This Sunday we're going to be considering a passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus begins to shed light on the impending outcome of his ministry.  He's breaking the news to his dense disciples and putting the best face on it.  In this passage Jesus compares himself to a seed.  The value of a seed is in what it produces. Using the metaphor of math, we consider death the ultimate subtraction, but, according to Jesus, death is actually a form of multiplication.  Or it can be.  It ought to be.

And the sort of death that multiplies isn't something we can only experience when we stop breathing. We get opportunities to die all day long, don't we?

And we get to see the things we bury for Jesus spring up and bear fruit for Jesus!

When, instead of cherishing and protecting my privacy, I allow it to be buried I can see that the selfless act of inviting someone into my life and home bears fruit that would have been stillborn in the cold womb of my "privacy." I'm really mixing the metaphors here, but you can see where we're going with this.

Call to Repentance

Luke 14:27 (page 1623)

Call to Worship

Psalm 71 (page 907)

OT Reading

Isaiah 49:1-7 (page 1138)

NT Reading

1 Corinthians 15:35-45 (page 1790)

Message

Planting Instructions

John 12:20-26 (page 1671)

The Angel's Empty Hands

This Sunday I'm going to be preaching on an aspect of the temptation in the wilderness that is intriguing and which sets the stage for the season of Lent.

In the wilderness Satan tempts Jesus to leap off the temple's highest point, calm in the assurance that the angels would bear him up in their hands.  It must have been very tempting.  Jesus was being treated poorly for a human, much less for the Son of God.  It would have been very gratifying to make this dramatic gesture and have the expressions on all their faces change from sneers and disgusted frowns to looks of regretful astonishment.

But Jesus resisted the temptation and the angels hands were left empty.

There are several important lessons for Jesus' disciples to take from Jesus' example.

Call to Repentance

Hebrews 10:30-31 (page 1874)

Call to Worship

Psalm 91 (page 930)

OT Reading

Job 19:23-29 (page 811)

NT Reading

Matthew 4:1-11 (page 1499)

Message

The Angel's Empty Hands

Matthew 4:6 (page 1500)

Who Are We To Judge?

This Sunday we'll be considering James' challenge to us to avoid speaking poorly of fellow Christians or passing judgment on them. There's no doubt that when we do pass judgment and when we're free with our criticism it takes the joy out of belonging and hands ammunition to Satan, inviting him to open fire on us.
If holding our tongues and reserving judgment feels risky ("if I don't point out the truth then he's going to get away with it") we are betraying a lack of confidence in the Holy Spirit. The real risk is to ourselves when we decide to impersonate God and hope that he will not mind our presumption or that Satan will not take advantage of it.