Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

Is there anything Christmas brings that can last the whole year?   The answer is obvious: Christmas brings Jesus Christ - his last words to the disciples in Matthew’s gospel: And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20) 

The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” Malachi 1:1-3

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you;  righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey,  on a colt, the foal of a donkey. . . .  and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea,  and from the River to the ends of the earth Zechariah 9:9-10

When St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he told them, He was impressed by three qualities that they demonstrated: your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thes. 1:3) - faith, love, and hope – essential building blocks of a Christian life So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13) • Paul may h...

I feel like we’ve taken an intensive course – on prayer Luke provides lessons Jesus taught on prayer that are not not found in the other gospels – he has also reported times Jesus prayed than no one else recorded • so it has taken us a long time to get this far • Luke is a rich source information and it is helpful to learn what he has to tell us – the prayers we’ll look at today are pretty basic •...

I try not to say much about prayers that go wrong There is no good reason to feel nervous about praying – we’re children coming to a good, loving Father to ask for bread • in fact, Jesus taught us to use prayer to rid ourselves of anxiety ◦ we can ease into prayer and find rest in God’s presence • you will pray right, if your heart is right – so we pray with confidence, but we also know that praye...

Before we jump into these verses, take a breath Remember who is telling the story – he is not a stranger – we know this person – this storyteller • we met him when as children we were dragged to church ◦ or when a friend first introduced us ◦ or when we picked up the Bible and read one of the Gospels • we know Jesus, we trust him with our lives, and we love him – it’s good for us to occasionally c...

A friend once told me, I had changed his thoughts about Jesus This man was a few years older than I, and a deep thinker - he had an unusual perspective on things that I found interesting • what he said was that the way I talked about Jesus had bugged him • he had a very manly, tough and unflinching image of Jesus ◦ but I emphasized his tenderness, kindness, and compassion ◦ he equated those qualit...

Jesus asked a question, and immediately we see that it is rhetorical He wasn’t looking for an answer – he was making a point - when we went through the previous parable, we learned, • when Jesus began a question with, "Who among you?" ◦ the answer is already known and always negative ◦ “None of us would act this way” or “No one would do such a thing” - Jesus poses this question in a stor...

Jesus has just used a parable to encourage his disciples to pray He is about to illustrate a condition of prayer with another parable - but between the two parables, he does something unusual • Jesus tells them how to respond to these parables And I tell you could be translated So I tell you or Likewise, I tell you ◦ Jesus connects the statement in verses 9-10 to the parable that came before • mos...

We have come to an important waypoint in our journey A message that has been forming the behind curtain is brought onto the stage – alongside the story, Jesus has taken time apart to pray • the difference here, is that Luke uses the disciples to make this point explicit Lord, teach us to pray

In any series of talks I give it's helpful to have a reminder We are following Jesus through Luke’s gospel learning prayer, - by listening to Jesus and by watching him • I sometimes forget the absolute necessity of prayer ◦ when that happens, I treat prayer like it’s optional • many people think prayer is asking God for things, ◦ and if they don’t get what they want, ◦ they decide it doesn’t...

In the first half of this chapter, Jesus launches a campaign Of course, like Jesus himself, the operation is modest - there’s no funding and its reps are unskilled volunteers • but it’s the crew Jesus chose and the plan is simple and low-key • there is a twofold purpose for this mission: ◦ prepare people for Jesus’ arrival and ministry ◦ for these disciples to experience their first solo-flights i...

I like the strange passages that call attention to themselves – and force me to pay closer attention to what is there • I would not say I did my best Bible reading this past week ◦ I took three of my grandchildren to Flagstaff, Arizona, ◦ where we shared a hotel room – so there was no private space for me to read and pray • nevertheless, I tried, but with many apologies to the Lord – so yesterday...

There are three words in these verses I want to highlight “and was praying” - between the time Jesus was immersed in water and the heavens opened, • he was praying – and this intrigues me ◦ in the life of Jesus, this is the first mention of him praying • of course we have only a glimpse of his childhood ◦ but those snapshots reveal someone already conscious of God And the child grew and became str...

Cheryl Brodersen

 Last week, Naomi set the plot in action - we could say that her maneuvering was relational; she was working with people • this week, Boaz sets the plot in action, and his maneuvering is legal; he is using the law - moving through the interaction that takes place in this scene, • is an important factor that we could miss in all the action • that is, the reality and depth of Boaz’s devotion to Ruth...

Intro: This past week was about getting things done Not everything on my to-do list–not even one, one-hundredth - one appointment was scheduled several weeks ago • another one that I had to plan and prepare myself to complete ◦ I’ll have more to say about this later • my point is that in our day-to-day passage through life, ◦ I am no different than you ◦ we all have to deal with schedules and appo...

Ruth Chapter 2 Intro: In the apartment complex where my son Scotty lives, There’s an old vending machine where residents can buy sodas - Calum was six the first time I bought him a cola drink from it • we inserted the money, he pressed button, machine rumbled, ◦ and a can of soda dropped into the slot at the bottom • then before we could insert more money, the machine rumbled again and another sod...

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons Ruth 1:1 Intro: With these words, we walk through a gate and into what may be the most enchanting story in all of scripture - but because it took place long ago and in a strange culture far away, • we need some help orienting our...

How did we wind up in Genesis this morning? Many preachers have their sermons lined up for the whole year - I’ve never been that organized or thought that far ahead • it’s when I finish a series of talks that I think about what’s next • usually that has a lot to do with what is pulling on my heart in that particular moment - so we’re in Genesis, because it provides a seed for my talk • I’m not sur...