Sign up for my newsletter, and I'll send you new articles most Fridays, as well as news of upcoming classes and things.
A new children's sermon on Sunday's Gospel! -- Do we all get the same good things in heaven?
New Children's Sermon! |
Hello my friend! I was traveling to Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania last week, speaking to a seminary student group and doing a retreat day for a clergy group. Alas, as a result I didn't get you a children's sermon. But here we are in a brand new week, and I bring you one on Sunday's Gospel text. Matthew 20:1-16 is a fascinating parable about God's generosity -- which in conflict with our sense that some should get rewarded more than others. We can laugh at the workers in the parable who agreed to a wage for a day's work, and then were upset that the farmer gave the same wage to those who only worked part of a day. But maybe we sort of feel that way too. I suspect that in the original context, this was commentary on current feelings: Disciples from Israel, who had been under God's covenant for many centuries, faced the newcomer Gentile disciples who were getting in near the end of the game. In the children's sermon I transposed it onto the disciples, who were known for haggling about who was most deserving. Let me know what you think. Personally the story drives me to ponder the reason for faithfulness. So much of Christianity presents the faith as if it is about either reward in heaven or escape from hell. I don't think either motive is true to the nature of our God, and neither will last a lifetime. Better to see that what we are offered is the intimate, transforming presence of the God who created the universe. Life in harmony with this God of ours is the fulfillment of our nature, and our best happiness. It's not about eventual reward after death. It's about the wonder of knowing God, loving God, and being fully known and loved now. By the way, after switching to my new email provider, a number of people subscribed on links to my old provider. (Thanks for finding links I'd missed!) Just in case they (or you?) didn't get an ebook copy of my little book on classic lectio divina, Love Your Bible, you can get it by clicking this link. Thank you always for reading what I write! It means so much to me. Blessings, Gary
|
P.O. Box 17, Bible School Park, NY 13737 |
I'm Gary Neal Hansen
Sign up for my newsletter, and I'll send you new articles most Fridays, as well as news of upcoming classes and things.
My Advent Class on Lectio Divina! Hello my friend! At some point (maybe last week, maybe several years ago) you signed up on my site, GaryNealHansen.com to be notified when I launch online prayer classes. I've just re-launched my Advent class and wanted you to be the first to know. Lectio Divina in Advent I first developed this course in 2016. I had written the little book in the picture. It's a modern introduction to the classic Christian practice known as "lectio divina" or "divine...
New Children's Sermon! Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots Game (CC by Laurie Shaull-SA 4.0) Hello my friend! Between vacation and other summer things, I ended up taking the month of August off from blogging. Thanks for your patience! Just in time for Sunday I have a new children's sermon for you. There's a link to the older "Monday Meditation" on the same Gospel passage inside the post. It's Matthew 18:15-20, a classic text that has guided the Church for centuries on matters of church discipline....
New Children's Sermon! Bread Dough in Baskets, CC by Wald1siedel-SA 4.0 Hello my friend! I was traveling this week, so didn't get a chance to write a new children's sermon. However, I wrote one on a portion of this week's Gospel reading three years ago. I take the tiny little parable of the yeast and expand the story in a way my kids enjoyed when they were little. I hope you enjoy it too. You'll see that my approach has evolved a bit as I grow into this kind of writing. I'm getting ready to...