How to be a Martyr: A sermon on Matthew 16:21-28
The scripture passage we just heard follows right on the heals of when Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Last week we explored the fact that in calling Jesus “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”, Peter was pointing to the fact that Jesus was the King the people of Israel had long been waiting for. Jesus exuberantly accepts Peter’s titles, affirming that He is indeed the messiah, the long awaited for king. As you no doubt have heard b
Who do you say I am? A sermon on Matthew 16:13-20
Who do you say I am? Jesus asks His disciples the question, that He has asked all of us. Who do you say I am. We gather because we share very similar answers to that question. We agree fundamentally with Peter’s answer. We believe that Jesus is the Messiah. We believe that He is the Son of the Living God. In fact, our confession goes beyond what Peter said. Peter was not anticipating the Divine implications in the phrase ‘Son of the Living God.’ We hear that and belie
A sermon on Matthew 15:21-28
This passage is just thoroughly offensive to modern ears, especially these past two months. It’s not so much the demon possession, although we have no place in our culture for talking about demon possession and we tend to write off anyone who does. It’s more that Jesus is making a racial slur. Which I don’t need to underscore how problematic this is, perhaps more so because Jesus is the founder of a religion which has at times been associated with imperialism and conquest.
A Sermon on Matthew 14:22-33
Last week we reflected on the story where Jesus fed 5000 plus people from five loaves of bread and two fish. This no doubt is a comfortable way to grow in faith. If the bread is an image of spiritual nourishment, the story of the 5000 could be an image of the church. We gather together, receive nourishment from God’s word, and we, hopefully, leave satisfied. The story of Peter walking on water with Jesus is a much darker, more dangerous journey into faith, one in which he
