Graceful Christianity by Dr. Kevin Thomas

We all get set in our ways. It can be hard to imagine changing, even harder to imagine that people would accept a change in us. Today's parable affirms that God welcomes and rewards people who choose love...even when they choose late. 

Paul shares his heart with the church at Philippi before being sent to trial in Rome. He offers them a fond farewell and reminds them that the work of the church depends on Christ, not humans. As I move to a new appointment, I do so with confidence that the one who began a good work at Forest Lake United Methodist Church will be faithful to complete it!

It may surprise you to know that God didn't call us to grow the church. Our calling is to make disciples. The difference is important. We'll talk about it in today's message.

Much of American Christianity is obsesses with absolution of the past. We want to confess, clear our names, and guarantee a place in heaven. In today's story, Jesus is looking for more than an apology. He is calling us to love deeply! Whatever our past, let's start where we are and move forward in love!

Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. Understanding the doctrines of our faith doesn't accomplish anything for us or the world until we allow our faith to move us into action. Even after seeing the resurrected Jesus, nothing changed for the disciples until Jesus invited them to breakfast in Galilee. There they remembered their call. They remembered their passion, and they changed the world. 

Which Jesus are we following, the Jesus of the Gospels? Or have we created a different Jesus in our own image? Our expectations can falsely shape our understanding of who God is. So let's turn our attention to the Jesus of the Gospels. Let's follow THAT Jesus!

Christ is present all around us. We simply struggle to see what's right in front of us. This message invites us to open our eyes, to see the presence of God around us, and to welcome Jesus into our lives.

On Easter, we want to rush to the resurrection, but grief is part of the story, too. The pain of our present reality creates doubt of a brighter future. It tames our image of the resurrection. But if Christ is risen, hope lives, and our world can be different. Today, we embrace resurrection power!

On that first Palm Sunday, there was great risk in publicly proclaiming Jesus as King, but justice is worth the risk. Let's take courage from that crowd to shout for justice in our time. 

The church has a long history of holding (or trying to hold) people to a high standard. Jesus kept throwing parties for the people we keep judging. What if we quit cancelling and, instead, invite more people to the Table.

Churches frequently divide people: lost and found, in and out, good and bad. Those division reject the incredible God-given value of every human being. They divide us rather than creating community. In this message, I'll share how I played the inside/outside game for too long, and I'll point to a much better way. 

Life often seems to expect too much of us, too soon, with too few resources. We become overworked and stressed out. Jesus demonstrates another, healthier way of living. We'll consider it in this message.

Faith or works: which is more important? The argument is at least as old as the New Testament. Should we be more like Mary, sitting at Jesus' feet? Or more like Martha, preparing the meal for a house full of guests? We consider that question in today's message. 

Strangers and neighbors: we tend to consider them to be opposites. Yet, Jesus told a story of a stranger who was a neighbor (and neighbors who acted strangely). In a world divided by parties, nationalities, ethnicities, and doctrines, Jesus still tells us to show mercy to all, to be neighbors to the stranger!

I suspect that most of us would like to do something good with our lives. Many of us struggle to get off the sofa, though. Jesus addressed the strain between intention and action. We're inviting you during the season of Lent to make that move into faithful action.

Often, we speak boldly about our faith. We share with great confidence about who we understand God to be. But sometimes our knowledge of God us overestimated. God might be bigger than we imagined. (I hope so!) In this message, we boldly embrace a God we don't completely understand. We set out to follow a Jesus who is bigger than we had imagined. 

Many Christians boldly assert that ours is the only religion that leads to heaven. They callously condemn the faithful in all other religions to hell, and they blame it on the words of Jesus. But are we right? Does that make the others wrong? In this podcast we'll explore those questions and see if there is a more graceful conclusion.

The powerful were angered by Jesus' message of love, peace, and inclusion. Such thoughts have always been a threat to the powerful, even today. Jesus chose love, peace, and inclusion anyway. What will our choice be?

In recent messages, we've come to terms with the reality that God doesn't prevent bad things from happing to us; God doesn't prevent all illness or guarantee healing; and God doesn't promise us success. So why trust God? What's the upside? In today's message, I'll share some very good reasons.