The Joshua Victor Theory

·          Jesus the greatest teacher and master storyteller ·          Stories convey deep spiritual truth; designed to get our attention ·          Unique among His stories, character of Lazarus has a name; significant to meaning of the story: “The one whom God helps” ·          Looking at his life—the rich man feasts lavishly, and living in luxury, while poor Lazarus suffers quietly in misery, licked by dogs outside his gate, until he dies—you might think it a cruel joke that his name means “the one whom God helps.” Ironic? Doesn’t his suffering show evidence that God had abandoned him? ·          Natural way of thinking: life is prosperous and well; God must be showing favor—but if life is filled with suffering and evil things, that God must be showing secret displeasure ...

1. Jesus is drawing closer to the cross—the plot against Him thickens—He is getting too popular, too powerful. What to do? 2. Martha and Mary to Jesus—“you’re too late!” Death is the silently acknowledged victor, and humans are seen as powerless in its face. Yet Martha’s great faith! a. OT faith in the resurrection: The God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob; Job confesses faith in His redeemer—in my flesh I will see God b. Trust in Jesus as the Christ, and His power, even before having seen the resurrection c. Jesus’ great emotion and humanity—tears for Lazarus. Try to scratch the surface of the source of this great emotion: Analogy of an architect of a great city, now ruined. Jesus’ creation overrun with death and sin and suffering. People disbelieving, angry, hurtful, sin-blind, deaths claws tearing into life. God’s heart endured the scorn, pain, sin, insults, etc 3. Grieving at funerals & the Christian confidence in the resurrection—a contrast: a. Is death the silently acknowledged...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Welcome again to our Children’s Sunday, and I want to thank our children for their beautiful singing, and for your support and encouragement for them today. Today I want to talk to you about Important News. Several questions to think about: What is important to me? Am I listening to important news? How would I recognize important news? What do you do with important news once you’ve heard it? As we consider some of these questions, we’ll be looking at the story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. So what is important to you? God? Your children? Your family? Your possessions? Your life? The things that are most important to us are the things that we give our greatest time, attention, and effort to. They’re the things that we want to protect and keep safe, or the things that give us protection and security. So ...