Pentecost (58)
  1. We cannot control the resistance of people to God’s Word, but we can trust in God’s power and promise to work through His Word.
  2. Jesus did not come to be first. He came to be faithful, faithful to His Father’s mission for you.
  3. Whether we are sheltering at home on Pentecost or gathering together in church, we have reason for praise. Jesus Christ is the source of the Spirit and that Spirit will never fail.
  4. God invites us to have intimate conversations in a world filled with mockery and hate. To trust Jesus reigns whenever and wherever He extends a word of promise to the displaced and the disfavored, welcoming them home.
  5. Jesus offer us this vision of violence not so we might be drawn into it but so we might be drawn through it to come closer to Him.
  6. If the resurrection were just a repetition of this world, then it would be ridiculous, indeed. But the resurrection is different. It is a world without death.
  7. If anyone could be accused of squandering riches, it would be Jesus. The Pharisees have seen Him squander the blessings of God on tax collectors and sinners. He did it then. He does it now, for you and me.
  8. Jesus will be working in our feeble misguided efforts to reach out to the world. He governs our words and our deeds, no matter how awkward they might seem.
  9. We would expect Jesus to be delighted people have responded to the master’s invitation. Instead, Jesus asks these people to reconsider whether they should be following Him or not.
  10. The question that this text poses for us today is “What does it mean to believe in the resurrection?”