He doesn't look much like a king. But he is exactly the king we need.
Jesus spoke of the rubble that would spell the end of all the hopes and dreams of his people. What could they hold on to when all was gone. What can we hold in to?
Jesus spoke of the rubble that would spell the end of all the hopes and dreams of his people. What could they hold on to when all was gone. What can we hold in to?
Today we commemorate All Saints and All Souls, remembering people who have touched our lives and celebrating the eternal hope we share. How do you feel about talking about that hope? Does it feel a bit awkward?Do you sometimes feel too embarrassed to raise the subject of heaven in your everyday conversations? Let's talk about the awkwardness and find a way through the embarrassment to celebrate the hope to which we have been called.
Rev Pam Hynd's sermon for Pentecost 21
When you see a new person coming through the church door, do you find yourself hoping they will have a lot to contribute? Abilities, resources, time, etc? Jesus turns this upside down.
Don't you sometimes feel powerless? Don't you sometimes feel like God might not care as much about justice as you do? Jesus told a parable to bring those hidden fears into the light.
Where do you expect to see God working and humans flourishing? Do you expect to see it in prosperity and success and in everything going to plan? Here we see that God's work of new creation happening in places of trauma and chaos. Where life seems to be ending, new life is just beginning.
When Francis lamented his sin, God said, "repair my church", taking him from individualism to community, from deconstruction to construction.
The first parable in Luke 16 raises the unsettling question of who we should give our money to in order to be welcomed into the beautiful homes of the age to some. The second parable answers that question