Preachrblog

Thought experiment.  Think for a moment.  Close your eyes if you want.  And ponder.  What’s your greatest treasure?  Be honest.  What the one thing you can’t live without?  Some people probably thought of a loved one, or their family.  Some might have said something like, “my health.”  Still others are a little more pious, and since a pastor is asking this question, probably would answer something like, “my faith” or even “Jesus Christ!”  Maybe if we are a little more self-critical, and in a mood of confession, we might admit that something else takes the top spot at times.  Maybe our treasure is... our treasure, our stock portfolio or net worth.  Maybe our dream house or dream car.  Maybe its even the little device we seem so tethered to these days.  Or maybe even deeper, we might admit that my real treasure is... me.  Myself.  My own wants and needs and desires, sinful and twisted as they may be.  My ...

We're in the green season of the church, and the parables are showing it. Last week we heard the parable of the sower – about how the Word of God is spread to all sorts of different “ground ”, and received or not received by various people. Some reject, some believe and then fall away, and some receive it and produce a great harvest. By the grace of God alone we count ourselves as part of that harvest, and pray the seed we spread will find more good soil.     Today another agricultural parable about seeds – and this time the point is different. This time more attention is given to the weeds. Again, Jesus decodes the parable for us, he tells us who all the elements represent . And the parable helps to explain to us why things are the way they are in his kingdom. And the parable gives us hope that Christ will sort it out in the end. So let's look at it more closely...     Why so many weeds? I often wonder that when mowing my lawn , or tending the garden. I u...

Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.  Those are four things, four verbs we pray for in the collect today.  Four things we want to do, ought to do, need to do with God’s holy word.  Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.   If we just read it – as any other book, well that won’t benefit us much.  We can mark it – take special note of it – recognize the Bible is different than other books, as many do, but still know little to nothing of its contents.  And we can even learn it , learn about it, commit parts of it to memory, or even get a PhD in biblical studies and still be an unbeliever (and I could even name some names here).  Indeed, the devil himself knows Scripture better than all of us.   He’ s learned it.   But to inwardly digest.  To take it fully in .  To make it a part of yourself.  This is something that only happens by faith.  This is a gift of God.  This is the mystery of why some receive the wo...