There’s always one thing we’d rather not put on the table when God asks us to give something up—and we usually know exactly what it is. In Luke 18, a rich man walks away from Jesus grieving because that one thing is precisely what Jesus names, and the disciples’ stunned question in response—”then who can be saved?”—turns out to be our question too.
Pastor Tim helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“With what attitude should we pray?”). How do we approach talking with God?
Even when we have the truth, we need to figure out how to convey it in love. Conveying truth in love involves caring about how the person we’re speaking to will hear it because of how we say it and when we say it.
When we’re ready to accuse others of missing the mark of righteousness, are we prepared to explore the differences between ourselves and the righteous person too?
We’re drawn to people who seem useful, impressive, ready to contribute—and in Luke 18, the disciples felt the same way when they turned away parents bringing infants to Jesus. But Jesus stopped them: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Pastor Tim helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“How does the Holy Spirit help us?”) as we continue to explore how God the Holy Spirit helps us.
We constantly seek to strive for the better position in society, but what if we stopped trying to see ourselves as important and instead saw ourselves humbly?
Seeking wise counsel that will lead us closer to the Lord is at the heart of helping good leaders and being good leaders.
We’ve all prayed about something so long that we start to wonder if God has put us on hold—and whether anyone is ever going to pick up. In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a powerless widow who keeps pleading before a judge who neither fears God nor respects people, and asks whether his people will keep crying out to him day and night or simply lose heart.
Pastor Tim provides an update about our new sermon series and special Sunday school class tonight along with a brief look at our next catechism question (“Since we are redeemed by grace alone, through faith alone, where does this faith come from?”) and accompanying Scripture.