Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

The Galatians were coming to the end of Paul’s letter, And suddenly the handwriting was different – instead of the well-formed characters of a professional scribe, • the printed letters were large and scribbled ◦ this shift was certain to grab their attention ◦ like changing the “font” of a sentence in a document to all upper case or bold print • but why did Paul insist on writing this last bit wi...

Years ago, and in another life, I had a feisty personal assistant Although she is genuinely compassionate, she had a favorite line: “Get over yourself” - I think that held her together through a hard and complicated season of her life • she said it to herself, to he friends, to people who called the church office for help, ◦ and more than once she said it to me–her boss • but she never said it whe...

Paul has chased a serious concern through his entire letter So it is not surprising that near the end, he would present an the ultimate challenge of the Christian life - in verse 16 Paul begins last segment of his central message • what follows in chapter 6 is his concluding remarks and directions - what we have in verses 16-25 is this chunk of scripture that tracks one theme • Paul makes this cle...

 I assume most of us are familiar with The Message Bible One of the more popular versions, and easiest to understand – Eugene Peterson did not set out to write a new translation • beginning in early 1980’s the U.S. economy went into a slump and mortgage interest rates were rapidly climbing ◦ people in his church were feeling the pinch, and reacting in the same way as people in town Peterson, “Para...

If you ever decide to read the Bible all the way through, At some point, you will find yourself struggling to understand it – even if you’ve been a believer for a long time and read it before (or read a kiddie version) • a passage will confuse you, trouble, or just seem wrong ◦ I’m fortunate to have many helpful resources • however, when even those study aids leave me with questions ◦ then I resor...

For the last month or two, I’ve noticed a trend – people are using a “Jesus image” in a variety of video posts • like a famous celebrity, he’s immediately recognizable ◦ there’s the trademark long hair and beard, the robe, and sandals ◦ his image is used to promote an ideal, or to criticize, ridicule, or make fun of something • three observations immediately come to mind: ◦ first, the image is use...

In the first half of this chapter, Paul scolded the Galatians You know how sometimes, as a parent, - when you're very worried about your child–maybe they did not arrive home on time • when they finally show up, your worry turns to anger ◦ if ever our lectures were rougher than they needed to be, ◦ it was because we had agonized over their safety • I think that's a little piece of what is...

Do I need to mention that Paul does not try to hide his frustration with the Galatians? To our ears, his language-- "foolish" and "Who has bewitched you?" sounds offensive - later on he will say, if they’ve truly taken this wrong path, “ You are severed from Christ . . . you have fallen away from grace” (Gal. 5:4) • he doesn’t mince words, because he’s terrified for their sake...

Paul has shared with the Galatians a brief autobiography He completed it with a story about his run-in with Peter - when Peter first came to the Gentile church in Antioch, • he allowed the wall between Jews and Gentiles to collapse ◦ but when rigid and dogmatic believers arrived from Judea, ◦ he broke away from close contact with Gentile believers • how sad, when a person withdraws from generous g...

If you remember from last week, Paul is telling his story Now, at the end of his autobiography he mentions Peter (Cephas) – this is the only record of them ever having a personal encounter • as Paul approaches the primary purpose of his letter • he uses this story to illustrate his central point – the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem recognized the difference between his ministry and Peter’s “th...

Last week we ventured into Paul’s letter to the Galatians Right away we learned that he was not pleased with these Christians - he accused them of deserting Jesus for “another gospel” • but he hasn’t defined that other gospel specifically • that's what he does in the next section of the letter that we will cover today - beginning in verse 11, Paul writes a brief autobiography • he does this b...

I’m going to make this simple, and show you what I see in the introduction to this letter First, there’s something different about the way it begins - in Paul's usual typical greetings he identifies himself, his title, and whoever else is with him • then, he greets and blesses his readers with, “grace and peace” • but in this letter, before he mentions his companions, he takes a detour ◦ he t...

For a few weeks we’ve been bouncing around in Scriptures Next week we’ll settle into something more consistent, - and I’ve chosen to hike through Paul’s letter to the Galatians • but not today– • my talk this morning will be another random meditation - what I will say about this letter, • Paul was not at all pleased with the churches in the region of Galatia ◦ he had introduced them to a life in G...

Pastor Allen was a preacher in Small Town, U.S.A. Relaxing at home one evening he settled into his recliner, pushed his reading glasses up to the bridge of his nose, and reached over to his side-table for something to take his mind off of work. He could have picked up one of the magazines lying there, or a novel with a bookmark where he left off, or if all else failed the TV remote. He accidently...

In May we completed our trek through the Sermon On the Mount Since then, I have not felt a strong direction toward bringing another series - Nancy Lopez, whom I love and trust, • suggested that we go through the Minor Prophets ◦ I’m still mulling that over • meanwhile, I’ve been sharing on Sundays my own random musing from the past week - today I’ve chosen an odd place to drop into the Scriptures...

The way Luke introduces John the Baptist has a familiar ring: “The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (Lk. 3:2) For example: “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri” or “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel” - Luke is obviously forging a link between John and previous prophets • Jesus will soon say, John was a prophet “and more...

1 Corinthians 8:1-6   It’s not one of my favorites, but this time something happened - it was like I saw a glint of light sparkle from one of the verses • so I started digging at it ◦ I took my investigation as far as I could, ◦ but when that wasn’t enough, I consulted a biblical scholar • in a few minutes I’ll share with you what I discovered, - but first, we’ll take a brief look at this passage 

 Reading the stories of Jesus, Have you ever wished you could hear the tone of his voice? - for instance, I imagine a note of disappointment or sadness when says, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” • Philip was one of the first disciples to follow Jesus ◦ so he’s traveled with him as long or longer than the others ◦ if anyone should know Jesus, it’s Philip • Jesu...

For some theologians and many believers, Paul’s letter to the Romans is the heart of the Christian faith - but what they see as the central message isn’t my favorite part • chapter 8 and this chapter speak directly to our need • that is, our connection to God and life in the Spirit ◦ then chapter 14, where we learn what living our faith looks like in practice - a natural division occurred in churc...

Do you have a favorite psalm; for instance, Psalm 23? Whether one psalm speaks to me and another one doesn’t, - depends a lot on my mood at the time I read them • the Psalms are moody, and some of them match my mood perfectly • whenever a psalm speaks to me, it’s effect is palpable ◦ it not only gives me something to think about, ◦ but also stirs up significant feelings - the Psalms speak to our f...

Jesus crossed an international border looking for rest Matthew says, he “went away” and “withdrew” - he needed space where he was free from the desperate crowds • care givers have to be careful to care for themselves • otherwise burn out can take out a care giver ◦ during this brief respite, Jesus and disciples were off the clock - last thing they wanted was to hear the cry of a Gentile woman • Je...

My grandchildren have been helping me with social media, by interpreting a slew of new acronyms Acronyms are abbreviations for phrases, titles, or names, using only the first letters of each word - for instance, USA, BTW, or RFK • acronyms look strange, initially ◦ a popular political insult is RINO: Republican In Name Only • this came to mind when reading a quote by Justin Martyr ◦ a first centur...

We’re nearing the end of Jesus’ Sermon I think we must admit, there have been surprises along the way - but it has been a journey of wonder, skirting the edges of the kingdom of God • at the same time, the Lord has exposed us, to truth that is deep and difficult • so, what does Jesus want to say to us this morning? - though he’s never one to sugarcoat the hard things, Jesus is being rather blunt,...

Before we explore what Jesus is saying in these verses, There are three issues that need to be addressed First: - belonging to a church family can sometimes be devastating • I’ve met people whose first real family was their church ◦ it became their lifeline, until one day it fractured ◦ an angry and hostile faction split the church • those on sidelines were so disillusioned, and so hurt, ◦ they ne...

Every Easter, until COVID, my dad would host a Sunrise Service (First at the Pacific Amphitheater and later the Verizon Amphitheater) And most every year he would tell the same story; this one about Mary Magdalene   - you might expect people to say, “Oh no, not this story again,”      ~ but instead it was, “Oh! This is one of my favorite sermons”     ~ about forty years ago, a Sunrise Service was...