Cotton Patch Gospel for Today

(31 minutes) I was invited to deliver the sermon at Downey Avenue Christian Church on July 30, 2023. It is based on the vision and ministry of Clarence Jordan, who in 1942 led in establishing Koinonia Farm, christened with a Greek word meaning “a community that is united by common… Continue reading

Giving and Receiving

Avarice, greed, concupiscence and so forth are all based on the mathematical truism that the more you get, the more you have. The remark of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) is based on the human truth that the more you give away,… Continue reading

Matthew 5:1-12 “Blessed and Confronted by the Beatitudes” Part Two

Within the Gospels, there is evidence that Jesus himself understood “the now and the not yet” of the new kind of existence God was bringing through him. That new kind of existence included self-giving, unconditional, indiscriminate love, liberating truth, deep compassion, lavish forgiveness, profound trust, and costly discipleship. Such a radical transformation takes time. Continue reading

Matthew 5: 1-12 “Blessed and Confronted by the Beatitudes”

Read the Scripture Our text for today is one of the most important passages in the New Testament.  In a real sense, if we understand the Beatitudes, we will understand the message and ministry of Jesus as well as our own calling as his disciples.  But we have several obstacles… Continue reading