The Sanctuary Downtown / Relentless Love
http://www.relentless-love.org
583 episodes
latest
weekly cadence
English language
https://relentless-love.org/allsermons.xml
Episodes
Reading the feed…
http://www.relentless-love.org
Reading the feed…
Mark lived in a world where people could only tell the truth because they had no concept of untruth — that is lies (They had no knowledge of Good and evil.) Mark is played by actor Ricky Gervais in his movie, The Invention of Lying. One day, Mark discovers that lying can assist in acquiring money, and thereby women who would otherwise not date him due to his genetic propensity to produce “little fat kids with snub noses.” When his mother dies, Mark invents a lie to make her feel better, someone overhears, and soon the whole world wants to know about “The Man in the Sky.” Under pressure, Mark w
At the end of the old movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Nazis raid the inner room of a temple with many cups — one of which is supposedly the Holy Grail containing “Eternal Life.” The ancient knight guarding the cups tells all to choose wisely. One of them chooses to drink from a golden cup studded with jewels. He dies, turns to dust, and is blown away. “He chose poorly,” comments the knight. Drinking is dangerous, because you can’t always tell what’s in a cup and how it will affect you until you drink it. So, if someone hands you a cup, it’s wisdom to only drink cups from those who h
Grandpa scared me. He drank beer and constantly smoked White Owl New Yorker cigars which he kept in the front pocket of his overalls. And Grandpa said all the words I wasn’t supposed to say, including the worst of all: “God damn,.” I’d been told that this phrase was the definition of “taking God’s name in vain,” which I now understand to be something far more subtle. But if you ever do spend some time in “hell,” you may discover that it’s filled with broken farm equipment from central Nebraska. I heard him say it time and time again. “This tractor... God damn it to hell; God damn it to hell—th
What was He Thinking? John 13-16 spans just a few hours. These are our Lord’s last words spoken to His disciples in the Gospel of John. He uses the imperative tense just three or four times — “Don’t stress; abide; have courage.” Yet, there are many conditional statements, like, “If you ask in my name, I’ll do it; if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” P.S. — “The Devil is coming; I’m leaving; apart from me, you can do nothing.” It’s a bit terrifying, and the disciples appear to have very little control over the conditions. What was Jesus thinking? John 16:32, “’Behold, the hour is com
Jesus is walking through Jerusalem from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples early Friday morning as He says, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish [thlipsis: tribulation], for joy that a human being has been born into the world... Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own [idios], and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I h
John 16:14-15, Jesus says to the 11 on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane, “He [The Parakletos, the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,” said Jesus in Matthew 12. To blaspheme is to “speak against.” So, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit would be to say, “The Holy Spirit can’t or won’t do what He is called to do.” If it’s not forgiven, then it’s not allowed, right? If you’re not forgiven a d
“You can’t handle the truth.” That’s an iconic line spoken by Jack Nicholson in the movie A Few Good Men. Jesus says something similar in our text for this week: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot handle them now” (John 16:12). It’s a little surprising since He just told them, “All that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15). It seems that they know, but not as they ought to know. And that does seem applicable to the situation. Jesus and the eleven are walking to the Garden of Gethsemane. Each of these disciples has vowed fidelity to Jesus. And
“Don’t be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you,” writes John in 1 John 3:13. In our text from the Gospel of John, Jesus just tells his followers, “The world hates you.” This raises some questions: “Why does the world hate me? And why have I found it to be surprising?” I thought of four occasions upon which I was genuinely surprised to be hated. The first was about 51 years ago playing basketball in P. E. in seventh grade. I genuinely loved shooting hoops with my friend David after school. But playing basketball in school was another matter. For some reason, someone passed me the ball,
I have a memory burned in my flesh and haunting my psyche. Every day, around about 1968 or ‘69, Mr. Johnston would gather all of the seven- and eight-year-old boys for PE, assign captains, and then make them pick teams. I was never picked first. Sometimes the captains would publicly argue over who would have to be stuck with me... Never first, but also not last. That was usually Matt, or maybe Duncan. Matt and Duncan always played Batman and Robin at recess, and even then, Duncan always got to be Batman and Matt always had to play Robin — but at least Batman likes Robin. Routinely, someone wou
In John 5:1-11, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser... Abide in me... you are the branches. Whoever abides in me... he it is that bears much fruit.... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” As I prepared to preach on these verses, I found myself getting angry. I think I must assume that Jesus is saying, “Have your ‘Quiet Times,’ do your devotions, say your prayers and everything will go your way.” Nineteen years ago, I had never been more faithful in prayer, diligent in doing good deeds, and devoted to t
In John 14:12, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” Greater works — what does that mean? Jesus walked on water, and Peter did too... at least for a few steps. “Greater works than these will you do.” It’s the bane of every pastor. People say, “Pray for my healing, pastor; Jesus said, ‘Greater works will you do.’” The disciples healed everyone... sometimes, and also no one, sometimes. They healed... sometimes. And they cast out demons. I’ve done that, in Jesus’
I’m troubled about my nation. I’m troubled about broken personal relationships. Mostly I’m troubled about being troubled; I don’t feel at home in myself or in the world around me. It wasn’t that way in 1969. I lived with people who knew me before I even knew how to impress them or disappoint them. I was getting picked on by kids at school — but if I could just get home and sit on my father’s lap, I could rest and be who it is that . . . I am. I hope my nine-month-old grandson, James — who lives with his mom and dad at my house — is starting to feel at home. I think he does; he doesn’t even kno
“Good news: Christ is risen!” — That’s what we say on Easter. “Christ is risen!” But that’s one guy out of one hundred billion or so... since Adam. The preacher says: “No! Christ is risen, and you will rise too... If you believe. But is that “news”? Is it “news” to me if the news depends on me? “Good news: Christ is Risen!” So, is it small? Is it news? And is it good? Dan Barker was an evangelical pastor who now professes to be and atheist. At “Skepticon 4” in 2011, he proposed an interesting scenario: “Suppose you were walking by my house…and I were to go up on the porch and say, ‘Hey... I’ve
After washing all of the disciple’s feet and offering Himself as body broken and blood shed, after Judas leaves to sell Him for thirty piece of silver, and after saying ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified,’ Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34). How did He just love them? If you are like most of us, you should be screaming, “How am I going to do that? How am I going to genuinely love my enemies because I want to love my enemies, be broken for them and bleed for them? How am I going to love
Why did Jesus die for you on the cross? Was it to shame you into being good? In the movie, Private Ryan, as Captain Miller (played by Tom Hanks) is dying — just having saved Private Ryan — he says to Private Ryan, “Earn this.” And then, he breathes his last. But we’re not sure if that’s a curse or a blessing. Did Jesus say, “Earn this,” then breathe his last? Why did the veil in the temple rip from the top to the bottom? What was behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies? What was “uncovered”? What has God been hiding? What are the intentions of His Heart? John 13:1-9, “Now before the Feast of
The word “Commandment” with the definite article appears in three places in the Gospel of John.In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus says, “This is the great and first commandment, “You will love...” He doesn’t say “you should” love, but “you will.” It’s not only a commandment; it’s a Promise, like a Seed. It’s the Word of God. In Genesis 1 on the Sixth Day of Creation, God blesses the Adam and speaks His commandment to them, saying, “Be fruitful... and exercise dominion (Care for the garden.)” There are different ways to “exercise dominion.” Some are death; some are life. Now that I’m older, I ac
