This Sunday-Sermon Topics
Questions and Answers
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We live in an era when many people say they are "spiritual but not religious." Have you ever wondered what that means? What can the church learn from people like this? How can we minister to them? Let's explore these questions together through a study of the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit in an age of competing notions of "spirituality?" What are the attributes of the Holy Spirit? How can we discern when the Spirit is near? The marketplace of "spirituality" today is diverse and competitive. How do we as followers of Jesus accompany those seeking a spiritual journey while pointing them to the love and purpose of Jesus?
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Encountering Jesus with the Gospel of Luke
If you had to draw a portrait of Jesus, how would you depict him? Would you portray him as a teacher or healer? Would you show him sitting at a table eating with disciples and “sinners” alike (Luke 15:2)? Maybe you would want to emphasize his compassion, mercy, and humility. While each of us have our own cherished images of Jesus, the Gospel of Luke illuminates who he was and what he did in very practical and powerful ways. Join us for worship as we seek to learn from all these portraits of Jesus. Together may we encounter him in fresh and life-giving ways in our own lives today.
October 16 2016
Jeremiah 31:27-34
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
Theme: In contrast to our desire for instant gratification, the blessings of prayer require stamina, persistence, and faithful endurance.
Luke’s parable of the widow (Luke 18:1-8) who continually came to the judge seeking justice encourages us not to lose heart. We are to pray and be persistent in the life of faith on behalf of the justice God intends. God is pictured in contrast to this unjust judge who doesn’t care a bit about justice but does care about his own peace of mind! God, of course, has no peace of mind without justice. If we think of ourselves as the widow in this parable, then few of us have her stamina in the hard, exhausting work of seeking justice on behalf of the powerless. Perhaps this is the reason Jesus asks the closing question of the parable: “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Will he find faith in us – persistent, tireless faith seeking justice? Margit Ernst-Habib invites us to think that the widow represents not only our need to pray relentlessly but also to see the Holy Spirit in this insistent widow. The Spirit is at work, earnestly, unrelentingly encouraging us to pray. What causes you to lose hope in your own prayer life? What might the Spirit be urging you to pray and work for on behalf of someone else?
