sure and always beyond our grasp of certain.

August 1, 2010, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Lord's Supper, Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17, LUKE 12:13-21

"Letting Go, Taking On" [Audio][PDF]

Jesus teaches one lesson by giving an illustration of a rich man with too small a barn, who wound up being a fool. He was greedy and counted his life by "the abundance of possessions." We don't have to be rich to be greedy for stuff, and the grace from the Table may cure our ways and change our lives.