But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to unrighteous and evil men. Be merciful, just as Your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36 (Read verses 20-49) 

INTRO: I’ve been thinking about a book I would like to write 

The Psychology of Jerks: How to Spot Them and Avoid Them (or otherwise learn to deal with them)  

Not every jerk tries to be one
– not because he has an inflated ego, or simply doesn’t care, or is not all that bright
– some jerks are just guys who have a flawed set of values and if that is all they know, then for them success comes from practicing those values rigidly
– for example, to some people it is a virtue to never pay full retail price for anything (what they cannot see is how that practice can hurt other people)
– if such a person feels the need to try harder, he simply contiues to do the wrong thing, but more intensely Continue reading →

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. (Lk. 6:12; read verses 12-19)

INTRO: In 2005, I was able to spend a month in a monastery

Later, when I was talking about my experience with a man from the church–a rather cynical person–, he asked, “How do they justify their lives? They have it sort of easy, don’t they? All they concern themselves with is their own spirituality. What are they doing for others?”
Leaving aside the spiritual support they give to others simply by being there, through counsel, and through their daily prayers for the world, I simply replied, “Given the billions of people in the world today, don’t you feel that it’s justifiable if just a few of them are totally devoted to glorifying and worshiping God?”

His question highlights a common misperception about Christian spirituality; namely, that it is an escape from life, self-focused, and that it does nothing that touches the world
Continue reading →

No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, “The old is good enough.” Luke 5:36-39 (read Luke 5:33-6:11)

INTRO: Have you ever had an encounter with another Christian that made you feel like you did not want to be a Christian any more?

Some problems with religion are so messed up, they can’t be fixed
– in Isaiah, it was the whole ritual of sacrifice and feast days
– in Luke, it was religion’s external, formal, and rigid character
Trends in religion had reached their limit and it was time to close shop Continue reading →

But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken . . . Luke 5:8-9 (read verses 1-32)

INTRO: There’s a little problem we have to fix before jumping into this chapter

Like Luke, both Matthew and Mark also report the stories about Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law and his invitation to Peter, James and John to follow him and become disciples
– but Luke reverses the order in which these two stories occur
– we need to ask why Luke would change the sequence of events
– why does Luke want the story of Peter’s encounter with Jesus to go here? We will have to look at the whole chapter to find the answer Continue reading →

When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. Luke 4:32 

INTRO: First, we’ll take an ariel view and point out a few things 

A parallel is developed between the first two scenes (vv. 31-37)
– Luke uses three words that describe the response of people to Jesus to link these scenes Continue reading →

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17 

INTRO: This morning’s gospel reading was Matthew 5:13-20

It is a small patch of a much larger quilt, The Sermon On the Mount
– and for whatever we might say about it, the sermon is not a lovely philosophy of life or a useful outline for human behavior and interactions
– in fact, some of it is rather harsh (for example, if we fail to be the “salt” Jesus says we are to be, we are “no longer good for anything”) Continue reading →