Sermon excerpt from 10/11/2015:
Jesus revealed God’s vision for His creation to us, saying, in effect, “Remember, this is what we are striving for. This is the ideal. When the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness, this is what it will look like.” We need to keep this vision ever before us, striving to fulfill it. At the same time, we must remember that it is God, and God alone, who can bring the Kingdom in its fullness. Jesus, himself, when talking about the realized Kingdom of God, said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (13:32). We’re limited in what we can do to bring about the Kingdom of God. We’re human, which means that we’re subject to sin. Which means that we aren’t able to live perfectly. Which means that we’re not able to live perfectly in our marriages. Which means that some marriages will end in divorce. We live in a broken world and we are broken people. We strive for wholeness in ourselves and in our world, but we often fall short of that ideal. But the other amazing thing that Jesus revealed to us is that God forgives us. God forgives us just as we are. We don’t have to do anything to receive God’s forgiveness. It is a gracious gift.
That gift of forgiveness is key to our life. It allows us to do our best, to fail even though we do our best, and then to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and move forward. The important thing is not that we don’t fail – the important thing is that we remain open to the renewing, transforming, forgiving love of God in the midst of our failures. Because then God can still work with us.
FULL SERMON HERE
Jesus revealed God’s vision for His creation to us, saying, in effect, “Remember, this is what we are striving for. This is the ideal. When the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness, this is what it will look like.” We need to keep this vision ever before us, striving to fulfill it. At the same time, we must remember that it is God, and God alone, who can bring the Kingdom in its fullness. Jesus, himself, when talking about the realized Kingdom of God, said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (13:32). We’re limited in what we can do to bring about the Kingdom of God. We’re human, which means that we’re subject to sin. Which means that we aren’t able to live perfectly. Which means that we’re not able to live perfectly in our marriages. Which means that some marriages will end in divorce. We live in a broken world and we are broken people. We strive for wholeness in ourselves and in our world, but we often fall short of that ideal. But the other amazing thing that Jesus revealed to us is that God forgives us. God forgives us just as we are. We don’t have to do anything to receive God’s forgiveness. It is a gracious gift.
That gift of forgiveness is key to our life. It allows us to do our best, to fail even though we do our best, and then to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and move forward. The important thing is not that we don’t fail – the important thing is that we remain open to the renewing, transforming, forgiving love of God in the midst of our failures. Because then God can still work with us.
FULL SERMON HERE
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