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Normalize Mercy
The challenge of stumbling into Matthew 18 without its context is that we get the point Jesus is trying to make completely backward.
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Dealing with Sin
Jesus doesn’t offer us rules for shunning. He offers us an opportunity to reconnect and restore the community we break apart.
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Inquisitions are supposed to be rare—for Proper 18A
When helping people right their wrongs, it’s easy to find wrongs everywhere—and being the one to save them.
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Between Proper 17 + 18 (Year A)
Before we deal with sin in our community, we need to hear what Jesus says about who we God puts first in heaven.
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While we’re focused on doing it right
So much of our energy is focused on what we are supposed to do at any given moment, we hardly listen to what Jesus is saying.
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Removing Our Stumbling Blocks
In Matthew 17 and 18, Jesus reveals the way stumbling blocks get in the way of God’s mission. Including our obsessions with rules and borders. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 A few years ago, a celebrity pastor got in trouble. He was the darling of the new reformed movement for his high doctrine, aggressive style,…
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How to Not Be a Stumbling Block
A re-imagined sermon for those that have missed church recently After calming the storm, Jesus and the disciples come to shore, bombarded by people looking for healing. It is from here that Jesus takes his disciples aside and asks them who they think he is. Peter’s declaration: “Messiah!” is followed by his fear for Jesus’s…