Jesus – Page 2 – Michael Seiler

That Your Joy May Be Complete

By MichaelSermonsDisciples, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Fear, Gods Plan, Gods Will, Jesus, Judgment, Love, Loving God, Loving Neighbor

So, what God is saying is that our Joy will attain the purpose that God has intended for us, if – and when – we love one another. It’s a very simple commandment, but it is not always easy to implement.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus had even told his disciples to “Love their enemies,” and to “Pray for those that persecute you.” Very simple commandments, but once again, not at all easy to implement. Love God, Love your neighbor, Love one another, Love even your enemies. Jesus would not have told us – his disciples – to love our enemies unless he knew that the command to love those who didn’t love us would bring us joy.

Children of God

By MichaelSermonsBaptism, Beloved Community, Disciples, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Fear, God, Grace, Hate, Identity, Jesus, Love, Loving Neighbor, Racism

Our New Testament reading today begins with the words, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” Through our baptism, we have been made a part of a heavenly family: we have been adopted into the family of God. And, as Children of God, we have now inherited all the benefits that are due to those who look to God as a parent, and Christ as a brother. We are no longer just Americans, or Chinese, Brazilian or Latvian, German or Canadian. We are first, and foremost, citizens of the New Jerusalem, citizens of heaven, the Holy City of God. We are children of a family that transcends time and space, race and ethnicity, boundaries and borders.

What Are You Looking For?

By MichaelSermonsCross, Easter, Faith, Fear, God, Gods Will, Jesus, Love, Miracles, Resurrection, Sin, Son of God

Imagine the amount of fear and dread that the disciples would be facing when they realized that Jesus’ body was missing.

Imagine the questions that must have come through their minds at first with the most obvious one being: Did we come to the right tomb?

First they question themselves, and then, in anger, they question others.

While We Were Still Sinners

By MichaelSermonsCross, Faith, God, Jesus, Lent, Love, Palm Sunday, Sacrifice, Self-Examination, Sin

It’s easy for us to look past our own sinfulness and blame those who were there at the time calling for his death, and to see ourselves as innocent.

It’s easy for us to look past our own sinfulness and focus on the resurrection and see only the benefits that Jesus’ death on the cross brings to us.

It’s easy to look past our own sinfulness and see this week of Jesus’ passion as merely an intellectual exercise in theology and the cycles of the church year.

For God So Loved

By MichaelSermonsCulture, Discipleship, Division, Divisions, Evangelism, Faith in Action, God, Hate, Jesus, Love, Loving Neighbor, Others, Politics, Sin

You may see the Rose colored stole this morning. Rather than wearing the typical Lenten purple, this Sunday, called “Laetare” Sunday, we wear a Rose colored stole. This Sunday is supposed to give us a moment when we can step back a bit from our Lenten disciplines and live in the joy of our salvation. The Latin word “Laetare” means “Rejoice!”

The Gospel this morning gives us the reason for our rejoicing. Today we read the much quoted line in scripture that says, “God so loved the world that he sent his only son that people might not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Points of View

By MichaelSermonsChrist, Epiphany, God, Identity, Jesus, Lent, Miracles, Self-Examination, Transfiguration, Transformation

This is the epiphany, the nature and mission of Christ is revealed to those three disciples in this transfiguration on the mountaintop. And it is revealed to those of us hearing the story after the fact. Jesus is the messiah, the chosen one of Israel, the salvation of all humanity.

But what does the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the messiah reveal to us about ourselves? We most definitely are not the messiah, so we are unlikely to be joined by Moses and Elijah and be transfigured on the top of a mountain.

As with many of the stories we encounter in the Gospels, Peter’s responses tend to be the example that so many of us can relate to.

Live a Little

By MichaelDaily Office ReflectionsAbundant Life, Eternal Life, Faith, Fear, Jesus, Newness, Resurrection, Sin

And so, Paul is admonishing believers in Corinth for living with the same mindset: “This life is all we have, so let’s live a little! We aren’t going to be resurrected, so let’s make this life all that it should be!” And, because of this mindset, they were spending time with those of “bad company,” which was clearly corrupting their morals. The rend result was that the witness of their faith in Christ was indistinguishable from those with whom they were spending time.

Kingdoms

By MichaelSermonsBeloved Community, Faith, Faith in Action, Jesus, Love, Prayer, Pride

If you were to ask any random person on the street about a prayer that they could recite from memory, the Lord’s Prayer would make the top five. It seems that this is a prayer that everyone, whether they attend church now, or only as a child, has committed to memory. And as is often the case when we have committed words and phrases to rote memory, we often quit reflecting on their meanings and purpose.

Boasting about the Cross

By MichaelA Slow Walk Through the Bible, Galatians, New Testament BooksCross, Crucifixion, Faith in Action, Fear, God, Jesus, Paul

See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law,…

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

By MichaelChurch-y Stuff, Ecclesiology, Random Thoughts, Things I Read SomewhereFear, God, Jesus, Judging, Judgment, Power, Power Struggle, Self-Examination

“Too many of you are competing to sit at a table that Jesus would have flipped over.” Some random meme Recently, that meme popped up on my Facebook feed, and I had to pause for a minute to reflect on it. It wasn’t funny enough to chuckle at and maybe share; it wasn’t stupid enough…

Tag: Jesus