Matthew 21:33-46 Wicked Tenants (Anders)
At the heart of your computer is the central operating system. It determines how everything runs on your computer. This text says that Jesus is to be the central operating system of our lives.
Matthew 22:34-40 Loving God and One Another (Gerhardy)
Like Tevye, the Pharisees were concerned with tradition. Like Tevye, the Pharisees knew that without Israel's traditions life would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof. Like Tevye, they knew the importance of knowing who we are and what God expects of us.
Matthew 21:33-46 Whose Vineyard Is It, Anyway? (McLarty)
Looking back to the Old Testament, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants is similar in many ways to Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard. (See Isaiah 5:1-7)
Matthew 22:15-22 Gotcha (Sellery)
There are two powerful lessons packed into today's gospel passage. FIRST LESSON: You're in way over your head, if you think you can trifle with Jesus. SECOND LESSON: We are in the world, but not of the world.
Matthew 22:15-22 Put God First (McLarty)
MARRIAGE: We all know what happens in real time – you get busy paying bills and working and raising kids and keeping up with the Razorbacks--until your lucky if you have any time left over for each other.
Matthew 21:23-32 Walking the Walk with Jesus (Sellery)
Jesus is the new sheriff in town, sent by his Father. And he doesn't like what he sees. The Pharisees had argued the life right out of God's covenant. Endless debate and ritual had replaced the purity of devotion.
Matthew 22:15-22 Divided Loyalties (Hoffacker)
A problem that presses hard on many of us divided loyalties. An old phrase for what we find ourselves repeatedly doing is "robbing Peter to pay Paul." A new term for this is "juggling."
Matthew 21:23-32 Response to Hurricane Ike (Bedingfield)
What are you afraid of? Are you scared of spiders, ... snakes perhaps? Are you afraid that you'll not do well on your next test? Most people are really afraid of one thing more than any other – and that thing is change.
Matthew 22:15-22 Show Me The Money (Anders)
"Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." This stumped both the Pharisees and the Herodians. They were amazed and went away. Personally, I wish they had stayed and asked Jesus to clarify exactly what he meant.
Matthew 22:15-22 The Skill of the Baker (Hoffacker)
You and I experience life as a pie graph. Our single self is served up in several slices: One slice for work, another for school, another for family. Together these slices make up the pie which is our life here and now.