Faith, Grace, and Hope

Jeremiah 33:14-16 14 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The Lord is our righteousness." 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hea...

I've been thinking about sermon writing lately- my process and congregational involvement. This website has been somewhat helpful to me. It offers people the chance to look at the text's for a coming Sunday and ask the questions that come to mind. If I'm not answering your questions (with the help of the Spirit) about the text, God, life and death- then what am I doing in preaching? Of course, it's not always about answers, sometimes good preaching leaves you wrestling with questions (I hope NOT "What was she talking about?"). So I thought I would try this for a couple weeks. I'll post the texts for the coming Sunday here, though you can find them in many places. You can ask questions publicly by commenting on Facebook or on the blog site. Or you can email or message me with private questions. I will try to answer all the questions even if I don't do it in the sermon. Daniel 12:1-3 ...