Whom Should We Choose?

I love the image of sheep following their shepherd.  The shepherd is out front and the sheep go wherever the shepherd goes.  This is such a different picture than that of cowboys herding cattle.  Cowboys use whips and cutting horses to keep the cattle together.  They ride behind the herd and push them forward. 

Elder selection is not asking some cowboys to "ride herd" on the people of God!  Rather, it is the church looking among themselves to see who God has raised up to shepherd his people.  When true shepherds are appointed elders, the people willingly follow their godly leaders in the ways of Christ. 

Obtaining True Treasure



All the kingdom parables seems to build on the two we talked about today.  But what do they mean exactly?  What does it mean to sell all you have to possess the kingdom?  I've wrestled with this off and on my entire Christian life.  It can't mean literally sell everything can it?  That doesn't seem to be how the earliest Christians interpreted this.  They continued to own property for instance.

When I think of what it has cost me personally to live in the kingdom the cost doesn't seem that high.  There's been some financial sacrifices; but perhaps that was only because I was called to full time ministry where compensaiton has not always been on the same level as my contemporaries.  Our kingdom priorities caused Liz to forgo her career as a teacher and be a stay-at-home mom.  That was not really a sacrifice since she wanted to be a full time mommy much more than to have the extra income. 

We always tithed our income, but that has never kept us having anything we really needed in life.  In fact, I adopted the attitude I learned from my father.  When talking about these things he always brings up the intangibles such as profesional services or possessions we had received for little or no money.  He would also talk about how long our cars might go without needing repair or the good health our family had.  I can make a similar list when thinking about my own family though the years.  So, I don't think I've missed out on anything by my practice of giving 10% of our income to church.

Looking deeper into my life I can see times where my pride needed to be crucified, along with other fleshly attitudes such as prejudice, judgementalism, arrogance, and the like.  It's hard to see these as sacrifices since they were destructive. Knowing Jesus as savior really means he saved me from sins like these!  Taking these attitudes to the cross allowed the Holy Spirit to create new attitudes in me that enable me to live the kingdom lifestyle.  That could hardly be called a sacrifice, considering what I was given in return. 

I guess I could include certain acts of service I've done over the years.  They might include sacrifices of time and comfort.  But in reality, those were the times in life when I have felt most alive.  I guess the bottom line is that all "sacrifices" we make for the sake of the kingdom seem HUGE at the time yet so small and insignificant once the treasures of the kingdom come into our possession.  The butterfly never complains about missing her little feet and squishy body - she just floats though the air on her beautiful wings.

What Were You Expecting?

The kingdom of heaven is often thought of as restrictive, as though the king's highest priority is keeping his subjects in line by requiring them to follow a list of do's and don'ts. When we read the teaching of Jesus, however, we discover the kingdom offers the most incredible freedom.  It's not freedom to do whatever we like (which is in effect a terrible form of bondage); rather, it is the freedom to be all that God intended humans to be. 

The kingdom parables offer a glimpse into the thinking of Jesus as he discloses the nature of the kingdom using ordinary, earthy illustrations.  The sermon series will work though these illustrations seeking to let Jesus develop our expectations.  Here's my list of the 12 parables of Jesus that begin, "The kingdom of heaven is like . . ." 

▸ A man who sowed good seed in his field (Mt. 13:24-30; 36-43; Mk. 4:26-29)


▸ A mustard seed (Mt. 13:31-32; Mk. 4:30-32; Lk. 13:18-21)

▸ Leaven (Mt. 13:33; Lk. 13:20)

▸ Treasure hidden in a field (Mt. 13:44)

▸ A merchant looking for fine pearls (Mt. 13:45-46)

▸ A net (Mt. 13:47-50)

▸ The owner of a house (Mt. 13:52)

▸ A king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants (Mt. 18:23-25)

▸ A landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers (Mt. 20:1-16)

▸ A king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (Mt. 22:1-14)

▸ Ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom (Mt. 25:1-13)

▸ A man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them (Mt. 25:14-30)