Tag: Meeting God

One Thing’s Needful

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Biblical Text: Luke 10:38-42

Of all the biblical stories that cause complaint, Mary and Martha is right up there. We are all natural Marthas. And even those who think they are Mary’s probably aren’t. But this sermon reflects really mostly on one phrase of Jesus in the story – “but one thing is necessary.” It set me thinking about the current American love affair with gambling. Because what Jesus is asking us to consider is something like “what is the probability of God revealing himself personally to you?” That is the one thing needful. And the truth is that when God shows up we are often behaving like Martha. When the Word is present we are letting the cares of the world dictate our actions, and we miss the time of our visitation. Thinking in the mentality of a gambler can actually be helpful in this. We might learn to recognize the truly worthy, the one thing needful – The Word of God, Jesus himself.

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Soul Meets God

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Biblical Text: Mark 5:21-43

The text is one of Mark’s famous “sandwiches.” He puts one story on the inside of a story interrupted. I think the reason is that we are meant to compare and contrast the inner and the outer stories. They illuminate each other. And these two stories are stories of desperation and faith. They are stories of the soul. In the inner one a story of how the soul meets God. In the outer one all the lies that Satan might throw in our way. This sermon is a little more experimental than what I normally do. And by experimental I probably mean spiritual experiential.

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Revealed Desire

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Biblical Text: John 4:4-26

John 4 is a New Testament example of a “well scene”. It’s a stock backdrop that comes with some expectations for what is going to happen. John plays with these expectation is playful and revealing ways. If we are willing to hear, I think it reveals our desires that we often chase in all kinds of places – appropriate and inappropriate.

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