Holy Words From Holy Cross

What are the famous "blessed's" that kick off Jesus' Sermon on the Mount?  A prescription for living?  A declaration of God's grace?  Something else entirely?  Let's explore Jesus' words together.

Who heard Jesus preach His most famous sermon?  Why is that important to our understanding of it today?

The doctrine of the Trinity is monumentally confusing for many Christians and a positive stumbling block to non-Christians who might become Jesus' disciples if they didn't have to believe it?  Why does the Church not only hold on to it, but even hold onto it as one of the only two doctrines that define you as a Christian?  Let's explore this question together...

There are so many voices out there telling us what the Bible means... how are we to sort among them?  God has given us a guide by giving us Himself in the Holy Spirit.

What is the significance of Christ's ascension?  In a day and age when we can send people to the moon, what does it even mean to say He "rose to the right hand of the Father?"  It means a great deal, and is no artifact of a primitive time.

Jesus' famous words "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" were spoken in the midst of a time of great fear... a time like we are experiencing now.

The words of Psalm 23 are very familiar to most Christians--maybe too familiar.  In this sermon we slow down to linger over the words of this familiar section of Scripture and consider what they meant to David... and what they might mean to us today.

During this special sermon, reference is made to the picture to be found at the following link:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Supper_at_Emmaus,_by_Rembrandt.jpg

If there is one person we sympathize with in Scripture it is Thomas.  We have all been zealous for God at times and at other times had our doubts.  How are we all like Thomas?  What is Jesus' reaction to Thomas?

In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic is the center of our focus.  What good amid this is the Easter proclamation?

When faced with a choice, why did the crowd ask for the release of a murderer rather than a man who raised the dead and taught the love of neighbor?  Would we do otherwise?

If God is all-powerful and all good, why does He permit suffering and evil in the world.  It is an important question that philosophers and theologians have largely answered to their satisfaction, but it still afflicts us... especially if we aren't familiar with those disciplines.  Let's explore this topic together in the light of God's Word.The video referenced in this sermon can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrrSZboiKNU

What does it mean to have a god?  How we answer that question will tell us a lot about our relationship with Jesus, even if we have professed Christianity for any years.  How do we answer the question?  Let's find out together...

Why do you come to worship?  Do you encounter Christ when you come? If not, why not?  John's Gospel story gives us some clues.

How long do you give someone in your life to fulfill a promise before you assume they never intend to do so?  In his second letter, Peter says, "the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness," but at times it feels like He is.  How do we have hope that God will accomplish His purposes, even when the process seems painfully slow?

How does evil work?  How do we become what we despise and engage in what we deplore.  "Temptation" is a word used by advertisers to draw us in... how do we learn to see it as what it is and resist it?  Jesus teaches us today.

That people should be free to worship--or not worship--God according to their conscience is not an Enlightenment idea... it has its roots in the teachings of Christ.  As Lent begins, we are called in conscience back to the living God.

We have all had experiences that have forever changed us.  How did the Transfiguration of Jesus change Peter?  How should it change us?

"That depends on your interpretation."  Have you ever heard this?  So much of what we read in the Bible seems unclear or open to a broad range of interpretation.  In His "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus takes pains to make clear much of what we might misinterpret.

How are we to have righteousness exceeding that of even some of the most pious and religious people who have ever lived?  What is Jesus really asking of us?