Rev. Zach

Jeremiah 18:1-11 This week has been a trying week on the souls of many in our nation. Indeed, many people around the world have found it difficult to watch and to understand the election process in these United States, and yet they are watching and they want to understand. They want to understand because they know something that we don’t. They know what it’s like to have a foreign power with influence over their lives. There are certainly foreign powers that attempt to influence our lives all the time, but there is so much more of the world that turns on the value of the U.S. Dollar than we have any notion of understanding. Even in our weakest moments, we have more power than most do in their strongest moments. That’s not to say that the economic power we hold on the world stage is shared equally – and we could argue all day about whether that is fair and just – but it does lead me to share one of my favorite election year memes. “Do not let your allegiance to the donkey or the elephan...

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...