In “Young Man Luther”, Erik Erikson says, “Ideological leaders, so it seems, are subject to excessive fears which they can master only by reshaping the thoughts of their contemporaries; while those contemporaries are always glad to have their thoughts reshaped by those who so desperately care to do so. Born leaders seem to fear only more consciously what in some form everybody fears in the depths of his inner life. and they convincingly claim to have an answer.” I think this is true and I think often new movements and religions are a reflection of the leaders ultimate resolution of their great personal “struggle” getting played out by attracting those…

1.5 billion believers and 23% of the world’s population. After Christianity, it is the second largest religion in the world. Again, as we go through you can think about the differences and similarities with Judaism from last week and our own beliefs as Christians. A.  Muhammad was born in Mecca, Arabia in 570 AD. He was an orphan at 6 years old and was raised by his uncle who traced his line back to Ishmael – the son of Abraham and Hagar. He became a merchant/trader and married a successful businesswoman when he was in his 20’s. At 40 he went to the desert outside Mecca (Mt. Hira) and received…

A cynic was once asked why he still believed in God. His answer was, “Because of the Jews.” He still believed in God because despite all the attempts by so many to eliminate them they had survived. Only God could do that. Why is that? What do they believe about God that makes them survivors against all the odds? How do they persevere? First, we should distinguish between practices, values and belief. Practices are rituals, special days, rules and regulations that people observe because they have a shared identity. In Judaism, there are 613 commands that govern daily life. Some of them are familiar to us – not eating pork,…

This morning we are looking at what Jesus believed about his being the Messiah (or Christos – the anointed one). Jesus did not step into a historical vacuum. The Jews had developed a number of beliefs around the figure of the Messiah – and Jesus confounded them all. So, let’s look at some of the background for the anointed one. At the time of Jesus, many (or most) Jews believed in a messiah who would be a deliverer for the people of Israel. He would be another King David who would bring the nation back to prominence in every way. As well, he would be victorious over all their enemies…

This morning we are beginning a several week series on the study of  basic doctrines of the Church.  There is a good case to be made for this.  We don’t hear much about doctrine today.  I’m not sure I heard much about doctrine when I was growing up.  We knew we were Baptists and thought we knew what that meant but didn’t.  We learned our doctrine from our hymns.  We knew about propitiation from “Washed in the Blood” and “Nothing but the Blood”.  We knew about the sacrificial death of Jesus from “The Old Rugged Cross”.  We knew about forgiveness from “Just As I Am” and about grace from “Amazing…

Many of us have a favorite city. It may be San Francisco, London, Paris, New York, Chicago or even smaller cities. Each one has a particular personality and represents something that we value. I love cities. They are more than buildings and crowds. They are beautiful even when they are quiet – maybe especially when they are quiet. William Wordsworth was passing through London on his way to Paris and the sun was rising over the Westminister Bridge when he wrote this: Earth hath not anything to show more fair; Dull would be he of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty; This City now…

You’ve noticed by now that the book is not put together in a linear sequence. It is a series of recollections by Jeremiah written up by Baruch. One experience brings to mind another so instead of the book always being a chronological account, the chapters often skip back and forth across history – just like Jeremiah would remember them. While Baruch was faithful in recording them just the way Jeremiah told them, it would have been easier for us if he would have edited the sequence so all the stories around Josiah would be grouped together as well as Jehoiakim, Jehoiakin and Zedekiah. Instead, we are going back and forth…

We are continuing with the “flashback” device this morning. Remember we reached something of a climax/confrontation between Zedekiah and Jeremiah in Chapter 21 and then the scene suddenly shifts to a series of confrontations with previous kings. It is a way of showing that this is a pattern of Jeremiah’s relationships with all the kings since Josiah and a history of God’s attempts to shake the people into obedience. Nothing is working and, as we know, nothing is going to work. They are too far gone. Jeremiah has moved from being a thorn in the side of the king to being a traitor. He has called on the people to…

This morning we start the book of Jeremiah and will be in the book for several weeks. Since no prophet ever lived in a vacuum, let’s look first at the context of Jeremiah’s life and ministry. The tectonic plates of three empires – Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia – were moving and pushing against each other with Israel, as usual, in the middle. It was a time of instability, changes, uncertainty, shifting power, volatility, movement of people across borders, leadership turnover, and threats (real and imagined). In other words, Jeremiah stepped into a world just like ours today. With Assyria declining after 200+ years of dominance, Babylonia on the rise and…

1The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.” 3Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars,…