Category: Sermons

Matthew 6:1-18

In the midst of a major congregational conflict after the departure of a long time pastor, a consultant was called in to help sort out the mess.  One of the images she shared with us that was particularly helpful was this:  any church, any organization, for that matter, operates with what can be called “fault lines”, the lines which are potentials for eruption of conflict due to differences between groups of people.  Fault lines exist, the consultant said.  The key is knowing how to manage them so that simmering or hidden conflict doesn’t go boiling through like hot lava, causing destruction in its path.  Continue reading “Sermon: Practicing Piety” →

Matthew 6:19-24

Jesus is not afraid to talk about money.  He talks about taxes, he talks about investments, he talks about repaying (or not repaying) debts.  As a matter of fact, he talks about  money so  much that you could even say, is he talking about money AGAIN?  You see, money matters, and Jesus knows it.  And money matters seem fairly unavoidable in our thinking and in our daily life.  It seems that we pay an inordinate amount of attention to money, how much we make, how much we you spend, how much we owe, how much we wish we had.   Even so, money can be a touchy subject for conversation in general, and especially in church.  As a general rule, Jesus doesn’t seem to be afraid of touchy subjects. Continue reading “Sermon: Money Matters” →