9/28/14 – Jonathan Chute – “Testing, Testing”
sermon: Jonathan Chute
This Sunday’s gospel portrays a tense encounter between Jesus and some local religious leaders. They see him, as they saw John the Baptist, as a troublemaker. They ask who gave him the authority to speak and act as he does. Jesus responds with a question of his own, which they refuse to answer. They had hoped to trap him, but find themselves cornered instead. Then he tells them a story of two brothers with very different approaches to life. It seems that God is more interested in what we actually do than what we say we will do. It is a lesson that applies across the centuries, to people of faith from every tradition. The text for Jonathan’s sermon is Matthew 21:23-32, and his title is “Testing, Testing.”
Scripture – Scripture
9/21/14 – Jonathan Chute – “No Accounting for Grace”
sermon: Jonathan Chute
This week’s gospel is one of the most irritating of all of Jesus’ parables. Over the years it has bothered almost everyone who read or heard it. He tells the story of a man whose generosity toward some – but not all – of his workers creates jealousy on the part of the others. It does not matter to them that they were actually treated fairly. They are outraged at the good fortune of those who did not have to work as hard as they did. The story is not an example of how to run a business. But it does show just how different God’s ways are from our ways. The text for Jonathan’s sermon is Matthew 20:1-16, and his title is “No Accounting for Grace.”
Scripture – Scripture
9/14/14 – Jonathan Chute – “A Little Short”
Sermon: Jonathan Chute
This week’s reading speaks to one of the most difficult issues we face in life. The topic is forgiveness, and Peter wants to know just how far we have to go with it. How many times are we supposed to forgive someone – as many as seven times? Peter seems to think that is a lot (and it is!). Jesus answers him with a number that seems even more unrealistic – not seven times, but seventy-seven times! Then he tells a parable in which the scale of forgiveness is beyond all calculation. The text for Jonathan’s sermon is Matthew 18:21-34, and his title is “A Little Short.”
Scripture – Scripture
9/07/14 – Jonathan Chute – “Right Side Up”
Sermon: Jonathan Chute
In this week’s gospel Jesus discusses how to handle broken relationships in the community of faith. He is speaking to the disciples, but it seems that his intended audience is the whole church. Jesus assumes that Christians, even those who have offended each other, will be pure in motive and objective in dealing with such matters. Even so, he offers a way to move forward when things do not go smoothly. The text for Jonathan’s sermon is Matthew 18:15-20, and his title is “Right Side Up.”
Scripture – Scripture
