Month: November 2024

Scripture:  Matthew 7:7-12, 24-29

Dear Church,

As I sit in a coffee shop working on this letter to you, the woman at the next table is reading intensely. She’s underlining and taking notes and pausing frequently to reflect on what’s she’s just read. She’s consuming the book she’s reading. I wondered what she was studying so intensely, so I snuck a peak.  The title is ‘How to Get Rich.’

Jesus’ final words in the sermon on the mount are words of warning. He says that those who hear his words and put them into practice are like wise homemakers who build their houses on stone foundations. But those who hear his words and do not live according to them are like fools who build their homes on sand. When (not if!) storms come, houses built on sand wash away. Only houses built on rocks escape destruction.

The woman sitting next to me in the coffee shop this morning is studying her book so intensely because she believes that if she reads and applies it’s principals she’ll gain wealth that will allow her to build a life of safety, security and opportunity. She’s not reading that book for pleasure, she’s reading it because she plans to put the words into action. If she reads it cover to cover and doesn’t change her spending habits, she’s just wasting her time.  She doesn’t look like she is wasting her time.

Jesus invites us to read his words with equal intensity and intentionality. Powerful and true as they are, Jesus’ words are pretty useless to us unless we let them shape our daily lives.

Jesus doesn’t want us to turn to his teachings to soothe our emotions or signal our virtue.  He certainly doesn’t want us to weaponize them against other people. He doesn’t say ‘those who hear and memorize my words’ or ‘those who understand and agree with my words,’ he says those who put my words into action will experience salvation from the storm. He says those who hear his words and then continue to live as if they hadn’t are foolish.

Jesus is calling us to changed choices.  He wants us to build our lives as if what he is telling us–about wealth, power, sin, grace, healing, love and courage–is true. He is telling us that, though it doesn’t always look like it will, letting his words shape our actions will lead us into flourishing, resilient and joy-filled life here and now.  

And we are discovering that together at the Grove, not just on Sunday morning at 10am (in the sanctuary or on the livestream!), but also in the many, many other ways we gather to live out the words of Jesus.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture:  Matthew 7:7-12, 21-23

Dear Church,

When I am confused and scared and discouraged, I run to the promises of Jesus.

I remind myself that he said, ‘All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away’ or ”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ or ‘I go away to prepare a place for you’ or ‘do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…Your Father in Heaven knows you need these things…but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’

I find hope and comfort in these words because I believe Jesus said them and I believe Jesus meant what he said.

Eugene Peterson translates Matthew 7:21-23, the portion of the Sermon on the Mount we are pondering this week, like this:

Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our super-spiritual projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’

Though these words neither comfort nor reassure me, I believe Jesus meant what he said here as well.

Jesus tells us that serious obedience is required of true disciples. A true disciple isn’t the one who worships every week or studies scripture intensely or gives to charity. Worship and scripture and generosity are good gifts from God. But they are not a substitute for following Jesus.

These words of Jesus are profoundly unsettling–and I believe that is how they so deeply bless us.

I hope you’ll join me as we hear the good news of Jesus’ promises for those who desire to be true disciples.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture:  Matthew 7:7-12, 15-20

Dear Church,

Sometimes the words of Jesus soothe, and sometimes they sear.  This Sunday, we will pick up where we left off last week in the sermon on the mount and consider this teaching from our Lord:

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Whatever lies ahead, we will not face it alone.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for what was coming. They did not understand what was happening, but they knew everything was about to change. They were not frightened for Jesus, they were frightened for themselves. They feared they would not have the strength to be faithful. These are the last words Jesus said to them before he rose from the table:

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

In him, we have peace. This world is exactly what Jesus prepared us for. And like Jesus’ first disciples, we may not always be able to be faithful to Jesus, but Jesus is perfectly faithful to us. We could not face these days alone, but we are not alone. The one who loves us has overcome the world. We were made for such a time as this.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

Want to chat about what you have heard? Click here:
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Scripture:  Matthew 7:7-14

Dear Church,

There’s an old Spiritual that contains the line ‘Everybody talking about Heaven ain’t going there.’  I think the only proper response to that is…ooof.  It seems like the kind of thing Christians, people who believe in the power of grace and forgiveness and new life, shouldn’t be singing.

Except, Jesus said things like that all the time. There are two paths, and not everyone is on the right one.  There are true disciples and false disciples, true prophets and false prophets, wise builders and foolish builders. Jesus said not everybody who calls, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will be saved. He told a story about people coming to him at the last day, showing their Christian credentials, flexing that they had preached and prophesied and worked miracles in his name. His response, ‘I do not know you.’

I’d like to ignore this part of the gospel, but the stakes are too high.  Jesus was preparing us, from the very beginning, for the reality that…not everybody talking about heaven is going there. He was teaching us that his name was powerful and so a day was coming when many would use it and claim his authority to fight against the very Kingdom he came to establish.

Wise followers of Jesus need to be able to spot the difference between those who build on the words of Jesus and those who twist them to support their own agendas.  We need to learn the difference between the promises of Jesus and the promises of those who claim to speak for him. We need to know the difference between the truth of the Kingdom of God and the truths of earthly authorities.

And we need to learn how to hold the truth without deploying it as a weapon or using it as a dividing wall. We need to learn how to use the truth of Christ in the way of Christ. In other words, we need to learn the culture of the Kingdom of God.

I hope you’ll join me as we launch into a new worship series focused on the final portion of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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