People don’t handle conflict well. Either they take the passive, rumor based approach, or the aggressive argumentative approach. Both end in pain and broken relationships. Jesus provides a better way in our Gospel passage this morning.
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Recent sermons preached by Wise Church pastors and preachers.
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
2020-08-30 – Year A – Proper 16 – The Rev. Dcn. Steven Edwards Jeremiah 15:15–21; Psalm 26; Matthew 16:21–27
View SermonWho Do You Say That I Am?
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked his disciples this question in the Gospel passage that we read today, and it is still one of the most important questions in life, one you need to have an answer to. Listen to hear what it means that Jesus is the Christ.
View SermonCrumbs for Dogs
In the Gospel today, we see Jesus and his disciples trying to get some much-needed rest, and a gentile woman, persistently begs Jesus to heal her daughter. How would Jesus respond? At first, he ignores her, and then he calls her a “dog,” a derogatory term used by the Jews of Jesus’ day to talk about the gentiles. This is the kind of response a Canaanite woman might have expected from a Jew. This isn’t the kind of response we would expect from Jesus! Even though Jesus’ silence and later his response seem rude, perhaps we can detect a “twinkle in his eye.” Especially when we remember how he commends her faith later in the story!
View SermonWalking on the Water
In the scriptures we find Jesus like so many parents who are weary from the work of just living life seeing the disciples and knowing they need help. He leaves the quietness of communion with the Father to enter the raging sea and to rescue or reassure them of his presence and care. The boat had gotten far from shore and despite the fact that they were professional fishermen they were unable to control the boat due to the high winds and blinding darkness. Jesus sees them floundering and comes to them walking on the water.
How does God want to come into your life and help stabilize you? How could the creator of the heavens and the Earth change your life for the good? He longs to love you, provide for you, and give you a life filled with single minded focus.
The End of the Sidewalk
In my neighborhood, there is a sidewalk that ends abruptly. Sometimes the events of our life feel a bit like this sidewalk, leaving us unsure of where to go next. When we get anxious about our present circumstances, we develop a feeble memory for God’s blessings in the past.
View SermonThe Kingdom of Heaven is Like
But what, exactly, is the Kingdom of Heaven? How would you answer that question? How would Jesus’ disciples have answered that question? Jesus is a King, but not the kind of king that people expected him to be. One day, Jesus sat down by the sea with a crowd of people to tell them about the Kingdom of Heaven, and he taught them using the parables we read today.
View SermonPulling Weeds
If you have ever planted a garden, you know what it is like to pull weeds. Weeds are relentless, and there are always more of them. Imagine, however, if someone intentionally sprinkled weed seeds into your garden! What would you do? How would you respond?
View SermonThe Sower
What does it matter what I listen to or read, or take in? Surely it’s just a book, a song with random lyrics, a youtube channel, a podcast, or just entertainment, right? Wrong!! Jesus talks today about living lives that can create a soft heart willing to receive the Word of God. Jesus shows us the importance of thinking critically about what we put into our minds and hearts. Filling our time with scripture, classic Christian writers, and worship music can help create a soft heart ready to receive the Word of God. Jesus longs to love you and to give you peace and goodness come to him for comfort and wisdom.
View SermonFinding Rest in Jesus
It can be hard to truly rest. There are so many things in life that we feel we need to strive for. Many even strive to be righteous before God, but all who try have failed. Jesus promises another way, a way of rest.
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