The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and shalom to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.  Last week we heard how Jesus re-entered the lives of His disciples in their fear and uncertainty, by bringing His peace or shalom to them by His presence. Today, we walk the Emmaus Road with two disciples, outside the inner group of 11, but clearly recognized and welcomed by the 11 whom they ran to after this encounter.  Jesus finds the Emmaus disciples, Cleopas and an anonymous disciple on a sorrowful journey home. Disillusionment and confusion filled the air as they talked about the events of that weekend. Heaviness filled their hearts. Have you been on a journey like that? Maybe recently? With that choking feeling in your throat or a heaviness in your heart? You know that familiar place down Emmaus Road. And it’s so perfect that God hid Jesus’ identity from them, while He walked along with them. Jesus listened and talked to them unnoticed, before the “big reveal” in t...

            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today we continue our series on the Beatitudes, as a Christ-colored lens through which we see our Christian life. The second beatitude is, “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ” This beatitude helps make it clear that the Beatitudes are not commanding goals to achieve or attitudes to develop, per se, but are rather descriptions of Christians in the kingdom of God. Mourning isn’t something we aim or strive for, as though we should manufacture circumstances in our life in order to mourn, but rather it is our condition or state before God, in this sinful world. This is partly why the Beatitudes don’t make sense as commands to obey in order to get a certain reward.             But before we consider what causes us to mourn in this world, let’s first consider what causes ...

Note: This sermon on joy was written with the tragic and senseless events of the recent school shooting in mind. Our prayers and hearts go out to the victims and survivors, that God would sent His peace and the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this time. As the Psalmist in Psalm 42 reflects, sometimes joy may seem distant and we may feel only bitterness and grief. Yet he puts his hope in God that there will again be a day of praise and gladness. The Bible's teaching on joy is a reminder to us that Christian joy does not concede or retreat from evil, or times of grief or loss, but rather that God sends His good news of redeeming love and comfort to us precisely when we are hurting, lonely, and lost. It is the message of Jesus' victory of good over evil at the cross, that is the only hope for joy in a time of darkness. It is this joy in the Lord   that is brighter than the darkness, and that gives us hope even in midst of our worst troubles.  ·    ...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. A recent article in Time magazine called desertification “the greatest environmental challenge of our times” (Land of Hope, 12/13/10). Desertification is when good land is turned into desert. The hot sands and wind of a desert can overtake good land, and scorch it, making it a virtually useless wasteland. In the Bible, the desert is a place of isolation or rebellion, of judgment or testing. The chapter before our reading from Isaiah 35, describes God’s judgment on the nation of Edom, near Israel. That nation would be turned into a desert and a wasteland. When God first brought the Israelites to their land, He promised they would flourish if they obeyed His commands, but that He would punish them if they scorned Him and His commands. The punishments would grow worse the more they rebelled and didn’t listen, until the land became a desolate wasteland (Lev. 26). Psalm 107 talks about God tu...