Trespasses or Debts

The Lord's prayer:

"forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who trespass against us"
Or
"forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors"

Trespasses or debts.

To trespass means that we have violated the rights of another person.
The most common use of this term is to go on to someone's land without permission, to violate their private property.
To ask for forgiveness for our trespasses is to ask to be forgiven for the way that we have wronged others.  To forgive people for their trespasses is to forgive people for how they have violated our rights.
This is very important, extremely important.

To be in debt means that you owe someone something. 
We could be in debt to someone because we have been bad.  Throwing a brick through someone's window for example.
Of course we can also be in debt for a neutral reason.  I am in debt to the bank, not because I am bad but because they hold the mortgage to my house.
Or we can be in debt to someone because they are good.  When someone helps us we feel that we are in their debt.  Someone helps you move and you feel like you need to pay them back some how.  We become indebted to others because of their goodness.

"forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors"

Stop trying to pay God back for his goodness.  Just accept that he is good and he loves you.  
Bless and encourage people without expecting them to pay you back.  Just bless because you are filled with love.

** Interesting side note: I cannot find an English translation that has trespasses, they all say debts.  As far as I can tell trespasses comes for the book of common prayer put out by the Anglican Church.  I have no idea why it says trespass.

Divorce

A topic we avoid, while at same time embrace.

We avoid because it is filled with pain.

We embrace because it has affected all of us.

On Sunday I preached on Matthew 19:1-12.  Jesus talks about divorce.

Here are a few things that I had in mind as I preached:

1. Grace.  There is grace and forgiveness.  The story just before this one is a story of forgiveness.  A man who owns too much to pay back is forgiven.  He then is to forgive those around him.  We are forgiven by God based on the cross, this includes those who have been divorced.  All of us need to extend the same grace that we have received.  
2. Hard hearts.  Jesus states that divorce (marriage breakdown) happens because of hard hearts.  Yes, there may be an innocent party in divorce (it takes two to make a marriage thrive).  But we need to realize that divorce is a result of sin.  Most of the time both individuals in a marriage breakdown have hard hearts.
3. All of us have hard hearts.  
4. Two shall become one.  The goal of marriage is greater than not getting divorced.  The purpose of marriage is to not suffer through life with some other person.  The goal is oneness.  To be one means that you stand together and face all of life together.  It is not about being roommates.  Divorce happens because we are not pursuing "oneness".  We do not want a spouse, we want cheerleader. 
5. Change.  To be married means that we need to change.  Marriage changes everything.  Our hearts have to be open to allowing the other person to change us.
6. Singleness.  Sometimes it is better to be single rather than being married.  Jesus holds up that a single life is blessed.  Married life is also blessed (in different ways).  

Sunday's sermon

Sermon text: Matthew 10:32-39

This little passage raises some really interesting questions.

1. Jesus says that his acknowledging of us in heaven is based on us acknowledging him here on earth. That sure sounds like salvation by works?
2. Jesus says he did not come to bring peace but a sword. And here I thought Jesus would always bring peace where ever he went, after all he is called the "prince of peace". Conflict may be from God?
3. Jesus says he came to divide families. What not to unite them? Instead of "the family that prays together stays together", Jesus is saying "the family that prays to me will be split"?

Now I want to run and solve these questions. But I have found that if I run and try and make everything fit together too quickly I just end up ignoring what Jesus is saying.

What is he saying?

Sunday's sermon

The text for this coming Sunday is: Matthew 9:2-8

In this text we see Jesus' authority to forgive our sins. One of the striking things is that Jesus offers forgiveness outside of the temple. The normal way for a Jewish person in the 1st century to obtain forgiveness was in the temple. This man however did not need to jump through any "hoops" to get forgiveness, Jesus simply declared him forgiven.

This made me ask a couple of questions:

1. What "hoops" do I feel that I have to jump through in order to get forgiveness from God?
2. What "hoops" do I expect others to jump through in order to forgive them?

Sunday's sermon

The text I will be preaching on this Sunday:

Matthew 8:23-27

Things to consider:

Why does Jesus tell his disciples that they have little faith? After all in their panic they turn and call out to him.

The two questions in this passage I have found very provoking:

"Why are you afraid?"

"What kind of man [Jesus] is this?"

Sunday's sermon

The passage for this Sunday's service is: Matthew 7:7-12

Other passages:

Luke 11:9-13

Mark 11:22-25

John 14:12-14

Some questions:

Why right after talking about prayer does Jesus then talk about doing good to the people around us?

Do we really believe that God gives good gifts to his children?

Preaching on the Lord's Prayer

This Sunday I am going to be preaching on the Lord's Prayer:
Matthew 6:7-15

Other passages to read:
Luke 11:1-13

Things to consider:
This prayer is very well known. I grew up saying it every day in school. How deeply does this prayer shape the way that we pray?

Should we pray these very words? Or is that just vain repetition?

A while ago I posted an adaptation of the Lord's prayer

Giving, fasting and praying

Text for Sunday's sermon: Matthew 6:1-18

Other passages: Hosea 6:4-6; Jeremiah 14:11-12; Matthew 3:1-12

Questions to consider:
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells his followers to let the world see their good deeds. But now he is telling them to do them in secret and not let anyone see them. Why? This is in the same sermon.

In the previous part Jesus has been inviting people to learn a new way to relate to others. How does this section on giving, prayer and fasting flow from that?

Resisting an evil doer?

Text for Sunday's sermon: Matthew 5:38-48

Other texts:
Romans 12:14-21
Exodus 15:1-18

Questions to consider:
What does Jesus mean when he says "Do not resist an evil doer?" Does this mean we don't call the police when we are wronged? Does this mean we should not stand up for the defenseless? How does this fit with the rest of the bible?

Light of the World

Sunday's sermon text is: Matthew 5:13-16
Related texts: Philippians 2:14-15; John 1:1-18

Questions to consider:
What does it mean for the people of God to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world?
How has the church in the past failed to be salt and light in the world?
What does it practically look like for your church to be salt and light in your neighborhood?

The Beatitudes - part 2

Text for this Sunday's sermon is Matthew 5:1-12
Some related texts: Psalm 73, James 3:17-18, Deuteronomy 4:29-32

Some questions to think about as read:
What is God saying to you?
What would it look like to live this way?
Are there people you know who live out the beatitudes?

The Beautiudes

This Sunday's sermon text is Matthew 5:1-12.
Related texts: Deuteronomy 28, Psalm 37, Isaiah 61, Luke 6:20-26.

Questions to consider:
As you read the text(s) what is God saying to you?
What does it mean to be blessed?
Create a list of people you believe are blessed by God. Are there differences between your list and the list that Jesus makes?

Matthew 4:12-17

A new song by David Crowder fits very well with this passage:

Light and Shadows

Life is full of light and shadow
O the joy and O the sorrow
O the sorrow

And yet will He bring
Dark to light
And yet will He bring
Day from night

When shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We remember the cost
We rest in Him
Shadow of the cross

Fasting

Matthew 4:1-11

In my last post I talked about what I discovered about myself when I thought about fasting. At the end of the post I gave one reason I thought fasting would be a good thing. As I read the rest of the story about Jesus' temptation I discovered a few interesting things - possibly a few reasons why we should fast.

The first temptation. Jesus is tempted to live need centered instead of God centered. Satan tempts Jesus to fulfill his needs outside of God. Jesus responds by stating that what we truly need is God.
This temptation is clearly linked to fasting. After all the temptation is about food. Why fast? Because it is a reminder that we need God more than we need anything else (including food). It can also remind us that we are not to seek to fulfill our needs outside of God. A while later in the gospel Jesus tells us not worry about our basic needs. We are to seek God's kingdom.

Second temptation. Jesus is tempted to live a me centered life instead of a God centered life. Here Jesus is taken to the highest point of the temple and is invited to throw himself down because God will protect him. There are several things going on. One, is the temptation to test God instead of trusting him. This is really about being me centered. We demand that God jump through our hoops. We expect him obey us instead of obeying him. And the funny thing about testing God is that we will always need one more proof. Another thing that is going is that if Jesus would have jumped and been safe and landed in the temple then people would have known that he was something special. So this was also a temptation to be prideful. And pride is being self centered.
I wonder if fasting can also help us here. Fasting is about denying ourselves. Denying ourselves the basic necessities of life. We do something that physically declares that we are not the center of the world - God is. After all fasting is not simply about giving up food it is always linked to prayer.

The third temptation. Here Jesus is tempted to be result centered not God centered. Satan tells Jesus that he will give him all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus has the opportunity to be the great king of the world right now - God's plan is for him to eventually become lord of all. However to get this quick result Jesus is invited to abandon God and God's way which leads to the cross.
Can fasting help us here? Well in my last post I mentioned that fasting seems to be impractical. But maybe that is something good. Can I obey God even when it seems impractical or do I always need to have a clear result?

Jesus fasts for forty days

Matthew 4:1-11

Fasting. In this text we see Jesus spending forty days fasting. Now I have to confess I have not personally spent a lot of my time fasting. My church has encouraged giving up something for Lent (the 40 days before Easter) and I have taken part of that. But fasting from food has not really been a part of spiritual life or journey. A few people in my congregation have said a couple things that have challenged me in this area.
So I began to ask why hasn't fasting been part of my life. The sense that I getting right now is that I think fasting is a waste of time. Why fast from food? God already hears my prayers, fasting isn't going improve that. Often fasting in the Old Testament was done to seek God's forgiveness. But because of Christ I am already forgiven.
One reason came to me why I should fast, fasting reminds me that I need God more than I need food. Do I really believe that?
There a some other reasons that I think fasting might actually be important. But I want to ask you: "Do you think fasting is something Christians should regularly do?"

Baptism of Jesus

I have been sick for the past couple of days - if you could pray for me that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Matthew 3:13-17

I have often wondered why Jesus gets baptized by John. He says it is "to fulfill all righteousness". But I haven't always been clear on what he means by that statement. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and Jesus was sinless so he did not have to repent.
Was this some way of identifying with John and/or the people who were coming to John?

What do you think?

The Religious

Matthew 3:1-12
Why does John call the religious people a "brood of vipers"? Why does he tell them to "bear fruit worthy of repentance"?
In Luke's gospel John's message of repentance is directed to everyone who comes to him. But Matthew notes that John specifically targeted the religious with this message. Why?
I mean it makes sense to tell "sinners" to repent. Prostitutes, tax-collectors (who in that society were really traitors to their country and God), gang members, pagans, atheists, liars, cheaters, adulterers and people like that need to change. But John directs his message to the religious.

Could it be that we, the religious, need to repent of:

• Using religion as a cover up for our own sin. Instead of examining ourselves we simply see the wickedness of those who are not part of our religious group.
• Using religion as a way to get power. We tell people that in order to be faithful to God they must submit to the religious organization. This can be blatant or very subtle, like using guilt to get volunteers to run programs.
• Using religion to keep God at a distance. Instead of getting to know God we make spirituality about obeying a list of rules.

Could it be that being religious actually makes it more difficult to experience God's grace?

Jesus and John

Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist comes across as a fiery, wild, crazy man. He shows up in the dessert and preaches that people must repent. Then when the people who are religious show up he calls them a "brood of vipers". He tells them that they have to "bear fruit worthy of repentance".

How does this message line up with Jesus?
Compare Matthew's summary of John's message with his summary of Jesus' message: Matthew 3:2 and Matthew 4:17
Some other texts to ponder
Matthew 7:21-27
Matthew 12:33-37
Matthew 23:12-36

John the Baptist

John the Baptist comes as the forerunner of Jesus. Matthew 3:2 gives a summary of John's message:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.

The kingdom of heaven refers to the rule and reign of God. John is saying that God is near. God is about to establish his rule and reign. John views himself as standing as standing on the edge of time. God is about to do something new - he is about to act in decisive way.
Once God acts then all the other kingdoms because meaningless. All the rulers, powers, authorities of this world are subdued before God.
The only way respond according to John is to repent. This is more than just a mental decision. Repentance affects the way that we live. No longer live as if the rulers of this world are in charge. We live believing, completely convinced, that God rules.

Who are the rulers in our world? How do we live under their power? What does it look like to live under the power of God?

What about the other babies?

I hate this story. The story that Matthew tells in chapter 2. The one about Herod "the great" killing all the boy children in and around Bethlehem in his attempt to kill Jesus. I read in some commentaries about how God's grace works in this situation by saving Jesus. Jesus' dad, Joseph, is warned to flee in a dream. But all I can think about is "what about the other babies?" Why did God not save them?
Now I have intellectual answers for all this. We can talk about free choice, about how free choice is necessary for there to be love. And that choices have consequences both for the good and bad.
But...
Imagine being a parent. Or an older sibling. Soldiers show up and kill your baby. The anger, the rage, the pain. Intellectual answers would be somewhat empty to say the very least.
And the really tragic thing is that within our history this is not an isolated event. But it is something that is constantly repeated again and again. Those with power killing, abusing, those who are weak. Our world is totally messed up.

And I guess that is why we need a savior.