Rev. Zach

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15      Hebrews 13:1-6      Luke 21:1-6 If I were a betting man, I would bet that if you could only miss one Sunday out of the entire year it would be the Sunday that the pastor delivers the annual “stewardship sermon.” Well, don’t worry. You’re not alone. I don’t like it either. It’s funny how talking about money in church can make us uncomfortable, even though that was one of Jesus’s favorite topics. In fact, it seems like most Christian churches these days would much rather talk about the stuff that Jesus did not really talk about. You know what I mean – the pelvic sins. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews manages to cover sex and money in our reading today, so maybe we can just deal with both topics at once, right? Maybe not. We definitely need to talk about money, though, and just saying that raises tension in the room. Money is deeply personal, and I saw an article the other day that I think describes why. The author said, “We don’t pay for thin

Jeremiah 8:18- 9:1      1 Timothy 2:1-7      Luke 16:1-13 The so-called “ parable of the dishonest manager ” is one of the most confusing and confronting of Jesus ’ parables. Maybe we get it in the lectionary cycle every three years to be sure we have a chance to wrestle with it together. Regardless, it confronts us today, and we may take comfort that it is being read and struggled within congregations across the world today. That ’ s right. If we can ’ t be united in our joy, we can at least be united in our discomfort! You may think that odd, but I think it ’ s somewhat poetic. One thing I do know is that this is a passage that il lustrates our expectation that a literal reading of scripture without context can lead us down some weird paths, so let ’ s start there. In terms of its Biblical context, this story directly follows the parable of the Prodigal Son which ended with the elder son ’ s lament and indecision over whether or not to join the celebration over his brother ’ s

Jeremiah 18:1-1 1      Philemon 1-21      Luke 14:25-33 Today – as would please our forbearer in faith, John Calvin – we have three passages that are all centered around the sovereignty of God. That ’ s a very churchy thing to say so I ’ ll start by asking you what in the world that actually means. What does it mean to y ou when I talk about “ the sovereignty of God, ” and how do you see it in action? (Answers are given.) Those are some good answers. I wonder, though, how does it make you feel to think about God as “ sovereign? ” (Answers are given.) Th ank you. Hold on to those thoughts while we explore this idea together. The term “ sovereignty ” is a governmental term. Originally it meant that someone had authority over the lives of others. Kings made treaties about trade routes and levied taxes without consulting the farmers or citizens whose lives were affected by their profit. They had ultimate auth ority over who lived and who died. As people of faith, throughout the ce