Graceful Christianity by Dr. Kevin Thomas
Check out our weekly sermons as I push back against many prevailing church attitudes and offer a fresh glimpse at following Christ.Share your comments at kthomas@forestlakeumc.org.
Episodes
This message begins our series, "The Gospel According to John, and Paul, and George, and Ringo." Yet, Beatles Mania has come to Birmingham First United Methodist! Today, we affirm that God is love, and love is the defining characteristic of those who follow Christ. In a religious culture so fond of litmus tests for the faith, let's take our cue from Christ. Love is all you need.
How do we know when enough is enough? Our culture seems to incessantly desire more, even when we already have more than we can use. What if we honestly said, "I have enough," and then generously gave away everything else to make a difference for those who don't have enough?
Imagine a world where everyone has enough and no one has too much. That's the economy of the kingdom of God. It sounds great, but too often I've gotten in the way, hoarding stuff when I could be sharing. Let's reimagine our world as one where we learn to love people more than stuff.
In today's parable, a farmer has such a huge crop that he has to build bigger barns to hold the excess. For that success, he faces God's judgment. It raises the uncomfortable question, "How much is too much?" At what point have I sufficiently provided for my family and myself so that the rest can be a blessing to others?
This current sermon series is entitled "Our Money Story." We're talking about money because Jesus talked about it more than almost any other topic. We're talking about our money stories because they ARE spiritual stories. "You cannot serve God and wealth!"
If God is both good and all-powerful, then why do the innocent suffer? In today's message, we wrestle with that question, challenging some of our assumptions about God and coming to terms with some of our own responsibility.
Most of us have prayed at some point in our lives. In a desperate moment, we've cried out to God for help. Too often that help doesn't seem to come. It may cause us to question if God is even there. Why wouldn't a good God show up when we're hurting. Maybe we've missed the point of prayer. Maybe it's not as much about answers as about relationship. We'll consider those questions in this week'...
"God said it. I believe it. That settle it." That bumper sticker sums up the way I was taught to read the Bible. If it's in there, it must be true. Period. No questions. The problem is, that's not the way the Bible works. It's filled with contradictions and with things that seem clearly wrong to our compassionate sensibilities. How are we to make sense of it. Today's message will at least begin that di...
Are we Christians the only ones to have figured out the way to heaven. Is everyone else deceived and damned because they follow the wrong faith or no faith at all. For years, I taught those ideas until I took the risk to wrestle honestly with this question. What did Jesus really say about salvation and the afterlife? I'm continuing to discover that God is always more merciful than I previously thought. Let's consider the ...
Sometimes churches shame people for their doubts, but doubt is a part of faith. Anyone who takes seriously the claims of Christianity is certain to have some doubts. You're not alone. All our heroes from the scriptures also doubted. At First Church, we embrace tough questions, and we're unashamedly wrestle with doubt. It's a safe place to explore what we believe and what we don't believe. If you're not even...
So often, we've made the story of the Prodigal all about the son's behavior. We've used it to shame people for their actions to make them "come to their senses." But what if we've been reading it wrong? The story is really not about the behavior of the child but the love of the Parent. It demonstrates the incredible love of our heavenly Parent who welcomes us home today!
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