One thought I would leave you with this morning, in addition to urging you to listen carefully for the in your lives, is to note Spirit’s movement how often in the Gospel we seem to find people getting angry or upset at what Jesus is saying, and what He is calling them to do. doing the He’s same thing today, especially when people are faced with the unvarnished call and demands on their lives from the Spirit. So, allow me to leave you this morning with a question, and with a all seen promise: We’ve throughout the four Gospels that, other than His disciples and a few close friends like Mary Magdalene, Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus typically ended up making a lot of people not only nervous, but openly angry at Him especially in His final days – – cheering for and demanding his crucifixion. Why is it that Jesus made so many people angry not just the authorities, but people on the street, – even His own family in Gospel? But, fast forward 2,000 years today’s and I think we 21st-century Christians face a different question: Why are we getting so few people angry? Why has the church founded upon the blood of Jesus Christ become so passive that we often offend no one? And, the few times that we do venture outside that comfort zone, and hear people accusing us of being of our or worse, why “out minds,” do we so quickly back down, mumble an apology, and retreat to more familiar and less offensive ground? Take these questions home with you today. Listen and look for the voice and the movement of the Holy Spirit, and then, without fear, come out bravely and go where it sends you with this promise ringing in your ears. And while pretty sure somewhere in the Bible, I I’m it’s found happen to know that it hangs on a plaque, on the wall behind the cash register, at will of God will never take you were the Flynnie’s: “The grace of God cannot sustain you.” Amen
One thought I would leave you with this morning, in addition to urging you to listen carefully for the Spirit’s movement in your lives, is to note how often in the Gospel we seem to find people getting angry or upset at what Jesus is saying, and what He is calling them to do. He’s doing the same thing today, especially when people are faced with the unvarnished call and demands on their lives from the Spirit. So, allow me to leave you this morning with a question, and with a promise: We’ve all seen throughout the four Gospels that, other than His disciples and a few close friends like Mary Magdalene, Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus typically ended up making a lot of people not only nervous, but openly angry at Him – especially in His final days – cheering for and demanding his crucifixion. Why is it that Jesus made so many people angry – not just the authorities, but people on the street, even His own family in today’s Gospel? But, fast forward 2,000 years and I think we 21st-century Christians face a different question: Why are we getting so few people angry? Why has the church founded upon the blood of Jesus Christ become so passive that we often offend no one? And, the few times that we do venture outside that comfort zone, and hear people accusing us of being “out of our minds,” or worse, why do we so quickly back down, mumble an apology, and retreat to more familiar and less offensive ground? Take these questions home with you today. Listen and look for the voice and the movement of the Holy Spirit, and then, without fear, come out bravely and go where it sends you with this promise ringing in your ears. And while I’m pretty sure it’s found somewhere in the Bible, I happen to know that it hangs on a plaque, on the wall behind the cash register, at Flynnie’s: “The will of God will never take you were the grace of God cannot sustain you.” Amen