κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

[Introduction] Did you know we are both dead and alive?  That seems to be a weird thought, doesn’t it ... that we are dying, yet living ... dead and alive? But that is what our reading from Saint Paul’s epistle to the Ephesian church is declaring today. And this is not the first time Peter, Paul, or our Lord Jesus has said this.  In John 5, Jesus said, an hour comes and now is here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. Paul tells us in Romans 6 that you must consider yourselves to be dead to sin, on the one hand, but living to God in Christ Jesus, on the other. ... And again in Romans 8 that although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Peter preaches this same word in his first epistle, saying ... this is why the Gospel was preached even to those who are dead, so that in being judged according to human flesh, they might live according to God in the Spirit (4:6).  Which leads us into t...

[Introduction] Today we are on the road with Jesus, traveling from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. It’s a short walk ... not quite a mile ... to the temple. The city’s population is swelling because Passover is near. And with Jesus in sight, the people begin rejoicing and praising God, waving palm branches and spreading their cloaks on the path in front of him. They’re rolling out a red carpet, so to speak. Their refrain ... Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord ... is echoing. Meanwhile, the magnificent white, marble temple that’s overlaid with gold, is shimmering in the sunlight (vv 36-38).  Yet right in the middle of this chorus of praise, Jesus pauses, looks up, sees the city and temple and ... he weeps, saying, If you knew on this day, even you, the things that bring peace . But now, [that which brings peace] is hidden from your eyes because the days will come upon you when your enemies will encircle you, and barricade you, and surround you, and confine...

[Introduction] Have you ever heard the phrase “cooking the books”? Cooking the Books is the same thing as creative accounting. It refers to deceptive accounting practices. A person in charge of finances cooks the books by creatively manipulating their accounting to make expenses seem lesser than they really are, and to make profit appear greater than it really is. When a man is convicted of embezzlement, it’s most likely because he was cooking the books.  4. That is what seems to be happening in our Gospel reading. Luke writes, Jesus also said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a house manager, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting what already belonged to him (v 1).  This parable is truly one of the most difficult lessons in the New Testament. Part of the problem stems from the title we give it. Sometimes we call it the Parable of the “Dishonest Manager.” Another part of the problem is that when we read it too quickly it sounds li...

[Introduction] If you were intent on forging a hundred dollar bill, you wouldn’t print it on pink construction paper with purple ink, now would you? No one would be fooled by that fake. Instead, to pass off a counterfeit as true, you’d make the bill look like the original. You’d copy the paper and the ink, the image and the watermark. And you’d rely on SOME truth to mask the lie. In our Gospel reading, Jesus warned us about this problem of counterfeits ... that is, those who rely on some truth to mask a lie. In the closing words of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Beware of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep but inwardly are ravenous wolves (v 15). Sometimes, false prophets mask the truth of God’s Word with evil fruit (vv 17-18) ... a counterfeit. Sometimes, false prophets hedge the truth to convince you that there is another way, another truth, and another life. They often claim divine inspiration, but they always deliver messages contrary to God’s true natur...