Preachrblog

  John 6:51–69 “Hard to Believe” Today’s Gospel reading shows us a striking moment in the life and ministry of Jesus.   Contrary to what many assume when they think of Jesus as a preacher, he was not always well received.   Here, at the end of John 6 and Jesus’ great sermon about himself as the bread of life – here the crowds finally have heard enough, and they reject him.   They leave.   They can’t accept his teaching.   It’s too hard. I have to confess, it is a great comfort to me as a pastor, that if even Jesus can be rejected because people find his teaching too hard, too unbelievable, or for whatever reason – well, no servant is above his master.   It is an encouragement to pastors to remain faithful to the truth of God’s word even if and when it is an unpopular teaching, an unwelcome truth.   In other words, if people reject the Gospel we preach – we must remember they also rejected Jesus’ preaching at times – and that puts us in good ...

  Ephesians 4:17-5:2  “Off With the Old, On With the New!” It’s getting to be that time of year again when kids go back to school, and as we prepare for it, time to freshen up the wardrobe.  There’s nothing quite like the feel of a fresh new outfit or a new pair of shoes.  And we are blessed to live in a time and place in which what we will wear isn’t a major worry for most of us but rather a matter of taste and style. St. Paul uses the idea of clothing in our Epistle today as a metaphor for the Christian life, in which he compares our old nature and new nature to a change of outfit.  He tells us to “Put off the old self” and to “Put on the new self”.  He spends some time describing the difference between the two.  So let’s take a closer look at this contrast this morning, and finally also at just how it works for us that we may indeed “Put on the new self” in Christ. Now, to be honest, there’s quite a bit of law talk in this section of Ephesians....