I don't think this story is simply about Jesus getting angry. Jesus got angry. I get angry. It's ok to get angry. That misses the point. There’s more to this story than that. And I don't think it's about the animals or the moneychangers being in the temple. Jesus surely had to have known they were there. He grew up as a faithful Jew going to the temple. He didn't show up this day and say, "Wow! There are animals and moneychangers here. I didn't know this. This is wrong." The animals and moneychangers had always been there. That's how the system worked. It was business as usual for them to be there.
Tag: Lent
The Conflicting Snapshots Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Mark 8:31-38
We've known times in our lives when we felt unprepared for what we were facing. We looked down the road at what was coming and we didn't like what we saw. We wanted to cry out, "No. This isn't happening. This cannot be. This must not be." Haven't there been times when you felt scared, unprepared for, or overwhelmed by life? Haven't there been times when you just didn't want to face what life was bringing you? Haven't there been times when you just didn't know whether your faith was up to the demands of life? Love my enemy? Forgive not once, not seven times, but seventy times seven? Turn the other cheek when the first one is still red and stinging?
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The Wilderness Of Gun Violence – A Sermon On Mark 1:9-15
The First Sunday in Lent - Mark 1:9-15 I don’t know how I can stand before you today with any sense of integrity and faithfulness and not say something about the Florida shooting. Something has to be said. I’m just…
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Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11
Lent 1A: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11 Over the last several years I've begun to see and understand Lent and temptations, the struggles in my life, in a different way. It used to be that I thought about those…
Read More Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11
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What If Temptation is Necessary?
What if temptation is necessary? What if temptation can be our teacher or a diagnosis? What tempts you? What tempts you into living less than who you really are?
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Longing for God
Most of us likely understand or have been told that Lent is a penitential season. We give something up, take on a new discipline, work to change our ways. None of this is wrong. But what if Lent is more than that?
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God’s Treasured Possession
Yesterday we began Lent with a couple of questions. What do you treasure? Where is your heart? Today we hear God’s answers to those questions.
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Giving Away Our Hearts – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Where we begin our Lenten journey is not as important as where it takes us. In the same way, what we give up, take on, or do for Lent are not as important as what those things do for us.
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Treasuring Hunting for Lent – An Ash Wednesday Meditation
What should I do for Lent this year? What should I read or study or give up or take on? These are good questions, but they are not Jesus’ question. Jesus wants to know what we treasure. Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter—our hearts.
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Rethinking Temptation: It’s More Than Just Saying No – A Sermon on Luke 4:1-13
Luke 4:1-13 Jesus overcame the temptations in the wilderness. He made it possible for us to overcome our temptations. Be like Jesus and just say no. Does that sound familiar? I wonder if that’s how we often hear today’s gospel…
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Interrupting the Silence 