Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 13:7

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“It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the ideas theologians like to discuss on occasion is “common grace.” The argument here is that God has given all people a portion of grace whether they believe in Him or not. This is a function of our being created in His image. All of us – every, single one – reflect God’s character in at least some capacity. It may be a very small capacity, but it’s not nothing. This means that every single person is capable of getting life right from the perspective of God’s kingdom. Most of us don’t do that with anything resembling perfect consistency, but we’re all capable of it. What has me thinking about this today is a show I’ve been watching lately that offers up a perfect example of this. It’s not made by Christians (to my knowledge), and certainly doesn’t reflect the Christian worldview in any meaningful way, but it has a moment when it hits the nail on the head. Let’s talk this morning about one of the latest offerings from AppleTV: Schmigadoon.

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Morning Musing: Mark 14:22-24

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“As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is the Lord’s Supper? Or, depending on your tradition, what is the Eucharist? The answers to those questions are perhaps wider ranging than you might expect. Not concerning ourselves with theological distinctions for the moment, the Lord’s Supper is one of the two most significant Christian acts of worship there is. The other is baptism, but that is a discussion for another time. Followers of Jesus have been observing the Lord’s Supper (or, again, depending on your tradition, celebrating the Eucharist or Holy Communion) since the very beginning of the church’s history. A church that doesn’t observe this tradition in some form or fashion can openly be questioned as to whether they are a church at all. Yet what is it? Well, a full answer to that question is well beyond the scope of this brief reflection, but as we come to the most foundational passage on the matter, let’s reflect for just a minute on what is the most important thing to remember about it.

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Morning Musing: Mark 14:21

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“For the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Yesterday we talked about loving in ways that seem hard to the recipient of that love. Last week we talked about why Judas betrayed Jesus. This morning, I want to look with you at something Jesus said that sits right at the intersection of these two conversations. This is another one of those things Jesus said that doesn’t make sense at first read. Well, that’s not quite totally true. It makes sense on it face, but the sentiment He expresses here prompts some challenging theological quandaries. Let’s talk for a few minutes this morning about the time Jesus said it would have been better for someone not to have been born.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 14:17-19

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“When evening came, he arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, ‘Surely not I?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever betrayed anyone’s trust? I’m not talking about lying to another person. That particular sin is on all of our balance sheets. I’m talking about actively betraying another person. They trusted you to do something that would advance their interests in some way and instead, you acted in a manner that intentionally did the opposite. They trusted you to be a certain type of person because you led them to believe as much, but the truth is you never were, and eventually they found out. That’s a pretty terrible place to be. If you’ve been there, you know the heavy weight of emotion and guilt you bear for it. Now, imagine that you haven’t done something like that, but someone tells you that you will. How are you feeling now? That’s where the disciples found themselves quite unexpectedly on the night of what would be their last supper with Jesus. Let’s talk about it.

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Faith at Home

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As we continue this week in our series, Standing Firm, through the New Testament letter of 1 Peter, it seems like the apostle is going off the rails. He’s been preaching a consistent and powerful message, but here it looks like he’s switching gears entirely. If you look closely, though – as we’ll do in this message – he’s being perfectly consistent with the theme he’s had running from the start. Although it looks like this passage is about wives submitting to their husbands and is thus terribly controversial, it’s about something much more important than that. Lean in with me and let’s see what Peter has to say here.

Faith at Home

You all know what a Chinese finger trap is, yes? A few months ago, I gave one to everyone in the room. Naturally, everyone who was here kept theirs in a treasured spot as you do with all your sermon freebies. I don’t suspect I need to explain to you how they work. You put your fingers in and when you try to pull them out, you discover they are trapped. The harder you pull, the more thoroughly you find yourself trapped. The trap works by taking your natural inclination—to pull harder when you’re stuck—and makes it work against you. The design tightens more the more it is stretched. In other words, when it comes to escaping from a Chinese finger trap, force isn’t going to do the trick. So, what does? Gentleness.

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