In his letter to the Ephesians Paul prays that the “God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.“ What is that hope to which we’ve been called? For that matter, what is hope?
The Radical Grace of God
Persistent in Prayer
Faith, hope, and love. This is the trinitarian theme of our pledge campaign this year and our recent adult education series. Over our three-week session, we gathered for Evening Prayer, a simple shared meal, and explored faith, hope, and love in art, cooking, bible study, or story sharing. Over the past few Sundays, Bingham’s sermons have talked about faith.
Power in Mercy and Compassion
The last few week’s gospel lessons have dealt with the connection between power and riches, what we value in our lives, and what is valuable in the eyes of God. Last week we heard the confusing parable of the unjust steward and how he sought to take care of himself once he was fired, and the week before, we heard about the 99 sheep who were left behind while the shepherd went in search of the one lost sheep, and the women who searched and swept the whole house in search of the one lost coin out of the ten, and when she found it invited her friends to a party to celebrate. Today we continue with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Listen to or read Ryan’s entire sermon by clicking “Read More.”
Invest Wisely
God is always more ready to forgive than we are to ask
Love Over All Else
So what do we make of Jesus saying to hate anyone, let alone your family? Let’s take a step back from this reading for a moment and look at it in its bigger context. Jesus, as that moment in time, is moving towards Jerusalem where he is going to be crucified. He knows that. He’s talking about that, although no one else understands what he is talking about. And as he goes toward Jerusalem he is teaching, he is healing, he is acting in love, and he is getting pushback. He doesn’t get much pushback for the words about love, but he does when he performs actions in love, like when he tries to heal someone on the Sabbath.
Listen to or read BIngham’s full sermon by clicking “Read More.”
